Answering “How Do You Keep Up with Your Industry?” Interview Question

November 17th, 2012 by lewis

At a recent interview, a client thought he did poorly on the “How do you keep up with your industry?” question.  He wanted to get my thoughts on this question.

From the interviewer’s perspective, they want to know that you are passionate about the industry.  Someone who loves their job is willing to put in extra effort.  Furthermore, staying abreast of industry trends is helpful in assessing new customer and market opportunities.  In short, it makes you a better employee!  And the interviewer themselves may be struggling to keep track of the industry.  Impress them with a new tool or process that makes it easier for them to get industry knowledge.

As the job candidate, convince the interviewer that you do keep with the industry.  In other words, be credible.

I’d recommend that job candidates respond using the rule of 3.  That is, cite three different ways that you keep up with the industry.  In case it helps, I’ve offered a list of ideas below.  Then to make your answer even more credible, explain why each tool or process is effective for you.  Here’s an example:

“I keep up with my industry in 3 main ways: 1) subscribing to industry newsletters, 2) attending monthly meetups, and 3) following thought leaders on Twitter.  SmartBrief is an excellent industry newsletter that summarizes news, stats and trends in my industry every morning.  Monthly meetups not only opens up new ideas, but also creates opportunities to forge new connections.  Lastly, my Twitter feed is a real-time view on what top thought leaders are currently reading.”

10 ways to keep up with your industry

If you liked this article, let us know by clicking Like.

  • Comments Off on Answering “How Do You Keep Up with Your Industry?” Interview Question

Comments are closed.