Edit, edit, edit

Recruiters often have a big problem with candidates who are so desperate not to be misunderstood that all they want to do is explain everything. This might be on their CV - my record is 23 pages and I have no idea what it said after the first two. 6 seconds to make an impression? 2 pages, 650 words maximum, enough said. Or it might be in an interview. Any interviewer will know the sort, you asked the question "Tell me about your current role" and they start "Well, before I begin….". You know you're in trouble - they're probably going to go back to nursery school, take you through their education, their difficult time at university before their first apprenticeship, their marriage, their kids and all the holidays they've had before they eventually get back to talking about where they are at the moment. It is the fastest route to the exit door.  You have to be disciplined - if you are this sort of person then ask somebody else to listen to you. Get them to stop you every time you go off subject. Those old enough to remember it, or who have plugged into Dave, might have watched the Two Ronnies - the whole point of Ronnie Corbett sitting in his Red Chair going off at tangents was that it was a comedy.  It was meant to be funny and a caricature. But most of us are busy people, if we ask a question we would like a direct answer. So nowadays if somebody utters the dreaded words "Let me put it in context" I will stop them. I'm not interested in the context, otherwise I would have asked it myself. We all get annoyed at politicians dodging the question, you're not likely to get very far at interview if you do the same yourself. And you are not going to get as many laughs as Ronnie. Want to subscribe to this blog? click here.