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How to "sell yourself" on a job interview - Part 1 You often hear the phrase "you have to sell yourself" regarding a job interview. Here are some ideas on how to do that. I'm big on packaging. By packaging I mean organizing information in way that it is clear and easily understood and attractive. As an Engineer, if you package your prior work experience properly, it will market your skillset. This is more effective than trying to remember canned responses to certain questions. Here are practical steps to help package your background. Individual Job Summary: Write a one-page maximum handwritten summary about each position held since college. Itemize your main achievements and accomplishments. Try to develop a list that reflects individual (I) and team (we) accomplishments. It may help to use the PSRV formula, which stands for: Problem -- What was the problem? Solution -- How did you do to solve the problem? Result -- What was the outcome? Value -- Why was it worth doing? Value is best expressed in a quantified way such as: Dollars and cents (E.g., saved $1 million by optimizing acid consumption), % improvements (reduced downtime 5%), rank order (best environmental compliance record in last 5 years), and finally a general value statement (obtained a more flexible air permit allowing us to process a greater variety of feedstock and thereby improve our margins). It is helpful to periodically evaluate your money making/saving contributions while they are fresh on your mind so that you can be accurate in your statements. The job summaries prepare you to "sell yourself" to the company on the interview. The burden is on you to communicate your PSRV statements during the interview, at appropriate times. Bragging is using adjectives (subjective data) to describe your work. Conversely, good self-promotion uses accurate facts (objective data) to describe your work. Be sure to give examples to elaborate and expand upon your answers to their interview questions. The best examples will come from your PSRV list. This is one of the single best things you can do to interview well. By giving brief, specific, pertinent examples to support your answers, you put your best foot forward. If you don't write out these statements ahead of time you may find yourself rambling while trying to articulate them on an interview! Vocabulary In your job summaries it is helpful to use past tense verbs to convey a sense of action, leadership, and results. Use these words in your PSRV statements. Action Words -- planned, created, initiated, developed, conceived. Leadership Words -- organized, directed, managed, coordinated. Results Words -- prevented, reduced, increased, achieved. Keep a mix of individual and team accomplishments, so be aware of "I" and "we" statements and don't take sole credit for team effort. If you package your background in this manner, you will be able to "sell yourself" and interview your best. Part 2 coming soon.

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