If you want to know how to tackle this tricky interview question, you've come to the right place! "How would previous employers describe you?" is a straightforward question that can pop up out of the blue. It's important to make sure you are not caught off guard since it can ruin your chances of being selected.
Couldn't they ask me something technical instead? Why they ask this tricky "How would previous employers describe you?" question? As I noticed in my current role, jobs nowadays are becoming increasingly collaborative. Soft skills are more important than ever. Also, you need to be a cultural fit for the organization.
Interviewers ask this to assess your self-awareness, understand your work ethic and see if your experience aligns with the open position. They're essentially asking for a reference without contacting your former employees. Take this opportunity to showcase your unique qualities and the value you'd bring into the company.
Firstly, avoid giving a chronology of all the jobs you had in the past 10 years. Instead, focus on highlighting your skills, accomplishments and dealing with stressful situations. Come up with examples from your experiences that alight with the position you applied for.
Use the present tense (I am, I do) to emphasize the fact that you have qualities that will benefit your new employer. Moreover, it'll show that your former employers certainly remember you in a good way.
When discussing previous employers' descriptions of you, be sure to:
In order to prepare your response, my advice is to practice beforehand a little bit. Be sure to think about your strengths and what makes you unique. Then think about what you achieved in past 2-3 roles, how you become a better professional. This can open the door for other questions from interviewer like "Describe me a time when you ...?" so make sure to note down real world examples.
It's crucial to structure the response carefully in order to be balanced and neither too-short or too-long. Chose 2-3 qualities that suit you best:
Try to quantify your achievements a little. Numbers and data provide useful insights to your claims. For instance, you can say something like "I successfully identified a bottleneck in the report generation tool that was costing us at least 10 hours a week to manually process. I proposed to use a new approach, which improved with at least 15% the throughput of the system, thus saving important company resources". This way you show that you know how to measure productivity and you are committed to keep costs down.
Any company which wants to survive needs happy clients, right? A really good idea to bring add in your response is to provide an example when you pushed things harder in order to meet a deadline. Emphasize the fact that the deliverable was in a good quality and the client was super happy.
Honesty will help you in many life aspects, not only at work. So don't forget to be realistic, honest and transparent in your speech. Be sure to admit that you have areas to improve by framing it positively. "While I'm confident in my technical skills, I'm always eager to learn new technologies. I'm particularly excited about the opportunity to work with BigData in this role."
You can use this as an example and adapt to your case:
"In my previous roles, I've consistently demonstrated strong initiative skills, with a focus on teamwork and stakeholder collaboration. My former employers would describe me as a dedicated professional who always strives for excellence in their work. In my last position, I successfully delivered a tool which helped in reducing the process overhead by 20%. I managed to prioritize tasks effectively and learned to actively listen to people with different backgrounds and views. Therefore, I think past employers remember me as someone who worked efficiently and took initiative. I guess many of them would welcome me aboard again".
With a bit of preparation, for sure you'll not be intimidated if you're asked "How would previous employers describe you?". If you apply the tips outlined here, you'll be able to confidently answer this question while showcasing your unique qualities, personality and work ethic. Remember, the goal is to demonstrate how your strengths will benefit the new employer, making it clear why should they hire you.
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