Monday, August 27, 2018
How to stop rambling in job interviews
www.fastcompany.com: When I first heard I had scored an interview with Glassdoor, I was thrilled. I wasted no time practicing for the interview, and it’s a good thing too, considering that my first few practice rounds were a wreck. There were so many different points I wanted to touch on–my previous roles, my skills, my accomplishments, my alma mater, my work style–that I blathered on and on to cover them all in the mock interviews I did with my boyfriend. Thankfully, he pointed it out before I made the same mistake in my real interview.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Confusion or the act of rambling is a part and parcel of job interviews-- precisely because one doesn't know what questions might come his/her way from the other side. But often as it is, rambling is a major deal-breaker during job interviews. Employers are aware that prospects are confused and nervous, but they wont want to hire someone who gives into their ramblings.
Fortunately, there are certain strategies that can help someone in their ramblings during job interview. First and perhaps most effective strategy is to prepare for some common interview questions like "why do you want this job?" or "what is it that you bring to the table that will be uniquely benefit for the company?". One never knows what they are asked in an interview, but these questions directly connect the person with the company, hence having a oral framework for their answers is a good technique (Alison Green; Manager of Ask a Site). Having a good and prepared answer for each of these questions indicates to the interviewer that a person has worked hard for the interview. And interviewers like hard workers!
The next one, which I have myself used diligently in all my interviews is the art to not reply the next second when you are asked a question. Replying instantly can compromise the quality and length of your answer and make it seem like a bad poem. on the other hand, taking a pause and collecting your thoughts about the question results in a) a good answer b) a relaxed answer c) serve as medium for a normal back-and-forth exchange ("The Muse"). These accomplishments make the interviewers pay extra attention to your answers and chances are high that they might as well be impressed by your answer which can be a game changer.
Rambling is something common but is also an indicator of how someone is not on top of their game and are underconfident and unprepared something that interviewers wont want to see in their employees.
What I found the most interesting in this article was the fact, I suppose I already knew, that when one is talking in a controlled/critical environment we are all bound to stumble. I like that that fact justifies and reassures the idea that no one can over prepare for an interview. Also, that preparation reduces a chance for rambling to occur, I ramble often so planning what I am going to say forces me off moot points. As for tip to not just list "I did this then this etc" I kind of already knew to do that. You are constructing your story like any good story so you have to carefully arrange your points to build up to the climax. Constructing your story in this way guarantees also that you keep rambling to a minimum. The only thing that raised an eyebrow with me is the idea that they will remember emotions. This is by all means true, but they suggested making them laugh as one of those ways. That is a big red flag especially in a formal business setting. If you truly have a handle on good comedy and it works in an interview that is gold, but there are much more damaging consequences if a joke falls flat then if you had just bit your tongue and acted like an adult.
I like the principle of the “career story” as a way to prevent from rambling, though I’m not as much of a fan of some of these examples. If I were interviewing someone for a project management position and they cited color coding their sock drawer as evidence of their passion for project management I would be concerned they don’t really understand the core of what project management is about, which, at least in my very limited experience, is not actually about liking your own space to be organized. This seems like a great format for writing a cover letter (and I will likely use this approach for my next batch of cover letters) but I’m not sure if it makes as much sense for approaching an interview. Given that interviews are more of a back and forth dialogue and you don’t know what the interviewer is going to ask, this formula only really works for “tell me about yourself”, and I do think this could work for “tell me about yourself”, though a four paragraph answer to “tell me about yourself” seems a bit long to me. With the unpredictable nature of interview questions, I think it might make more sense to have your career story in mind so that you can try to answer questions in a way that tie into and build that story. Having pre-planned answers to likely questions to avoid rambling is definitely important, but based on the example I’m not convinced this method doesn’t result in an answer that is longer than ideal for an interview.
I’m a person who can easily fall victim to over elaborating, from presentations/interviews to everyday life. Desiring to be as clear as possible but in the end missing my mark.
Ergo why I was originally drawn to the article, How to tell your Career Story Without Boring your Interviewer by Emily Moore.
I agreed with many of the points made she made, Including what she saw as the most important personal points to address. Avoiding robotically restating your resume, I agree with bringing to attention your more personal connection to the work, specific occupation and corresponding company. I enjoyed view she brought up of Carlota Zimmerman, a Career Coach, “If you want to truly tell a great story, above all, YOU must believe in it,” by “Most of all, mak[ing] sure that your passion and enthusiasm shines through.” Overall, I will recall on points made in the article during my next interview or class presentation, but was also looking for more information on what not to do not just what to do.
I’m a person who can easily fall victim to over elaborating, from presentations/interviews to everyday life. Desiring to be as clear as possible but in the end missing my mark.
Ergo why I was originally drawn to the article, How to tell your Career Story Without Boring your Interviewer by Emily Moore.
I agreed with many of the points made she made, Including what she saw as the most important personal points to address. Avoiding robotically restating your resume, I agree with bringing to attention your more personal connection to the work, specific occupation and corresponding company. I enjoyed view she brought up of Carlota Zimmerman, a Career Coach, “If you want to truly tell a great story, above all, YOU must believe in it,” by “Most of all, mak[ing] sure that your passion and enthusiasm shines through.” Overall, I will recall on points made in the article during my next interview or class presentation, but was also looking for more information on what not to do not just what to do.
Post a Comment