Once again the month has gotten away from me. Where did January go? I will tell you that hiring activity with our clients has exceeded our expectations for the month. We hope this means that we may finally be coming out of one of the worst recessions in some time.

I had planned to write my blog about Interviewing Tips and had pulled a number of articles that I saved over the years to put together what I felt would be the ultimate list of tips but as I read through these and also checked out a Google search on the topic, there were so many other sites out there I just wasn’t sure what new information I could provide that many of these other career sites didn’t. If you are reading this and struggling with interviews, contact me directly. I would be happy to work with you one-on-one.

I do have to tell you about a situation that happened to me recently. I was phone interviewing an experienced plant manager. Often I start my interviews by asking the age old question “Tell me a little about yourself”. Well this candidate went through every detail about his life – - both personal and his work history. Twenty-four minutes later (yes, 24 – - I have a timer on my phone as it records our call) he finally finished his answer to my first question. I was stunned. I have heard many things from candidates when I have asked that question in the past but never that long.

While occasionally you might run into an interviewer who is looking for personal information about you, chances are they are seeing if you can summarize your professional experience. This summary should take maybe a minute or two – - definitely not 24 minutes.

So, before you go on your next interview, take a few minutes to write out how you would answer that question. Rehearse it over and over so when you are asked that question, you can answer it appropriately. You will then be amazed at how confidently you will handle the remainder of the interview.