Previous job lessons I learnt – A detailed note on how to answer this question
“A lot of us, for instance, are very good at our jobs but absolutely hopeless at job interviews. Does this sound like you? You rock up for the interview full of confidence, you know full well you can fill the position easily and possibly better than most, you’re friendly, outgoing, and personable, and you scare the shit out of the interviewer.”
Karl Wiggins, Wrong Planet – Searching for your Tribe
“What skill you acquired from your previous job?”
Are you planning to switch to your job? Is your interview date around the corner?
Then, it is a natural question you can expect on your day.
An interviewer asks this question for insight into your skills and job attitude. Knowing what you have achieved at the previous job will help an interviewer assess what you can contribute to this company.
Being able to craft a professional skill set based on your experience is a must for you to stick out from the crowd and grab an excellent job on today’s market. Inquiring about your knowledge in the industry is just a way for the interviewer to make sure you are the perfect fit for the job post.
If you are dreaded your turn at the interview table, use the tips given below to prepare to crush the question.
“Asked what we do best, few of us would say ‘doing a great job interview.’ Yet this is one of the most highly rewarded abilities in life.”
Thea Kelley, Get That Job! The Quick and Complete Guide to a Winning Interview
Tips for how to respond to the questions asked in the upcoming job interviews.
- Keep your answer relatable
Make sure you mention skills that are relevant to the position you are interviewing for. There is no use of saying that in your old Previous job, you learned how to use word press if the role is related to graphic designing. So, think about the skills that your new job requires and tailor your answer according to that. You must include skills that your employer wants to hear. Also, ensure what you are saying is the truth.
- Keep it mixed up
Another point to consider when answering this question is to vary the examples that you give to the interviewer. It is excellent to provide an answer that portrays how much you developed technically. But it is also useful to show how you have grown as a person. Personality fit is one of the crucial things an employer will look at when it comes to hiring for a new position. So, it is critical to discuss professional and personal skills you have learned.
- Turn negatives into positives
Avoid negative comments about your previous job or working environment. Even if you faced several difficulties in your last work, use these questions as a chance those experience into positive ones.
For example, if you didn’t receive any guidance or assistance from your past workspace, use this chance to describe that you were expected to work independently and this encouraged you to use your initiatives or ideas.
- Avoid complaints
No recruiter would like to hear you slagging off your previous boss or company. So you should strictly avoid a negative discussion about your old employer. It’s unprofessional and makes you seem like a moaner.
- Do talk about company culture and co-workers
It’s important to consider how a candidate would fit into their companies’ current cultures. So, it is essential to talk about your experience with the previous company to prove that you are discerning enough to perceive how you fit into the bigger picture.
Speaking about co-workers makes sense to emphasize your relationships and ability to communicate with previous co-workers. It will prove that you can easily get fit in with the people around you.
- Do mention your day-to-day tasks
You can specify your daily duties to the interviewer. It will prove you are paying attention not only to the task at hand but also to how you’re performing. Accountability can be a significant reason a recruiter looks for in an ideal candidate.
Good employers will throw a lot of hard-hitting questions on your side, but your answer to, “What did you learn at your previous job?” says far more about you than you might think.
Rehearse all these tips before your next big interview and impress your potential employer in just a few sentences.
All the best
Experience is not what happens to a man.It is what a man does with what happens to him.
Aldous Huxley
