Your Resume

Your interview has probably been secured by the quality of your resume; but even though it has performed its primary purpose, you should not forget about it. Resumes can still play an important role in the interview process. 

Remember to re-read your resume thoroughly before your interview; this will remind you of the skills and experiences that you thought were important for this position, and may provide some pointers towards interview questions.

Sometimes an interviewer is not fully prepared for an interview, or cannot remember the contents of your resume, and will use your resume as a "prompt". Of course, this can be also be a conscious decision; using the resume as a springboard for further questions allows the interviewee to expand on the details provided. On the other hand, you may simply end up answering "yes" or "no" to a series of questions drawn hastily from the resume. It is up to you to judge what this reflects about the interviewer or the organisation. (It might reflect a general disorganisation, or just poor planning on the part of one person.)

In any event, if the interview has started poorly, it might be appropriate for you to use your resume to bring the conversation back to a more interactive level by saying something like:

Ms Doe, you might be interested in some recent auditing experience I gained during my Co-op year that is not highlighted in my résumé. May I tell you about it?

It is also worth taking at least one copy of your resume to each interview. An interviewer might express an interest in circulating your resume to other people in the organisation, and then you can offer your copy. If, for some reason, your interviewer has not seen your resume prior to the interview, do not offer it until it is asked for, or until the end of the interview; if offered too early, your resume - rather than your broader abilities and experiences - may become the focus of the interview.