We hear a lot of advice about preparing for an interview. It’s always about how early you sleep and wake up, how good your breakfast is, how familiar you are with the route to the company’s premises, how much you researched the company beforehand and how ready you are for the possible questions.
It’s a very different story when you’re actually doing the interview, though. There is no way to undo the impact of your answers on the interviewer’s assessment of you. And of course, your performance at the interview will determine a significant part of the result of your application.
The only real weapons you have in the on-the-spot situation of an interview are signals – cues and habits, whether verbal or non-verbal, that tell the interviewer you have what they need for the position. So how do you send out these signals for interview success? Continuing from last week, let’s run over another handy signal this week to get you ready for your next turn at the candidate’s seat.
BE SURE OF WHAT YOU SAY
Speaking of things that turn off an interviewer, being unsure is one of the worst. Uncertainty can be seen through facial expressions, or heard through tone of voice and speech pacing. It all makes the interviewer feel that you don’t know what you’re saying. And surely, the last thing you would want is for the interviewer to think you’re incompetent.
You can avoid this by talking only about what you know beyond a shadow of a doubt. This is the most natural and safe way to produce a feeling of confidence and enthusiasm about what you’re saying. It feels really different from trying to pretend you have knowledge of something that you don’t.
Once you have that confidence and enthusiasm, it will be reflected in all your verbal and non-verbal signals. You will become more convincing because you will sound like you have no doubts about what you are saying. Your mannerisms and gestures will be relaxed and will match the things you are saying. You will seem very competent, knowledgeable and trustworthy in the eyes (and ears) of the interviewer.
One last thing to note before we end this series: not all interviewers are the same. Companies, however, all have very similar objectives when trying to hire people: they want the appropriate professionals for specific jobs, who will help grow the organization and stay for the right reasons. Interviewers cannot stray very far from that goal when they screen candidates, so the tips above will still give you a significant advantage compared to not using them.
Now, go out there and ace those interviews – with the right words and actions that will make your interviewers go WOW!