32 Comments Add your own

• 1. China Law Blog  |  April 23rd, 2007 at 8:20 pm

  Here is another tip, of which I thought while reading my horribly written comment above. Companies get so many good resumes they are literally looking for a reason to reject someone. One of my favorites is rejecting someone for a spelling mistake, grammatical error or even a typo on a resume or a cover letter. I know this sounds unbelievably harsh, but if someone cannot get their resume and cover letter down correctly when these are the most important documents in their life at the time, how can an employer expect them to be careful with company documents? I know for a fact there are plenty of other people out there who also use this as a quick way to winnow down from a very large field. Be careful.

• 2. Chris Carr  |  April 23rd, 2007 at 9:01 pm

  Hi Dan.

  I did not think it was poorly written. I read it as a normal, quickly typed out thought and comment normal for blog land.

  I could not agree more. Grammar errors and typos on a cover letter or CV are the kiss of death. No excuse for those, at all.

• 3. Morgan O'Hara  |  December 24th, 2008 at 9:19 am

  Taken from Dr. Carr’s comment on the ‘Skull and Crossbones’ post, a few selling points to prospective employers: “you can send me anywhere in the city, county, California, the USA and/or the world and ask me to do anything legal and ethical, and I can/will get it done. Point me in the right direction and I will take care of the rest and the details. I won’t look to you for answers and certainty, because I know you may not know and you are very busy and you are hiring me to figure it out. I also read and follow directions, and I pick up on signals sent my way. I also can operate consistently outside my comfort zone and I welcome ambiguity, and in fact I thrive in said environment.”

  I found this advice extremely valuable. It shows that we can use our generation’s shortcomings to our advantage – by letting a prospective employer know that they’re not going to have to coddle us, or shower us with praise, or spell everything out for us. And if we’re hired, then in turn we have to not act like spoiled Millennials.

• 4. Dan N  |  January 9th, 2011 at 6:00 pm

  It seems to me that the key is placing this experience in the minds of prospective employers in terms of the current or future problems that it will enable them to solve. If it were me reading the resume, I would automatically assume that the trip was just an excuse to travel with friends on mom and dad’s dime. I don’t think that hiring managers are going to see value unless we use clear, concise language to communicate the lessons that we learned from the experience.

  My strategy is to use the China trip as an excuse to communicate my understanding of the hiring manager’s needs. In other words, I don’t just tell him or her that I have experience analyzing business risks of the societal and political forces happening in China today, I research the hiring firm until I find a reason why this skill of mine matters to them.

  I don’t just want to describe my experience, I want to describe how my experience is a solution to one of their specific problems.

• 5. David Hart  |  January 10th, 2011 at 2:34 pm

  I appreciate these articles. I think we have all had coworkers we can think of who were tooting their own horns and brown nosing. I would imagine many managers would be able to spot that type of behavior easily. There is a difference between confidence and arrogance. Of course it is important for us to be able to sell our abilities to others so they can know what we have and can accomplish. It is important to be careful in how we come across. We need to be sincere and smart in our actions.

  I really enjoyed the article about the “weakness” question. This is a tough question that I have always wondered how to answer correctly. Focusing on a job-related weakness that won’t impede on one’s abilities to perform a particular job is a good way to start. The article also notes the importance of turning the weakness into a positive aspect that shows how you are overcoming it.

  With the job market as competitive as it is now, it is critical for interviewees to prepare as much as possible for interviews. The China course will be another tool in our toolbox (if we use it properly) we can use on our CV and in interview situations.

• 6. Katie Moeller  |  January 11th, 2011 at 6:24 pm

  Nothing makes me more annoyed than people tooting their own horn. This includes anything from asking pointless questions, trying to prove intelligence, and just sucking up. I understand this might come off as a little harsh but when other’s actions start to waste my time, then it gets personal. I think that’s why I enjoyed this WSJ article so much – I think everyone needs to read it and self-reflect how much self-promoting they are doing. I liked how it mentioned that people are judged on likeability and competence. It’s true; people see others in different lights. I understand self-promoting is needed but there’s a fine line and some people cross it. I do feel that a resume and in interview is a great place to toot your horn.

  The article discussing personal weaknesses was also good. I have been asked the weakness question before in interviews. I think I have used the “perfectionist” line before… oops. I did like the recommendation on stating that your weakness is getting bored by routine. I think I might have to start incorporating that one going forward. I personally found that the best way for me to get ready for interviews is practice. As Dr. Whitaker mentioned, perfect practice makes perfect.

• 7. Cassie Bettencourt  |  January 23rd, 2011 at 8:54 pm

  I thought that the most interesting quote from the Wall Street Journal article was “Grandstanders typically secure managerial approval in inverse proportion to colleagues admiration.” Although it is probably true that some managers care purely about skill and performance and not about office dynamics, it has been my experience that managers are also able to detect people sucking up, tooting their own horn, and rubbing their colleagues the wrong way. Nobody actually likes a “grandstander.” If you have an impersonal manager, I believe the above statement is true. However, the fine line between like-ability and competence can come into play if someone is obnoxiously blowing their horn. I also believe the acceptance of such behavior depends heavily on the culture of the company you work at. The more competitive the work environment, the more you feel that you have to prove yourself, thus truer the above statement.

  I really appreciated the tips in this post on how to best display the China trip on a resume and answer some of the more common and tricky interview questions. It was very practical information, and the China trip was something I was wondering how to “toot” to potential employers. Although I tend to lean towards a more subtle, show-by-doing, display of my skills and competence, I also realize that business is business and learning how to be more aggressive and relay my skills to management more effectively might help me climb the ladder more quickly.

• 8. Chris Bruns  |  January 29th, 2011 at 9:12 pm

  The WSJ article about some of the cultures in the white collar would be hilarious if it wasn’t so true. The individuals that are guilty of the acts written about are one of the top 3 complaints I had about switching from the blue-collar to the professional world. The simple fact is that there is a lot of time and energy wasted by people wanting to look important to everyone, even though the quality of their work should stand on its own. Enough of me on my soapbox…

  I appreciated the section of the blog that discusses how we can better describe the trip to future employers. I had recently been thinking about how to succinctly describe the experience and this has really pointed me in the right direction. My favorite part of the blog was the section where Harris is discussing his interview and how being a Cubs fan paid off. It is a true example of letting your actions and personality shine through and having ‘work’ stand for itself. I really enjoyed the line “…can you go out to dinner with the client and the client’s spouse and talk about more than just work and not be viewed as an ass.” There is no other way to put it.

• 9. Brady Haug  |  February 2nd, 2011 at 8:47 pm

  As I have been rebuilding my resume, I have been wondering what the best approach was for listing the China trip. I have toured multiple factories throughout Europe and have been debating as to whether to list these on my resume. I can imagine scenarios that would make me appear as a pompous world traveler to an interviewer that I would obviously want to avoid. The structure you laid out for posting it on our resume was a well done. Depending on the area and scope of the positions I apply for, I want to add an area about global experience. Just as the blog “MBAs Who Understand the PRC” mentioned, by having an understanding of international business (specifically in China) I think I will appear much more desirable to an employer.

  In terms of blowing your own horn, people must take caution. In my opinion, an interviewer would be off put but someone going on and on about their amazing credentials. If there was a gap in the interview or the interviewer wasn’t asking you questions highlighting your attributes, then I think it is appropriate to blow your horn within reason. Lastly, I found the Deal Book article to be incredibly interesting. For any MBA student I think these questions would be fair game. They really do test your critical thinking, reasoning, and problem solving ability. You won’t be able to guess how many gas stations are in the US, but this is a good way that you can subtly blow your own horn.

• 10. Jessie Wilkie  |  February 6th, 2011 at 6:20 pm

  I thought that the “Not Even Politicians Can Out-Campaign Office Grandstanders”, “Answering the Unanswerable:Tips for that First Interview”, and “A Question to Make a Monkey of You” were all very helpful articles. The six main interview questions introduced in the latter two articles got me thinking about interviewing more. It has inspired me to think outside the box and prepare for interview questions more in depth. I was just recently asked what my weakness was in an interview that I had and I froze up. I was awkward and didn’t know how to deal with it. I also didn’t get the internship. Now, I know that I should be more prepared for these type of questions and that them being asked is a very real possibility.

  As for people tooting their horns, it’s so obnoxious! It bothers me a great deal. It’s true, it’s like those kiss-ups in elementary school all over again and it’s awful. What is more annoying is that it’s often times very true that just like the teacher gave more notice to the kiss-ups the boss will give more notice to those types in the office. Everyone else will have to sit there and bear it. As annoying as it is there are some valuable benefits to being the kiss-up type. It’s important to be recognized, but I think that people can do it in a better and more tasteful way then blatant kiss-up routines (i.e. the pencil and the notes, summarizing the bosses points, and being the first to lead toasts etc.) As for being tasteful, I would assume it’s just doing the best job that you can and subtle things like respecting your bosses and maybe stealing them away to discuss your ideas and accomplishments in a less obnoxious way. Sort of going along with the whole “airport test” where no one wants to spend a few hours with a schmuck. I don’t exactly know what the proper way to do things is, but I do feel strongly that there’s a better way than to be a brown noser.

  I also liked the ideas for how to mention the China trip in a resume/CV. These were very practical tips and I will be sure to use them when I incorporate the trip into my CV.

• 11. Robbin Forsyth  |  February 12th, 2011 at 6:40 pm

  I love the first article!
  “Make sure you use a pencil so the scribble is more audible”
  “Don’t raise the bridge, lower the water”
  While I agree with the idea of being strategically aggressive around higher ups in order to earn recognition. Doing it well is tricky.
  “Those are the kids when we were in elementary school we wanted to beat up”
  This sums up how your colleagues will feel if you are over the top with your self-promotion.
  I don’t know yet if I am going to list the trip on my resume. I’m putting a list of companies and jobs together that I targeting applications at in the next couple of months. If the trip seems to add value by addressing a specific job requirement at a company I will list it. Otherwise I already have specific international work experience listed in previous jobs.

• 12. Jason Jay Sharma  |  February 14th, 2011 at 4:03 pm

  Doing the rounds of interviews for accounting firms big and small, I’m all too familiar with the variety of questions you can be asked when pursuing a position at a traditional office. Both the NYT and WSJ articles are very spot on with their advice–it’s the same advice I’ve been receiving for years (especially when we were prepped as undergrads). There’s a fairly notorious interview question regarding painting a house blue that you’ll hear at all of the Big 4–it’s a doosey. And the weakness question is also abundant–make sure you pick a definite weakness, but make it’s not too weak (not enough to impair your on the job abilities). On the flip-side, interviewing at a start-up, the questions I’ve encountered have never been traditional (meaning, they’ve never been like the ones presented in either article for me). They’re usually more interested in just kicking back and talking about everything, but actual position.

  The WSJ article on office politics was very interesting, also. I agree that likeability and competence are the main factors co-workers are judged on. I believe many of the views that were presented can be mitigated if you work at a place where there isn’t much power distance. Again, this can be true when it comes to most start-up firms.

  As for ways to present our China experience on our resumes, I appreciate the various ideas. It’s already been discussed in the previous post about MBA’s understanding the PRC, but I think it would be beneficial for all of us to exploit the opportunity we’re taking part in.

• 13. Will Moeller  |  February 17th, 2011 at 7:50 pm

  This is actually a perfect blog for me to be writing on today having spent the morning interviewing. It took about 15 minutes for the China aspect to become a serious topic of conversation - yet another reason/place where the China experience will pay off. Truth be told, after the China trip, we’ll probably know more than most American businesspeople. Huge, huge advantage.

  In the grandstanding article, the one point I took to heart was the modesty aspect. I’ve completely flubbed an interview before by failing to simply articulate strengths.

  But while a lot of interviewing simply involves common sense, such as proving you can have a normal and truthful conversation, it’s also about being prepared for just about any and all types of questions.

  As a final point, I read Morgan O’Hara’s comment above, “you can send me anywhere in the city, county, California, the USA and/or the world and ask me to do anything legal and ethical, and I can/will get it done. Point me in the right direction and I will take care of the rest and the details. I won’t look to you for answers and certainty, because I know you may not know and you are very busy and you are hiring me to figure it out. I also read and follow directions, and I pick up on signals sent my way. I also can operate consistently outside my comfort zone and I welcome ambiguity, and in fact I thrive in said environment.” Having a silver bullet like this is potentially quite useful. Along the lines of being truthful and giving straight talk, a statement like this seems like it could go a long way.

• 14. Jessica Shayler  |  February 18th, 2011 at 9:42 am

  Regarding interviews:
  For me, it really comes down to practice and preparation. I am not good at giving responses on the fly that sound well thought out, so I need to prepare as thoroughly as I can. One idea I had while reading through these articles is to go on “interview dates” with my husband. We go on “election dates” to discuss candidates and ballot measures, why not interview techniques?

  Regarding horn tooting:
  There’s a time and a place for knowing and communicating your strengths, but this WSJ article made it sound like no matter what time or place you’re going to alienate your co-workers.

  “Grandstanders typically secure managerial approval in inverse proportion to colleagues’ admiration. Sour grapes aside, colleagues tend to loathe the very person the boss likes, and for the same reason: modesty deficit.”

  There’s got to be a way to make your competence known without becoming a jacka**. I realize there is a certain “game playing” aspect (e.g. use a pencil for audible scribble), but where is the balance between playing the game well and remaining genuine? Or is it really a case of “nice people finish last?”

• 15. Sarah Weinzapfel  |  February 18th, 2011 at 8:20 pm

  Honestly, as important as the first article made it sound, I don’t think I’m ever going to be good at blowing my own horn. I understand that employers need to know credentials, but isn’t that what my resume is for? I wouldn’t go too far as to under estimate my credentials, but I don’t want to be the one in the office with a brown nose. I definitely agreed with the first article on it’s comparison of the workplace and politics. It’s so true though. I know at previous jobs that employers had to be so cautious to be fair to everyone and if the boss didn’t like someone, that person didn’t like anyone the boss did like. Everything had to be diplomatic, no one really answered the hard questions and some people didn’t do the nicest things to get to the top.

  My favorite article was “A Question to Make a Monkey of You.” I participated in the Mock Interview session with Dr. Chandler this past week and one of the main topics out of the possible questions was the “weakness” question. Dr. Chandler made the same exact points as the article. We even made fun of the people who answer the weakness question with a non-weakness. Although we poked fun, there was still a lot of confusion on how to answer that question. I thought it was interesting in the article that it said answering that question with a non-weakness was a deal breaker and basically a kiss of death. I had no idea it was that detrimental. In the interview session we also talked about answering the unanswerable. Dr. Chandler’s answer were, again, on par. I personally love reading articles about how to improve interview skills or any skills that are going to get me a job.

• 16. Tim Easton  |  February 20th, 2011 at 3:15 pm

  Just like Will said, the China trip came up relatively quickly in an interview that I recently had. Everyone seems extremely interested in the trip, and they realize the importance of learning how business works in China. I am glad that this trip is something that will set me apart from other applicants. I updated my resume over Christmas break to include the International Business Study Tour, and my description is relatively similar to the one in this blog post. The main difference is that I did not include the length of our trip, since we are only there 14 days. When talking to multiple mentors, they all said to leave that out because it was a relatively short amount of time.

  The WSJ article, “Not Even Politicians Can Out-Campaign Office Grandstanders”, was extremely amusing. Everyone has dealt with people like this at work, and I am sure we have wanted to get into it with these people at times, but they usually are the ones that the boss likes. As annoying as it may be to your coworkers, they are the ones that get the promotions and move ahead. My favorite example from the article is, “One colleague he remembers would often distribute minutes of meetings that weren’t his, make the first toasts at parties he didn’t host and grill people with questions only he felt he was entitled to ask”. I could never imagine myself making the first toast at someone else’s party. That is extremely rude and something that seems completely crazy to me.

• 17. Kristine Spencer  |  February 21st, 2011 at 1:00 pm

  People to people dynamics are incredibly complex and interesting to me. I am beginning to appreciate the cajones that the people in the first article have, for the reason that they are confident and are able to take the risk to put themselves in the spotlight. I am not usually the one to try to draw attention to myself, but one on one, I am more confident in expressing who I am, my abilities, my honesty, and my real personality. Tooting your own has to be done at the right place and time. I believe that it is possible to reconcile the professional self and the real self. The two don’t need to be that different or at odds with one another. People have a sense for who is “real” and who is just trying to play some fake part or persona in the office, and people appreciate other genuine people. We all know people that toot their own horn, and it is that point in time that I cannot help but roll my eyes. It makes me sad that the unlikeable person, who steals faxes, tries to belittle others, asks meaningless pre-planned questions to get attention, and tries to act like they are listening and taking notes SO attentively are the ones that get ahead in the corporate world. I’m really not interested in playing those kinds of games, but I am interested in being myself and learning how to toot my horn a little louder when the time is right.

  I have done very little interviewing and this is definitely an area that I need to improve upon. I think that interviewing is a complex art. Just the right qualities and experiences have to be highlighted, while the right weaknesses need to be handled as explained in the article. This China trip is a definite advantage to us and I look forward to enhancing my resume and overall global awareness through this experience.

• 18. Ashley Ogden  |  February 25th, 2011 at 5:41 pm

  When I was reading the second article about unique interview questions, I was already thinking of the worst question I had been asked. It was: “What are you weaknesses?” I had to laugh then when I read the last article. When interviewers ask questions like this, they don’t really want to know the real answer; they just want to see how you answer the question. I really liked the last article because it gave me more insight into how I will answer that question in future interviews. I already knew that the worst answer is, “I’m a perfectionist” and I wouldn’t tell that lie anyway, but it is hard to come up with good answers for some of these tricky questions.

  The article about blowing your own horn was interesting. I have known “grandstanders” before and they are extremely irritating. So much so, that I have a tendency to act the opposite and not “blow my horn” at all. This article was good to see that there are ways and times when you should promote yourself as a way to show your competence.

• 19. j hurley  |  February 26th, 2011 at 4:42 pm

  I have never been good at blowing my own horn…it just doesn’t seem right. We all know “that guy” who never stops talking about his own accomplishments. However, I do see the importance of being able to address and clearly explain your strengths. Job interviews have definitely helped me realize and practice these explanations, but they still don’t happen as easily as they could.
  I expect that the China trip experience will definitely be an added strength to either my resume and/or interview. Most companies these days do see the importance of having experience outside the U.S., and this experience is only going to become more valuable as globalization enhances.

• 20. Anthony Kallioinen  |  February 28th, 2011 at 2:03 pm

  This blog is really relevant for me because I have a hard time ‘talking up’ my merits and past accomplishments. I have to remind myself that I do have the authority to comment on certain subjects because of my specific background and I must try to credentialize myself to others in order to give my opinions authority. Soft office tactics like the ones suggested by Messrs Aldrich and Milano seem like underhanded ploys to me, but these practices key into an import idea: that the perception higher ups have of their workers is influenced by their public display of diligence. The person who leads the meetings or asks the tough questions will be perceived as the leader of the group; I’ve seen this happen many times in group settings. The one who has the strong opinion will set the agenda and the others will follow to satisfy the one who is particular about the project. The first article summed up very well the idea that is the title of this post: “…two of the main dimensions on which people are judged are likeability and competence. Modesty about workplace abilities works only when the audience already knows someone’s credentials…” That being said, one has to be explicit about their merits in the workplace in the presence of management if one hopes to be promoted (or an interviewer if one hopes to be hired). This may not be favorable to me, because I prefer to do my work to the best of my abilities and be recognized by others, but I understand that the only person that will actively advance my career is me.

  The reply to this post comes with impeccable timing as I have a mock interview later this week. I have been preparing answers to the standard questions that an interviewer will ask, but I now understand that I have to not simply memorize answers to common questions but must strive to meet the goals of the interview: which are to let the company get to know my personality. I have to realize that if I was granted an interview with a certain company that I was brought in for some reason because the recruiter obviously saw something that they liked. I have been disheartened recently after hearing from graduated friends of mine on the job search. They have been to interviews and were essentially told that this interview was a mere formality and that the company already knew who would be hired. I hope that I can let my work speak for itself and get the job that I was intended to get. I suppose that if the interviewer is not someone that I could spend a couple hours in a departure lounge with then perhaps I wouldn’t enjoy working at that company anyway.

• 21. Tyler Sereno  |  February 28th, 2011 at 6:22 pm

  It really bothers me when people toot their own horn. The WSJ article was very insightful. It mentions that you must be a self-promoter in order to get ahead in the company. The article give tips to impress your boss and I realized that I have things I need to work on.

  I found the WSJ article that addresses how to answer the “What are your weaknesses” question during an interview particularly interesting. I have been asked the question in an interview before and at the time, I did not have a very good answer. I will now prepare myself and be ready to answer this question in future interviews. The article contains a short list of what answers not to give to this question, which is helpful to keep in mind. I found it hilarious that they included “I like to drink now and then” in the list of poor answers. That seems obvious. But it is valuable to learn what employers are looking for during an interview.

• 22. Randy Camat  |  March 4th, 2011 at 11:30 pm

  I never thought about adding this trip to my resume until now. It would be a great way to stand out amongst the huge pile of applicants. My plan would be to put a general description as suggested by Dr. Carr, and then tailor it to more the comments by the advisor council.

  I was raised to be humble and to let my accomplishments speak for themselves. With that being said, in interviews and social situations, I often come across as being too shy and uptight. One comment that I would frequently get from my reviews would be to talk more and project confidence. To me, it’s hard to project confidence when I know little about the industry or topic. I think it would just more time and experience to bring that confidence factor into my arsenal. However, nearing the entrance to my professional, I would need to work with what I have and know when to boast about my accomplishments.

  The weakness question is a very clever way of knowing who toots their own horn. However, answered correctly can be a matter of getting the job or not. Employers do want to know who we are and our weaknesses. I really like the idea of answering the question with a personal weakness, not so much work-related. I think the best way to answer this question is to either show that in a certain situation, your weakness was your strength or show what you are doing to improve on your weakness.

• 23. Tara Millard  |  March 5th, 2011 at 9:05 pm

  I found this WSJ to reflect my own view in many educational and workplace situations, although I was unsure of the stance the author was taking. While these tactics were discussed with annoyance (rightfully so), the end result was generally success in the workplace. I find tooting your own horn to be an art, one that most people struggle with.

  I must admit that I have seen many of the tactics discussed executed by my superiors and co-workers, and they do, in fact, work. While tooting your own horn can be an annoyance, it is a crucial part of building a successful career. If you can’t convince others of your competence, why would a boss or potential boss believe you possessed the needed skills to successfully compete in the workplace. If a person is capable of tooting their own horn, then they will most likely possess the necessary skills to toot the horn of the company itself and thus sell it to potential employees and customers.

  Regardless of the skills one possesses, these skills are useless if you cannot convince others of them. This post mentions that the point of an interview is for the interviewer to find out who you are. Approaching an interview in too modest a manner will make you appear closed off and dissolve the opportunity for the interviewer to gain a glimpse into whom you are as a person and a professional.

  We all love to hate the overzealous “horn tooter,” but our annoyance doesn’t stop them from flying up the ladder passed all of their humble peers.

• 24. Amanda Podesta  |  March 5th, 2011 at 9:09 pm

  The “Questions to Make a Monkey out of you” reminded me of the Oatmeal’s interpretation of Interview Questions: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/interview_questions. It’s a bit crude but I think anyone who’s going through interviews will resonate with some of the replies.

  The March 2011 news, may be that US’s monthly unemployment rate dipped (from 9% to 8.9%), http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12648347, but in the hiring world, it sure doesn’t feel that the fierce competitive environment out there has allayed for [soon-to-be] recent graduates.

  I agree with Professor Carr:
  include the China trip on the CV if you think it is more impressive/logical than what it would be replacing on your CV. If not, at the very least, figure out a segue to jump off one of the questions you’re most likely to be asked to mention the trip. This China trip is a huge feather in the cap to differentiate yourself from other candidates.

  But I offer a caveat to this as well:
  For our Marketing class, we did an Ethics case in which a recent employee had sold herself as a China expert. Her company’s superiors internalized this in-house expertise and understandably put her in charge of managing a complication from an Asian account. The rest of the case then follows the downward spiral of communication and goodwill between these two transpacific parties. I would be careful to make the distinction in interviews that while “we visited small, medium and large companies in key Chinese cities (Shenzhen, Shanghai, Beijing), studying global business practices of American, Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean and European firms,” etc. that these does not translate into experience with doing business in China.

• 25. Ben Raymond  |  March 9th, 2011 at 1:44 pm

  When colleagues of mine start sucking up to superiors and tooting their own horn, they definitively remind of the little kids I wanted to beat up in elementary school. Few things get under my skin more, I lose respect for them and immediately write them of as suck-ups. Which is why I make a conscious effort not to obnoxiously toot my own horn. I am finding out that this can have its drawbacks as well. There is a time and a place and the WSJ article game some good examples of what and what not to do. I definitely see the importance of being able to clearly articulate your strengths, and your weaknesses for that matter. The weakness question is a tough one and one that I have been thinking about a lot recently. Providing a weakness that is a real weakness and at the same time will not come off as a deal breaker is a real challenge. The best advice I have been given is to provide something that you have recently improved upon and explain clearly how you are taking steps to continue improving.

  I too am currently trying to figure out how to work the China trip into my resume. There is a lot of interest in China and I think it will be a great conversational topic in interviews. The take-aways from this trip will be valuable in responding to interview questions and I think it will be impressive that we have experience with business in China.

• 26. Matt Streiter  |  March 11th, 2011 at 1:21 pm

  I love the airport test , and I have been put to the test in a number of situations. Being that I am a relatively good talker when I have to be, I have had pretty good success. Overall I think that it is always good to ask off-the-wall questions like that because most people have their answers memorized to the basic interview questions (I know I do). Beyond that, having the competency to perform the job is definitely important but most people don’t want a bunch of stiffs roaming around the office and meeting with clients with awkward silence making a frequent appearance.

  Regarding the horn blowers, yes they are annoying. I have encountered many of these people and to my experience they are throwing out information that is common or ideas that they heard from others. It is interesting because half the horn blowers I have seen get the promotion left their boss disappointed when they entered their new position. I personally am not much of a meaningless self-promoter but when I have something to say I make it count. Co-workers and peers have been able to pick up my value added through what I say when I do contribute even though I am not over bearing which makes me come off as more respectable in their eyes. So for all those horn blowers who love to hear themselves talk, I hope you can back it up!

  Oh, and the writing in pencil instead of pen is hilarious, never thought about that.

• 27. Kyle R.  |  March 11th, 2011 at 8:29 pm

  This post really emphasizes when and where to mention your credentials. Jared Sandberg’s article also shed light on the various way that a person can climb the corporate ladder, simply by making tactical moves. I do agree with him in that overdoing some of these measures can negatively impact your career. From my perspective, it really bothers me when people mindlessly talk just to simply get noticed. I’ve worked for companies in the past where you can tell that an employee is just “sucking up” to the boss, when in reality, they are a completely different person when the boss is not around.

  In regards to listing the China trip on your resume, I feel it is definitely a must. It may not be necessary if a fellow MBA student has years of experience working in/with China already listed in their resume. I highly doubt that’s the case though. I have the China trip listed on my resume, and plan to cater it to a prospective employer. It has been a great talking point in interviews so far, and after we return, it will be even more valuable. All of us attend the MBA program to distinguish us in the workforce, listing the China trip on our resumes is another method of doing just that.

• 28. J Vail  |  March 14th, 2011 at 12:34 pm

  I, like several others, detest people tooting their own horn (which I think is the nicest term to describe the activities involved). I think that the caliber of work and performance should be evaluated on a broader scale than personal comparisons. I also feel that sometimes people toot said horns to cover-up or distract from what they actually produce. It is always important to show your ‘best side’ to your employer, but when you drag other co-workers down you are detrimental to the company as a while.

  As far as the other posts, I enjoyed the quick hits that had some valuable information in them. The ways to handle the ‘personal weakness’ question in interviews was helpful; the last time I was asked that question I was honest in telling them I try to avoid confrontation (and subsequently didn’t get the job). The points on how to display the China trip on a resume were also useful – I was just wondering a few days ago how to tackle that exact problem. That, and how to describe it to potential employers makes me a lot more confident in ways to describe the trip in the future.

• 29. Chris F.  |  March 17th, 2011 at 2:29 pm

  I thought these articles are very relevant to my situation right now as a soon to be graduate student who is currently seeking employment. I was kind of put-off by the WSJ article about office grandstanders; are people really this political in the corporate world? I guess that is something that you don’t face in academia since things in this sheltered world are primarily based off of merit. It makes it seem that in order to get that promotion, you will have to annoy or throw your co-workers under the proverbial bus to get ahead. But to get noticed by the boss, I guess you’ll have to “blow your own horn” a bit. I just would be hesitant about using some underhanded ploys to beat out a peer; I could never be comfortable in compromising my integrity for money and power.

  As far as interviewing for companies, my recent experiences have taught me that companies love to ask those hypothetical questions and see how you handle them. I definitely found them to be thought provoking (i.e. they were hard) and were probably a good way to assess how well I think on my feet or respond to new situations. I strongly believe in the weakness question because no one is perfect - we are all human beings and as such, will make mistakes. But I like how the article states that you should flip that weakness answer into an action statement or as a catalyst for continuously improving oneself.

  As far as how I would put my China trip experience on a CV, I wouldn’t know until I experience the trip. But I think it would be something to note - perhaps worthy of a bullet note or two. If anything it would be something that I could talk about as a person who is (somewhat) knowledgeable of events and cultures outside of the American one.

• 30. JP Salazar  |  March 18th, 2011 at 12:10 am

  Interesting concept presented in the first article. I think that in today’s job market, getting any advantage you can is important. To survive you really have to show the value you can add to a company. But the techniques that the article talks about seem really petty to me. They are all superficial in nature. In our negotiations class we discussed a technique called puffery in which you talk up your ideas and stance. This seems very similar and we learned that this type of stance can really affect the relationship between the parties involved. It’s true that no one really likes the grandstander, but the article makes a good point that being liked is not a requirement for management. In my opinion, I think the best way to prove your worth is through your work. It should speak for itself without any help from you. At the same time, no one is looking out for you, so sometimes it is important to grandstand a bit, just so your work can get the attention it deserves.
  The idea of the “airport test” was great. When applying for a job, employers are faced with seemingly endless number of resumes and applications that are essentially the same. The one chance you as a potential employee really has to stand out and let the employer know who you are is in an interview. This is how the employer gets to know you and decide if they can work with you in the future. It opened my eyes to a new way of thinking about answering questions in a interview. It is not always about what you are saying, but how you are saying it.

• 31. Omar Pradhan  |  March 18th, 2011 at 2:21 pm

  I certainly plan to find a way to fold my China trip experience into my CV. I will no doubt have better ideas about how to craft it once the journey is finalized. I absolutely believe that employers will be looking to hire based on international business experience. As to the two WSJ articles, I’ve worked in places where office grandstanders have sucked the joy out of a workplace. It is human nature I suppose. My weakness is having little tolerance for these folks and the politics they play. This is why I will do extra due diligence in searching for a company to work within that has a strong culture and low tolerance for these cancerous “self-promoters.” As to the point about practicing for interviews and knowing how to channel the wisdom of Professor Cialdini (one of my all-time favorite authors and speakers: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjA4NjE4NTQ0.html)…the principle of likeability and competence come full circle on the point about how to market our China Business Tour experience.

• 32. Vladimir  |  January 28th, 2012 at 11:52 pm

  I heard several psychology professors say that interviewing is not a good way to predict job performance. One told me that a better way would be to check their experience and ask them questions that pertain to the job. I agree. As a hiring manager I would give the candidate some typical job tasks and see how he or she performs. But since the interview is part of the process, we need to be ready. I don’t think the question about the most controversial belief is appropriate for almost any position, and the response about cars coming without safety devices didn’t impress me. I might respond, “Hmmm, I’d have to think about that.” The interview largely tests preparation and preparation is a sign of a serious candidate.

  The cubicle culture article mentions likeability and competence, but both help one get hired. If a hiring manager doesn’t like you, he’s looking for a reason to not hire you. If he likes you, he’s looking for a reason to hire you. After getting the job, show what you can do, don’t brag about it. Annoying your co-workers can backfire. When one needs to make others aware of his competence he should do it without coming across as annoying.

  I’m thinking about putting the trip to China on my resume and I like the tips given for marketing it. It’s also a great differentiating experience to bring up in an interview, especially if I explain how it adds value to my position.

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