6 Elements of Job Fit: Explain how well you match the job at interviews.

 As I started preparing this week’s post, a business acquaintance sent a DM asking me to call her. When I called, she told me I could make “a lot of money” selling her retirement savings program to my clients. While I am not opposed to making “lots of money,” I said “no thank you.”

The reason was simple. My experience, knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitude do not match, or fit with sales consulting roles.

Much of the time your fit for a job or project will not be clear to you or your prospective employer right away. You will have to do some analysis to figure out whether the job will fit you and then demonstrate the fit to the hiring team at an interview.

There are several strategies for analyzing whether you potentially fit a specific kind of job. An approach Susan Britton Whitcomb discusses in her Job Search Magic and Interview Magic books suggest considering specific aspects of job and career fit.  They are:

1. Job function, including your title, your competencies, and the job you want to do,
2. Industry, or the kind of place where you work or expect to work,
3. Things that matter, including your priorities in terms of salary, working conditions, location, ability to work remotely, etc.,
4. Fulfillment, or why you work,
5. Identity, or who you are and who you want to be, and
6. Type, or your personality type.

Career coaches sometimes refer to Function, Industry, and Things that Matter as your “external fit” with a job or career. These three concepts should be top-of-mind as you prepare because answers to these questions will help you and your prospective employer decide whether the job is a good fit.

The fulfillment you get from a job, how it affects your professional identity, and the job or career’s match with your personality type may be referred to as your “internal fit.” Job interviewers will want to know specifically how well you will fit their job based on your experience and training in a job function, your expertise in the industry, and the things that matter to you, including salary benefits, and working conditions. In other words, you will specifically discuss your external fit.

Your message at an interview should also address internal fit. Will you feel fulfilled at the job? Will the job match your professional identity? How well does the job match your personality type?

External fit is key for career communications.

It is difficult to make a convincing case for being hired, or even to create meaningful career communications and messaging strategies without targeting a specific job function. A job target includes the three elements of external fit: a job function, the industry in which you perform the function, and things that matter to you about your work—what geographic area you work in, and whether you work full-time, part-time, freelance, or at remote assignments, in addition to pay and benefits.

Function: One of the first questions I ask a prospective client is “what is your job function?” Once you have established your job function, your job search strategy documents—resume, LinkedIn profile, and job search letters—should demonstrate how your strengths, talents, and personality qualify you to fill the job. Then, when you are called for an interview, you will have to study the job description, so you are prepared to explain how your experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities fit with the job function the employer describes.

Industry: The industry or employment sector you specialize in will also differentiate you from other candidates in your career communications and interview messaging strategy. Presumably, if you have been called to an interview, your prospective employer believes you have at least the minimum amount of industry-related experience needed for the job. Now, you will have to convince interviewers that you are the best qualified for the job. Have accomplishment stories ready that are related to the industry you are now interviewing in. if you are coming from a different industry, but landed the interview anyway, you will need to relate your experience to the industry. The hiring team already saw at least a minimal match since you reached the interview. You will have to convince them that you are the best person for the job based on your experience outside their industry, though.

Things that Matter: Remember that employers are focused on things that matter to them rather than things that matter to you. As a result, you will have to read the job posting thoroughly for information about salary range, whether remote work is possible, and other aspects of the job that matter to you. 

Internal job and career fit is what makes you happy at work.

The extent to which you find fulfillment in your role, identify with your work, and the job also matches your personality could be crucial to your career success. Your career communications materials, though, will usually focus on external rather than internal factors. These are marketing documents that highlight how you meet the needs of your customer, your prospective employer—rather than how the employer will meet your needs. But you will want to address internal fit at the interview.

Fulfillment: Coaches relate fulfillment to questions such as why do you work, and what makes work rewarding for you? Employers are focused on their needs, not yours, but hiring teams may still ask related questions because they want to know how motivated you will be to do a good job for their customers.

Your interview message should communicate that you find roles such as the job you are interviewing for will be fulfilling for you. Consider telling the hiring team, for example, that you feel great satisfaction at the end of the day when you resolve a customer’s problem, or untangle a difficult tax, accounting, manufacturing, or other issue for the company.

Identity: Your identity, from a career point of view, can be thought of as an adjective you use to describe yourself. For example, are you an entrepreneurial engineer or a “closer” as a salesperson?

We avoid excessive use of adjectives in resumes and their associated interview accomplishment stories, but you should have your adjective top-of-mind for the interview. Consider, though, whether the adjective you use to describe yourself will work for the role. For example, is a public sector agency looking for employees with entrepreneurial mindsets? If your only authentic response is that you are an entrepreneur, you will have to explain how your entrepreneur’s mind can adapt to a bureaucratic role.

Type: Career professionals refer to personality type as measured through a variety of assessment tools. If you have taken a validated personality or interest inventory such as DISC, MBTI, or SDS. It could be appropriate to briefly include those results on your resume and at interviews. Those results will bolster your case if, for example, they show you have an entrepreneurial personality, and you are seeking work in entrepreneurial organizations.

A cautionary note is in order here, though. Career assessments typically measure characteristics such as your communications style. They may compare your results to other people in specific industries and occupations. No assessment will tell you what job you should work at. They do not measure your aptitude for the work, either. But an assessment can help you prove your job fit by showing that your leadership or “power: skills match those mentioned in the job posting.

Our bottom line is that, for you to be successful, you should match yourself to the job and then explore whether or not the job or career matches your experience, knowledge, skills, abilities and attitudes. This strategy could help you avoid being among the half of all workers who are in jobs that do not fit them.