Personality Assets
Keeping your Job Interviewing skills up-to-date is the critical key to achieving gainful employment. Job Candidates with a knock-em-dead interview always seem to have their pick of jobs. How do some Candidates have their pick of opportunities while others get sidelined? The answer is easy. Successful Candidates brand their Candidacy with qualities that make them stand out from the crowd.
The secret to branding your Candidacy starts by identifying qualities you possess that make you stand out from the crowd. Gain perspective on your Candidacy by designing your own Personality Asset Inventory:
Cognitive: Analytic, Creative, Decisive, Risk Taking, Self-Aware.
Individual: Accountable, Detail-Oriented, Independent, Open-Minded, Persistent, Resourceful.
Social: Assertive, Collaborative, Communicative, Competitive, Politically Savvy.
Leadership: Inspiring, Negotiation, Persuasive, Team Building, Vision.
Management: Coaching, Conflict Management, Hiring, Organization and Planning.
Exercise: List the five Personality Asset dimensions, starting with Cognitive. For each dimension, order the Assets from strongest to weakest based on you. Next, take the top Asset in each dimension and identify real-life examples that illustrate the Asset. Describe your examples in as much detail as possible. Be specific: high-level examples are discounted. Finally, practice your answers. The quality of your example is what convinces the Interviewer that you “own” the Personality Asset.
Note that you will identify weaknesses in this manner as well. It is recommended that you work up two weaknesses, giving you the ability to pivot to the one that seems less onerous given the demands of the job you are interviewing for.
By identifying your Personality Assets, you gain perspective on your Candidacy that allows you to create a brand that is identifiable and valuable in the marketplace. Job Interviewers will remember you and, if they don't have an immediate need, may just remember you when an appropriate opportunity arises.
