You have spent time writing a winning resume and applying for jobs, now it is time for the final stage, the job interview. They can be nerve-wracking and there are many traps that candidates fall into during the process.
However, correctly preparing for a job interview can significantly improve your chances of success. If you can anticipate which questions will be asked, you will not be caught out by surprise questions and be able to give considered answers.
Knowing how to use your resume for a job interview can help you anticipate and improve your performance in the interview.
If you haven’t yet created a professional-looking resume, our AI-powered resume builder can help you get started. It’ll help you create a polished, tailored resume and organize your achievements and skills clearly, making it easier to prepare for common interview questions.
Research the Company
Doing some homework on the company is essential. Go onto the company’s website and find out as much as you possibly can about them before the first interview. If you appear not to know anything about the company, it will seem like you’re uninterested in the job.
Definitely don’t rely just on the company website research though. Look them up online – read articles about them or written by them, watch YouTube videos about the company made by third parties or videos of the company’s executives.
Check out their social media profiles – what message are they trying to put forth? What are they posting and tweeting? Can your experience be relevant to one of their current initiatives?
Researching the company ahead of time will help you target your answers to fit what the employer is looking for, it will also help you to ask some insightful questions in the latter stages of the interview.
Prepare Answers for Resume Based Interview Questions
First of all, make sure you know your resume backwards. Familiarizing yourself with every detail will help you prepare for common resume-based interview questions, such as gaps in employment or specific accomplishments.
Secondly, the trick is to imagine you are the employer looking at your resume. Often employers follow the resume in a job interview or prepare the interview using the resume.
What questions would you ask? Have you got any unexplained gaps on your resume? By anticipating the job interview questions, it will be easy to prepare answers.
Thinking of a good answer to an interview question is easy when you have time and are not under pressure. Try to anticipate as many of the questions as possible to avoid finishing the interview wishing you had answered a question differently. This is a key part of how to prepare for a job interview.
💡Top Insight
Did you know that, on average, a single corporate job posting receives 250 applications, but only 4-6 candidates are invited for an interview?
This means that by the time you’ve landed an interview, you’re already in a highly selective group. To make the most of this opportunity, use your resume effectively during the conversation.
Use Your Resume as a Storytelling Tool
Your resume is the story of your career, showing where you’ve been, what you’ve achieved, and where you’re headed.
Think of your resume as a script that helps you confidently share your journey in a way that captivates the interviewer. If you know how to use your resume for an interview effectively, you’ll be able to tell a compelling story about your career path.
Tell a cohesive career story
Every great story has a beginning, middle, and end—and so does your career. Use your resume to connect the dots between your roles and experiences.
Highlight how each job built on the last, showcasing your growth and the skills you’ve gained along the way.
For example, if you started in an entry-level role and worked your way up to leadership, emphasize the steps you took to get there. This shows not only your ambition but also your ability to learn and adapt.
Focus on the “why” behind each move. Why did you take that job? What did you learn? How did it prepare you for this opportunity? This approach helps the interviewer see a clear progression and understand how your past experiences make you a great fit for their team.
Address career transitions or gaps
Career changes or gaps can feel tricky to explain, but they’re also opportunities to show resilience and adaptability. If you’ve switched industries or roles, emphasize the skills that carried over and made you successful in both contexts.
If, for example, you moved from teaching to project management, talk about how your ability to plan lessons and manage classrooms translated into organizing teams and meeting deadlines.
For gaps in employment, concentrate on what you did during that time to grow personally or professionally. Maybe you took courses, volunteered, or worked on freelance projects. Be honest but confident when discussing these periods.
Use STAR method examples
The STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) is a simple yet powerful way to bring your resume to life during an interview. It’s especially useful for explaining achievements listed on your resume in detail.
Here’s how it works:
- Situation: Start by setting the scene. What challenge or opportunity were you facing?
- Task: What was your specific role or responsibility?
- Action: What steps did you take to address the situation?
- Result: What was the outcome? Whenever possible, include numbers or tangible results.
Example: Resume bullet “Improved customer satisfaction scores by 20%.”
STAR explanation example
At my previous company (Situation), I noticed that customer complaints about response times were increasing (Task). I proposed and implemented a new ticketing system to prioritize urgent requests (Action), which reduced average response times by 30% and improved customer satisfaction scores by 20% within six months (Result).
Practicing STAR stories for key achievements on your resume will help you answer behavioral interview questions confidently while keeping the conversation focused on your successes.
Bring Your Resume to Life During the Interview
During the interview, it’s your job to take the words on the page and turn them into a dynamic discussion that leaves a lasting impression. You can achieve this with the tips below.
Walk through key sections
When asked to “tell me about yourself” or “walk me through your resume,” don’t just read it line by line.
Instead, focus on the highlights that are most relevant to the role you’re interviewing for. Start with your most recent experience and explain how it prepared you for this opportunity.
Then, touch on earlier roles that contributed to your growth or helped you develop key skills.
Example
“In my current role as a marketing coordinator, I’ve been responsible for managing campaigns that increased website traffic by 25%. Before that, I worked in sales, where I honed my ability to understand customer needs—something that’s been invaluable in crafting targeted marketing strategies.”
This approach connects your experience to what the employer is looking for.
Anticipate follow-up questions
Interviewers will often dig deeper into specific points on your resume, so be ready with detailed examples.
To prepare, review your resume and think about potential questions for each bullet point.
Practice answering them with concrete examples. If you wrote that you “improved efficiency by 15%,” be ready to explain how you identified inefficiencies and what steps you took to address them.
Being prepared does not mean memorizing answers. Simply know your experiences well enough to talk about them naturally.
Use visual aids (if applicable)
Sometimes, showing is better than telling. If your work involves projects, designs, or data analysis, consider bringing visual aids like a portfolio or printed examples of your work.
These can help illustrate your accomplishments in a way that words alone can’t.
For instance:
- A graphic designer might bring printed samples of their designs.
- A project manager could share a one-page summary of a successful project.
- A data analyst might include charts or graphs showing measurable results.
Make sure any materials you bring are professional and easy to reference during the conversation. If you’ve prepared thoroughly, you’ll be ready to answer any job interview questions based on your resume and expand on key points with confidence.
Analyze the Job and Match Your Skills
Read carefully through the job posting and compare it with your resume to identify how your skills and experience match what the employer is looking for. This is an important step in learning how to prepare your resume for an interview.
Using your resume, think about your strengths and how they match those wanted by the company. Think of specific, tangible examples when you have demonstrated skills and abilities and prepare yourself to talk about them. Make sure you use STAR format when preparing these examples.
The interviewer will ask you to give examples of when you have shown certain qualities. This preparation technique of using your resume to prepare for a job interview will help you to answer job-specific interview questions.
Practice the Job Interview Using Your Resume
The main thing you want to avoid is being caught out and having to rack your brains for job interview answers. Review typical job interview questions and spend time practicing answering them. Follow our top job interview tips to make sure you are fully prepared.
Think about how to answer job interview questions about your resume, focusing on examples that demonstrate your strengths and achievements.
Ask someone you know to give you a mock job interview using your resume and the list of questions you have prepared. If it is a phone interview, do it over the phone or if it is a video interview, do it via Zoom or Google Hangouts to practice.
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