Dr. Scena Webb ⋅ Auburn, WA Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms (ATF) ⋅ 15 years experience

Hi Darius,

I want to echo that you should be as behavior driven in your response as possible. Continue to focus on the situation and not the people so that you can show your abiity to work well in situations.

Great suggestions so far. Darius, send me an email so we can connect @ webbusn@gmail.com. I would love to set up a Zoom meeting to offer some advice from my transition AND the resumes I currently see come across my desk.

Scena

Paul Trejo ⋅ Austin, TX University of Texas at Austin ⋅ 40 years experience

Darius,

My Rules of Thumb:

1. Never complain about past workers or work -- ever
2. Never confess about past errors -- ever.

I loved everybody I always worked with -- and all problems I ever confronted were ALWAYS SOLVED.

NEVER COMPLAIN! NEVER CONFESS!

Bring short anecdotes by the dozen to illustrate. THIS ALWAYS WORKS FOR ME.

Thanks for your years of service.

Best wishes.

Ronald Bossert ⋅ Bethlehem, PA Johnson & Johnson ⋅ 35 years experience

Hello Darius:
Chris covered a lot of excellent information. Here are a few additions:
-Decide the pay range you expect, but the recruiter will have that/let her/him take the lead
-If you meet with the recruiter, dress professionally/in my day that meant suit and tie but I think things are more casual these days
-When asked about your strengths and weaknesses, always be able to give example with results/don't just say I'm good with people/ etc. You'll find that most interviews are behavioral interviews mean that you will describe your behavior in any given situation
For instance, the recruiter might ask "tell me about a time when you had to deal with a difficult person". So then proceed to use your example describing your behavior and results (positive of course).

These are just a few additions; if you would like to talk on the telephone let me know and we can arrange it.

Good luck,
Ron

ACP AdvisorNet Staff ⋅ New York, NY ⋅ 10 years experience

Hi Darius,

Thank you for the great question!

The recruiter will drive the conversation. At least a good one would. They’ll ask the questions that are important and relevant to the position you are discussing if there is one specifically. You should answer the questions clear and concise. They’ll likely ask what your looking for in your role and you should be honest. If this position isn’t for you that’s okay! It's better that you decide that on the front end rather than get into something you will hate in a month. You should ask questions and be clear about what your boundaries are. What I mean by boundaries is, are you willing to travel, any companies you won’t work for, what does he want to make, etc.

They will want to learn more about you and what you want so that if this position isn’t a match they can contact you about more relevant ones on the future. Recruiters get a bad rap and some of them deservedly so, but ultimately they get paid for placing you so they’re incentivized to help you.

Also, here is link to an article on GlassDoor about the recruiting process and how to make yourself more attractive to recruiters: https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/how-to-become-the-candidate-recruiters-cant-resist/

I hope this helps and good luck with your discussion tomorrow!

Best,
Chris