Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter explains how to answer this question and why it is asked.’
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I want to talk with you today about 1 of those tough interview that are designed to get you talking, see if you reveal something unusual about yourwork… Stuff along those lines.
Today’s tough interview, like all of them, really isn’t that tough if you understand what they are trying to find out about you. There’s the question:
How well-defined is your job?
The fact of the matter is, there is a framework to every job and you want to speak of the framework to the job and you want to speak of the framework of your role, rather than it being well-defined.
Why don’t you want to talk about it being well-defined?
Because you would seem like a clerk. Like a low level individual in an organization when it becomes well-defined.
You want to talk about the framework of your job, rather than the specifics in answering the question. For example, you might talk about, “Every day is a bit different. The framework is…” And then you lay out a few different things.
“It’s not like from 9 o’clock to 9:15 AM, I do this from 915 to 930, I do that it is nothing along those lines. I do my own time my own management, I control my own circumstances. I am asked to produce an outcome and to work within the framework of our organization in order to accomplish my goals. What are my goals?” You might talk about 1 or 2 of them. “Ultimately it is up to me to do my job within the framework of my relationship with others how I’m going to accomplish these things. I have milestones and benchmarks, deliverables to my tasks that allow me to fulfill it. So, is it well-defined? I don’t really think so. I am given a framework to work from and ultimately, these are my choices.”
Some of you do have jobs that are very well defined. Period where you can direct the answer, as I just did, it serves you better. Why? You may want to take a step up in class and do something a little bit more high level than what you are currently involved with. This idea of speaking to a framework and making your own choice, serves you well. Again, by pointing out that you have decision-making over your own work, deliver at a high level and achieve the deliverables that you have to.
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Do you think employers are trying to help you?
You already know you can’t trust recruiters—they tell you as much as they think you need to know to take the job they after representing so they collect their payday.
The skills needed to find a job are different yet complement the skills needed to do a job.
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