Standard Job Interview Questions - Continued

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His company promoted him twice during his time there, once into a management position that suited him only fairly well. He did not get the kind of training from his company that he felt he needed in order to manage people effectively. Still, he likes to help people make good decisions and he effectively led his team to create a clearer strategy for approaching new accounts. Mark seems to have a sixth sense for how to compound wealth. He knows how to spot trends and retreat from them just as they crest in profitability. He thinks he might one day become an estate planning attorney in a financial planning firm. Of course, he does not know what life will bring him. Mark does not want to constrict his options unnecessarily, and he certainly is not ready to settle down into a firm for the next ten years. 

Consider how Mark might answer standard questions effectively and ineffectively. 

Tell me about yourself.

Ineffective: I am a hard-worker who is good with numbers. After I worked as a financial analyst for a few years, I decided to go to law school. I just finished and now am looking for a new challenge.

Effective: I began developing skills relevant to financial planning when I worked as a financial analyst for three years. In that role, I succeeded in multiplying the wealth of my clients by carefully analyzing the market for trends. The return on the portfolios I managed was generally 2% more than most of the portfolios managed by my company. My initiative, planning, and analytic skills were rewarded by two promotions. As the manager of a team, I successfully led them to develop a more efficient and profitable strategy for dealing with new accounts. My subsequent training in the law, including tax law and estate law, gives me an informed view of what types of investments and charitable gifts would be most advantageous for your clients.