This is the Business English Podcast, Episode 110, A Hack to Ace Your Next Job Interview in English.
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Hello, Michelle. How's it going? Hey, Lindsay.
How are you? Excellent. Excellent. I'm excited to be back on Business English.
Michelle, what are we talking about today in the business world?
Well, we're going to talk about a new concept that I learned about from the Wall Street Journal podcast, right?
What's that one called, Lindsay? Well, the new concept.
Are we talking about the kudos folder? Yes.
Well, we're talking about something from the Wall Street Journal podcast.
And what is the name of the podcast? The Wall Street Journal podcast is called.
Well, the one I listen to is the journal.
But the one you're talking about is as we work.
As we work. Yeah, right. So we did a an episode using this episode of the podcast before a little bit.
It was called how to nab a new job without tipping off your current boss.
So that was from January 24th, 2023. And from that same episode, there was something that I felt was really special that I wanted to talk about today for our listeners.
So that episode, we spoke about finding a job when you have one, right?
And this was, guys, if you want to listen to the Business English episode about this, we talked about this on episode 98 was how to find a job when you have a job.
So listen to that. But this one is really unique and fun.
So This is going to help you guys with your resumes on job interviews, lots of things.
And I thought this was such a good idea that I had never thought of.
And we're going to talk to you about this expression today.
So you said it, Lindsay, it's a kudos folder or a kudos file.
First, let's talk about what is the problem.
And again, the author of that article came up with the term kudos, and we can... think today about what else we could call it.
You can call it a lot of things, but let's first talk, Michelle, what is the problem that a kudos folder or file might solve that we all share?
We all share this problem. being forgetful of the things that you accomplish.
I mean, if you have to talk about maybe your strengths on a job interview, or maybe you're updating your resume, and they're all sorts of things that you want to do, maybe it's projects you've done or feedback you've received, whatever it may be, it's forgetfulness.
I mean, we don't take that time to really reflect on on the things that we've accomplished until we need to.
And then it's hard to remember everything in the moment.
And then it's hard to remember. Yeah. And I think we all share that.
I think this is true also for brands, products, and people.
People, when they're applying for new jobs or looking to network, it is really hard.
When you're in the heat of the moment, you see that job listing.
It looks like your dream job. You go ahead and fire off that application because you need to get it in on time.
But then it... So inevitably, what you're going to put down as the reasons they should hire you, and we always tell you guys, we've got to be very specific in our applications.
Why? What are the metrics that you drove forward?
How did you increase sales? How did you increase profits?
Companies need to know this. Otherwise, it's not as interesting to them, right?
So it's kind of like a collection of case studies of how you brought value to your company.
Mm hmm. So, yes. So, guys, this we did not make this up.
This is from Michelle Reisdorf at Robert Half.
So she says that that's what she calls it.
So, again, you can call it and we can throw around some other ideas later.
But, yeah, you want to make sure that you have things ready in that situation.
So she says that that's why she has it. Yeah.
Because she's she also mentions that, like, if you're maybe even lacking some experience in what you're applying for, you can really use this to help you.
Yeah. So she said this is good for, let's say, she mentions awards or getting somebody pays attention to a project she did or whatever it is.
She just gathers it all together and then she can look later and use it when she needs to.
Yeah. And I would encourage you guys, take the extra step.
Let's say you lead a campaign, a marketing campaign, and you are the thinker behind that.
You're the strategist. And then the campaign ends.
Take the extra step to get the data on success.
Get that data. What was the brand lift that was created for your company?
What were the sales? Go to your head and get that information and put that in the file.
Because what we're missing when we go and apply, if we don't have our kudos file, is we don't have data.
And data is actually what gets you hired.
You got to be specific, right? No one likes to read a cover letter where someone says, I feel I'm the best person for this position.
They're going to throw that right in the trash.
Right. That's not showing anything. I actually was just working with a student earlier on, you know, the idea of of these job interview answers where you have to say a different story where you have to tell a story or in situation.
Guys, again, like Lindsay said, you have to be specific.
So, you know, we were talking about very general example.
As I said, we have to be more and more and more specific, have a specific story.
So it might not even just be for kudos. Sometimes like think of the typical job interview questions, even when they talk about a challenge that you've overcome or something like that.
Maybe you keep a couple different folders, right?
A couple different files and say like, Maybe there was something difficult at work and you overcame it.
Keep that. Write that down. Keep it somewhere.
Maybe we put together a spreadsheet and the spreadsheet has all the common interview questions.
And then it's an ongoing database that you're just entering information.
Right. And then how amazing is it when that dream job comes up?
All you got to do is go to your database, guys.
I love it. By the way, Michelle, I think we got to stop right now and talk about kudos.
The word kudos. Why the heck are we naming this after a candy bar?
I used to love kudos. Kudos. What was a kudos bar, by the way?
Do they still make those? I don't even think I've seen.
I think they might have gone off the market.
I have not even seen a kudos bar. I haven't seen them in years, but I thought about those too.
In years. What is it? Okay. Tell me. Tell me about this.
Why kudos? Why? Where does this come from?
The dictionary defines kudos as praise and honor needed, received for an achievement.
So I was thinking maybe on All Ears English, we'll just... Yeah, I think we should.
I think we should. Take this word and go more into it.
So guys, look out for that. So yeah, but it's praise.
So that's what it is. Michelle, 2017. 2017 is the year in which kudos disappeared from the market.
Oh, really? So then I wonder if our expression, which we'll tell you guys about another day on Allers English, that's why you should hit follow on Allers English.
I wonder if that expression, you know, I give you kudos or you get kudos for this.
I wonder if that will also go out of style as the bars have gone off the market.
Yeah. We're going to say Snickers. You get Snickers.
Snickers file. You get Snickers. You get a Milky Way.
Twix file. Right. So, yeah. Again, guys, we said this keeps you organized, helps you remember, and gives you really specific data, like Lindsay said.
Yes. And I think this like, you know, like we said, could be used also, you know, that asks you about strengths and weaknesses.
Just this was just going to keep you organized, especially for those really tricky questions.
So, Lindsay, is there anything that you would put in the All Ears English kudos file?
Oh, my gosh. Yeah, we do have a kudos file for All Ears English.
Actually, we have a folder. It's a little disorganized.
I'm not going to lie. There's no spreadsheet.
We've instructed our listeners to do. But there is a file in which, you know, when we get an email from a student that says they love the podcast or when we get featured by Apple, we are featured recently in Canada, our entire channel, All Ears English on the homepage of Apple Canada.
And We've been ranked number one in the US for language learning, all these good things.
We do have a place to put those and we do collect those.
And so when we talk to sponsors, advertisers, partners, we pull those out.
It's not always in the most organized format, but we do go halfway, I would say.
Okay, okay. Well, that's something. I don't know.
I wonder if I started doing this, if it would feel strange at first, just gathering all this information on myself and things I've done.
But yeah, and I think I should start doing this.
I don't know, because... I don't know. I'm not looking for a job at all, but it's just good to like have.
And also, you know, if you ever like even guys, if you're not necessarily looking for a job, sometimes you have to have a bio for your job.
And so this might give you some things where you can talk about yourself or let's say you're being interviewed for something.
It's just good to have this information all at your fingertips.
Yeah. Yeah. You know, sometimes I use my LinkedIn profile as my kudos file, which is messy, right?
It's messy. So every time I go on another podcast to talk about podcasting, I do make those guest appearances sometimes.
I'll go and add the show, but I run out of space and I've probably cluttered up my whole LinkedIn profile.
You know what I mean? It's not the best way.
So instead, you want to have your own database and then you choose the most important things that you want to put up there.
So, yeah. Right. So, Lindsay, how can you remember if somebody thinks, oh, well, I'm never going to remember to do that?
What are some things that they can do? I really think you just need to have you just need to kind of have this in mind.
You always kind of need to have and this goes back to what we've talked about on this show and Allers English, a bit of a self-promotional angle on things.
You need to be out for yourself. That's a good expression, Michelle.
What does that mean? out for yourself like your advocate basically you're looking for looking to get ahead for yourself you're paying attention yeah and it doesn't mean that you don't believe in the team you don't believe in the company it doesn't mean that you put yourself first it means there's always an angle a side of you thinking okay what do i need to pull from this for my career abercrombie's viral denim sale is back and spotify listeners get an extra 15 off with code spotify af Abercrombie is known for their denim.
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Exclusions apply. See details online. Right, right, right, right.
Exactly. So that's good. So you can set aside a date every two weeks or every month, put it in your calendar, right?
Maybe just like every, if you're not going to remember it every time, every couple of weeks or every few, you know, every month or two, just say, okay, I'm going to take 10 minutes and look through and see if there's anything I can add to this.
Or you could put a sticky note on your desk that says like kudos or like whatever it is.
It's Something, yeah, Snickers, so that you can remember it in the moment, just something that's always going to be there.
But the point is you never know when you might need it, and then you'll be prepared, and you might have things to talk about or a list of things that you would have forgotten about otherwise.
But, Lindsay, if we don't want to call it a kudos folder or a Snickers folder, what's something that you could call it?
Oh, my gosh, that's a good – a praise folder, right?
A praise folder or a – I don't know. What about like, what about as a joke, like a bragging folder?
Yeah. Bragging rights. You could call it bragging rights.
It's another expression in English. I love it.
I call it Mickey Mouse if you want, right?
Yeah. Anything you want. Yeah. You don't have to call it what this woman calls it, but it is her idea.
So thank you to her. And yeah, this, this, yeah, whatever you want to, whatever you want to call it.
So yeah. Yeah. What's the takeaway for our listeners?
What is the core idea that we want to remember today, Michelle?
Well, Lindsay, I think it's what you said about the personal brand.
It's not necessarily just for getting a new job.
This is a hack that is good to just keep an inventory of yourself so that when you need to kind of show off, whether it's a job interview, somebody's writing an article about you, maybe it's even someone's doing an informational interview when you want to be able to you know, share a little bit about your work and the things you've done in the past, whatever it may be.
It's just a really good hack to keep yourself organized so you can remember all these amazing things or even not so amazing things like we talked about having a strengths, having a weaknesses folder or times when you've overcome a problem, times when you've worked well with a team, whatever it is, just keep it organized in that database.
And that will really, really help you in the future.
I think I'm going to start doing this. Yeah, because the fact is, it's not just about the stats that we said earlier.
It's also about the way, the confidence with which you convey those stats in your next interview.
Let's say that's five years down the road.
If you vaguely think back, oh, I think I did something great for this company five years ago, but I'm not really sure who the client was and what the numbers were.
You're not going to have any confidence when you talk about that story in your next job interview.
That's the problem. We're really looking for, because confidence comes from data.
It doesn't come from magical thinking, affirmations or throwing your hands in the air and jumping around, Michelle.
It comes from data and we need this data.
So that's what we're doing here. We're building our confidence for our next job interview.
Yeah. Okay. Love it. Well, I think, I think that wraps it up for today.
Thanks guys for listening and yeah, get that folder started.
Go for it. I love it. Good stuff, Michelle.
I will talk to you very soon. Have a good day.
All right. Bye. Bye. Thank you for listening to Business English, a podcast just for you, the high achieving global professional.
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