Fearless InterviewingGross, the marketing director. In a few minutes, a woman came
out to greet him.
“Jerry?” she asked.
“Yes, Ms. Gross,” he said. “My name is Jerry Aronson. Thank
you for inviting me today.”
“You’re welcome,” she said. They walked into a small con-
ference room. Jerry stood until she asked him to be seated.
“I’ve brought a fresh copy of my résumé and some other
materials if you’d like to see them,” he said.
“I would. Thanks,” she said.
He handed her the presentation package, being sure not to
place anything else on the conference table. The first 20 seconds
had passed, and he had done it! He was feeling at ease, calm,
and confident.
“Tell me about yourself,” Ms. Gross said.
Jerry took a deep breath. “I have more than 10 years of
experience as a marketing manager, specializing in strategic
planning, forecasting, and customer service. In my last position,
I oversaw a help desk of 65 employees handling up to a thou-
sand calls daily. I have a B.A. in marketing with honors. I’m cur-
rently pursuing an MBA with an emphasis in marketing at the
University of Phoenix.”
“OK,” she said. “What do you consider to be your greatest
strengths?”
“I have strengths in the areas of quality improvement, prod-
uct development, and training. An example of my quality
improvement ability is a project that I completed in which I
merged several phone line divisions into one unit, resulting in a
savings of over $266,000 for the company and 20 percent
improved quality reports from customers.”
“What would your last boss say about you?” Ms. Gross
asked.
“I believe she would say I’m innovative, reliable, and proac-
tive. One example of an innovation I made at my last company
was revising the curriculum for the employee orientation and
training programs. The employees finished their training 3 days
faster, and their work proved to be 15 percent more efficient
than that of their predecessors,” Jerry said.
“Hmm... good. Tell me, Jerry, what is your greatest
weakness?”