Why You Need to Know Your Experiences
- Dajahi Wiley
- Jul 18, 2017
- 2 min read
What do I mean by "you need to know your experiences"?
You, after all, are the one who experienced them. How would you not know them?
I agree that you are the one who experienced them, of course, but I want to challenge you on the second point. How well do you really know your experiences?
Many people who go through job, college, or graduate school interviews stumble on questions related to what exactly they did and learned in a certain position, how their experiences tie in to each other, and how their experiences prepared them for the opportunity for which they are interviewing. Although it is impossible to prepare for every possible question, your starting point should be asking yourself those basic questions about your experiences (especially the experiences mentioned and detailed on your resume and in your cover letter).
What exactly did you do and accomplish in Position A?
Position B was quite different from Position A. How did you manage that transition?
What skills did you pick up from both of those positions that prepared you for Opportunity X?
Figuring out the answers to these questions will allow you to provide confident responses in interviews and will also help you construct a larger career and life narrative. Knowing the answers to basic questions like these will give you the conversational dexterity to answer unexpected, unpredictable questions related to your experience that the interviewer may ask. And, more generally, you will be saving yourself from unnecessary stumbles that can sink your chances of receiving an offer.
As you grow in your career, hobbies, and other spheres of your life, always think about how your experiences fit together. Know your professional story. Know your life story.
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