What Skills Are You Lacking?

[JeffAltmanCoach]

 

 

SUMMARY

Today, I have one of those tough interview questions. I think it’s pretty easy, but there’s a hitch to it. And I want to get to the hitch in a second. The question is, “what skills are you lacking?”  Now, you’ve looked at the job description. So, you know where the deficiencies are but the trick that you might have with this  . . . And I’ll use an IT term and just follow with me if you’re not in technology  . . . Java.

So, if they’re looking for a Java developer and they say, “what skills are you lacking,” Java is an incredibly broad area. The next tech skill will be an incredibly broad area from an accounting or an engineering standpoint. There’s ways to break it down to demonstrate how incredibly broad the knowledge needs to be.

Thus, when you’re asked, “what skills are you lacking,” and they’re asking about Java, you might just simply say, “you know, it always depends on what the client is looking for and the specifics of a background and I don’t know that yet. So, could you talk with me about what you’re looking for in the way of experience with . . .  Fill in the blank.”

What that does is it turns the question back on them to define what they’re looking for so that, in this way, you can respond to the question. So, that’s the first thing.

And, for people who are more senior, the next part of this is to look at three basic areas that will help define the upside of your career– strategy, the business knowledge and accounting knowledge (  Financial knowledge that goes into the work that you do). 

For example, if you’re a director who’s looking to up your game to the next level, you know, you might also speak about, not knowing what they need in the way of strategy knowledge or accounting knowledge or knowledge of the business.

So, for example, let’s say you’re moving from one bank to another or one line of business at a bank to another line of business at another bank. One thing you might simply say, you know, “I don’t know the line of business. I’m working on something related, but I’ve worked in a different business unit where I’m expert at that and I’m sure there are things that are convertible to your group . . . But, I don’t have the business knowledge that someone who’s worked in the field for 10 years might have.”

What you are doing is self-critiquing and what how you’re presenting your answer becomes important because you’re turning it back on them to define for you what it is they’re looking for, to either say, ” yeah. I haven’t done that one yet but what I’ve done is kind of related.” 

It’s kind of like when they ask you the question about something that you don’t know. The classic answer (which I don’t really care for) is, ” but I’m sure I could learn. ” Well here what you’re doing is talking about something related that’s similar so that, in this way, is not identical. It’s comparable.

Attachments:

You must be logged in to access attached files.

[Author]

Posts