2 questions every job seeker should be ready to answer

Philip Friedman | Studio D

LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner sat down with O, The Oprah Magazine editor-at-large Gayle King at Hearst Tower.

The CEO’s questions are:

1. What is your dream job?
2. Looking back on your career, what do you want to say you accomplished?

Candidates who are able to provide solid answers to these big picture questions demonstrate that they’ve given their careers some serious thought, and that impresses him. (King made a point of jotting down his questions, saying she’d start asking them, too.)

“It always makes a strong impression on me when someone’s got real clarity with regard to that response,” Weiner tells her.

Of course, the answers to these questions can change over time, as many people will have second or third careers over the course of their working life. Jenny Blake, author of “Pivot: The only move that matters is your next one,” encourages young people not to worry about finding their one career passion, but instead explore subjects that interest them.

“If you don’t know exactly what that is,” the LinkedIn CEO says, “at least think about optimizing for two things, your passion and your skill, and not one at the exclusion of the other.”

Career experts encourage 20-somethings to take a series of steps to be prepared for the professional world, including knowing your elevator pitch and asking more experienced individuals for advice.