Ex-Microsoft HR executive's tip to job seekers before interview: Don’t say ‘I work hard’

A career coach who has worked with Microsoft in the US for 15 years, including as a senior director of human resources, has recently shared a few tips for professionals who are gearing up for a job interview. The top among them is when asked to elaborate on your strengths, don't say "I’m smart, I work hard and I get things done."

Sabina Nawaz says vague answers like this are a turn-off. “I cannot tell you the number of people who simply don’t get the basics right,” she told CNBC Make It.

Instead, she recommends breaking up your anecdotes into two parts: the problem and the solution. “Spend about 50 percent of your time outlining the problem and 50 perecent of the time outlining your strength,” Nawaz said. She also suggested starting with what your strength is and then explaining in detail what the problem was, how you solved it, and how it contributed to your success.

The former Microsoft executive, who runs her own consulting firm, said that when working with her clients, she curates a library of stories so that professionals have dozens of anecdotes at their disposal.