Benefits that sell hiring authorities

Twelve Features-Accomplishment-Benefit Questions

  1. Did you help to increase Sales, Productivity, or Efficiency?
    How? How much? Be specific in your answer. What percent was the increase? How many dollars? What were the circumstances? What was your contribution? Specific dollars are the most convincing evidence you can offer. Use percentages only when the actual dollars would be less meaningful than percents. For example, I increased sales by 75% sounds better than I increased sales by $75,000.
  2. Did you save your company money?
    What were the circumstances? How much did you actually save? What was the percentage of savings? Was your ability to save your company money greater than that of the person who had your job before? Of other people in your company?
  3. Did you institute a new system or procedure in your company?
    Why? What was the situation that led to your instituting the change? Who approved of your change? Did your procedure compete with any others? Why was it selected over others? What happened as a result of the change in procedure that you initiated? Has your procedure been adopted elsewhere in the company? Where? In other divisions? Departments?
  4. Did you identify a problem in your company that had been overlooked?
    What was the problem? What was the solution? Why was the solution overlooked? When you answer this question, you prove that you have the capacity to dig deeper than the next person.
  5. Were you ever promoted?
    Why did your boss promote you? Was there some one thing that you did that your management thought stood out? How long (or short) a period occurred between this and your previous promotion?  How much more responsible was your new job than your old? How many more people reported to you? If you have been promoted several times by several different parties, it is substantive evidence that you have potential for growth. Your prospective boss wants and needs to know this.
  6. Did you train anyone?
    Did you develop a training technique? What was this technique? How long was the training time by your technique as compared to the old one? What happened as a result of your training technique? Is your training technique being used by others in the company? It’s a well-known truism that executives don’t get promoted until they’ve trained a replacement. Employers are always on the lookout for people who know how to train someone to succeed them. If you’re one of them, let it be known.
  7. Did you suggest any new programs for your company that were put into effect?
    What were they? Why do you think they were adopted? Did they result in extra sales to your company? Did you represent your company at any industry-wide symposia at which your suggestions or programs were presented? Have your ideas for programs been published in any industry magazines or journals?
  8. Did you help to establish any new goals or objectives for your company?
    Did you arrive at these goals by any new or unusual thought process? Did you convince management it should adopt the goals you established?
  9. Did you change, in anyway, the nature of your job?
    Why did you redefine your position? How did you redefine it? Have other persons in jobs similar to your own had their positions redefined per your definition? Has there been any significant responsibility changes as a result of you redefining the job?
  10. Did you ever undertake an assignment or project that wasn’t part of your job just because you were intrigued with the problem?
    If you have, you are the sort of person who is totally involved with his work. Any such project you undertake is proof of your interest in increasing profits. Prospective employers will be interested in this kind of dedication, particularly if this extra assignment led to significant results for your firm.
  11. Did you ever do anything simply to make your job easier?
    Did you ever do anything to lighten your own load with no thought of its value to the company you work for? Anything you do to streamline your own job probably will result in saving your company money, or helping it to increase sales. Did you do anything to make your own job easier?
  12. What would you say would be the most important qualities of the ideal candidate for the position you seek?
    Put yourself in the shoes of your prospective boss when you answer this question. Decide on the half dozen most important characteristics you would look for in a candidate if you were in a hiring position. When you have zeroed in on these qualities, think back over your own experience. Look for examples that would prove you had each of them. These illustrations will do a better job of convincing your prospective employers you have what they are looking for far better than any other claims you make on your resume