They're Not Out To Trip You, It's Simply To Find Out More About You and How You Handle Questions Off The Script
Let’s talk some more about interviews as it’s a molten hot job market out there
I want to talk about a question that doesn't really come up often in an interview, but I've often seen people get all nervous and stumble over this question
And the question is… what should I know about you that's not on your resume?
Firstly, no one's trying to catch you out or trying to find your secrets or hidden things
The question is often there to see how you handle awkward questions, or if you're willing to share more about you or maybe more of your outside-of-work personality
So, you can choose to answer this in several ways
One of the great ways is to talk about any volunteering you may do
If you volunteer and it's not on your resume (doesn't necessarily have to be) or you volunteer in an organisation that not many people know about then expand on that
In my case, for example, I volunteered for an organisation called Second Bite
Second Bite collects left over food from vendors at various markets and takes it to the Sacred Heart Mission
The Mission uses that excess food to cook meals for the homeless
I've always had a real affinity or desire to help homeless people and that started when I was really young
So, I would say, in the interview, I was affected by seeing homeless people on the streets of Cape town in South Africa where I grew up
I started working in homeless shelters in my teen years and when I migrated to Australia, I found something similar here
While it wasn’t work in a homeless shelter, I worked with an organisation aligned to feeding the homeless
This is how I shared something that wasn’t on my resume but also why I did what I did
It's not super important to have on your resume - but it gives you that human relatability during an interview
The other quirky thing I used to share when I got asked that question was - I'm a mad Harry Potter fan
And I would tell people that I simply loved JK Rowling's imagination, loved the style of writing and have all the Harry Potter books, have seen all the movies many times and absolutely loved that piece of literature
Or you could say something like I'm a Shakespeare fan, or I love Jane Austin, or I love to write poetry
Perhaps you coach a kids soccer team because you really love seeing children develop and you’re a mad soccer fan, so you've combined the two - that's something worth sharing that’s not on your resume
Share some of what motivates you, some of your passions, some of your interests so you come across as a well-rounded human
It’s not a difficult question and there’s no reason to get worried or think that someone's trying to find out something you’re hiding
They’re simply trying to see how you handle questions that are a little off the script and learn a bit more about you
So don't worry about the question
I've just given you a couple of ways of how you could answer that question so have some sample answers ready and go ace your next interview to get the job, pay and perks you deserve