Successful Interviewing

Snagging a Corporate Career vs. Re-Entry into the Corporate Workforce

by Deb Kloeppel, MSCCN (Military Spouse Corporate Career Network)

Is there a difference in the interview process when you’re going after a corporate job in your professional field of expertise, compared with a re-entry into the corporate workforce? Obviously, yes. But the number of military-spouse applicants who are turned away from jobs because they failed to know the difference would surprise you.

Re-entry into your corporate field of expertise takes the power of knowing and negotiating realistic expectations. Corporate recruiters wouldn’t have called you in for an interview if you didn’t possess the skill sets necessary to perform the job. The same is true for the six other applicants competing for the job you want. What re-entry applicants need to prove to the recruiter is their ability to outperform, outthink and outwork the applicants the recruiter has interviewed (and will interview) for the job.

Corporate recruiters are looking for star producers when a job attracts multiple applicants. If your work history indicates a break in the work cycle, and you’re competing for a highly sought-after job, you must shine to the recruiter as a star producer. Star producers show up early; contribute fully; make themselves indispensable to the team; and become the “go-to” person regarding clients, team members and supervisors. Use these terms to a corporate recruiter if you’re re-entering the corporate workforce.