Job Interviews: How To Stand Out & Be Remembered

"So many Koreans I've worked with mess this up..."

In a job interview, you have maybe 30 minutes to make an impression, and popular companies often have tons of different candidates for job openings.

So, it’s really important to stand out and make sure the interviewer remembers you. One of the best ways to do that is by talking more about your experiences, accomplishments, and the impact you’ve made in your career. 

However, so many Koreans I've worked with mess this up by either not talking at all about these things OR explaining their accomplishments in a way that is way too general and forgettable. 

Let’s look at a few bad examples, then I’ll explain how we can make these way better:

EXAMPLE 1: Business Consultant

The client was really satisfied with my advice.

EXAMPLE 2: Product Manager

In the end, the product launch was a success. 

EXAMPLE 3: Head of Marketing

I’ve managed big advertising campaigns in many different countries. 

I’ve heard statements like these many times working with my clients, and the problem is that they’re way too general. You need to give more information. Anyone could say their clients were ‘satisfied’ or the project ‘was a success’. That won’t make you stand out and seem different.

Also, what do you mean ‘big’ advertising campaigns' in 'many different countries'? Is that 2 countries or 100 countries? You need to give more information.

In an interview, to make your accomplishments and experiences stand out more, you need to make them:

1. More specific
2. More measurable
3. More related to the overall business impact

Let's look at how we can make each of our examples a lot better:

EXAMPLE 1: Business Consultant - What impact did your work have on the client and WHY were they satisfied? 

The client was really satisfied with my advice. --> The client followed our advice, and was able to improve all areas of their business. They reduced expenses by about 20%, hired 25 great new team members, and opened 2 new offices in Seoul. 

EXAMPLE 2: Product Manager - HOW was the launch successful? What was the impact?

In the end, the product launch was a success. --> In the end, we were able to complete the product launch 2 weeks in advance and it generated almost $3 million in sales, and close to $1 million in profit. This was the most successful product launch in our company’s history. 

EXAMPLE 3: Head of Marketing - What do you mean by ‘big’ campaigns and ‘many’ countries?

I’ve managed big advertising campaigns in many different countries. --> I’ve managed multi million dollar advertising campaigns in over 15 countries.

SUMMARY

When you talk about your notable experiences, achievements, or accomplishments in an interview, make them specific. Anyone can say they were successful, achieved a good result, or their customer was satisfied. Focusing on the specific, measurable, unique impacts of your accomplishments will make a great impression on the interviewer and hopefully lead to you getting an exciting new job offer. 

Thanks for reading, and best of luck in your next interview!

- Grant