A few years back, my colleague and I went down to US for a conference and attended a workshop by a top instructor in the recruitment and staffing industry. He shared a tip with the attendees on how it is possible to coach your interviewer what questions to ask your candidate. Hiring managers make questions based on your resume and of course their requirements. I can confirm this first hand from a human resources perspective. Hiring managers and Human Resources professionals often make notes and create job interview questions based on your resume. Here’s a hint: there is often more scribbling on the first page of your resume than on the last. In fact, pay particular attention to the first half of the first page.

So how can you use this knowledge to your benefit going into an interview? Insert something on the top half of your resume. By inserting a paragraph or an experience summary on the top of the first page of your resume, you can influence the questions you will be asked. For example, if the intro to your resume reads, “I am an IT Security Professional with 8 years of experience, with good communications skills….” you can be sure that one of the interview questions will relate to your communication skills. An example might be in this case, “tell me about a time when you had to explain the security issue to a non-technical audience“.

So the next time you apply for your dream job, give this technique a try and see what kind of questions you are asked. And before heading into the job interview, be sure to review your resume paying close attention to the first half of the first page. Based on the content, develop some job interview questions and practice. You may be surprised at how well this works.

Information provided by HR Difference.

Our HR team specializes in providing small and medium sized companies with cost-efficient and customized human resources consulting solutions and learning management systems to meet your need and budget. We also provide custom resume writing and telephone job interview coaching for job seekers.

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