Do You Have a Job Interview Coming Up?

A job interview can be very intimidating for many people.  Nerves, anxiety and fear can become all-consuming as the hour approaches.   Here are a few tips to help you nail it.

Breath

Before you go in, take a few big deep breaths.  You see when you’re stressed, your body produces Cortisol.  Cortisol reduces you IQ by up to as much as 50% within 5 minutes.  If you don’t believe me, just think back to a decision you made when you were stressed.  I’m sure when you looked back on it with the advantage of hindsight, it probably wasn’t one of your best decisions.  Breathing deeply will calm you and reduce and reduce your Cortisol levels.

Look Confident, Be Confident.

We often talk about the importance of first impressions.  Having and demonstrating confidence provides a great first impression.  Body Language is a crucial component of the first impression.  How do you hold yourself?  How is your posture, eye contact and hand shake?  You need to make sure you stand straight with your shoulders back.  Posture matters.  Your eye contact should be engaging, along with a natural smile.   Finally, the handshake.  One of the most off putting things is the “limp, wet fish” handshake.  The idea isn’t to cut off the circulation in the persons hand but a good firm, 2 pump handshake indicates confidence.  Overall, your Body Language needs to convey your confidence in not only yourself but in your ability for the role.  Your Body language message needs to be “I am confident and I am the person for the job”

Um, Err, Ah

I recently did some private coaching for a gentleman of an ethnic back ground who has an upcoming interview.   We conducted a mock interview and recorded it for later review.  He was astounded to see that every response was preceded with a long Ahhh.  His responses were also littered Um’s and Er’s.  Over use of these can create disinterest and a disconnect.  One of the best strategies to help limit or remove these is to pause.  Pausing allows you some think time but also provides an opportunity for others to process what you have already said.  Next time you feel an Um, Err or Ah coming on, stop and pause.  I guarantee you, the silence isn’t awkward, it’s golden.

Structured Response

Your resume will have all your skills and previous work experience but what I’m looking for as an interviewer is situations when the applicant actually utilized the particular skill or talent i.e. Leadership.  One of the most practical structured response methods is the PREP method.

• P             Point of View     Your point of view to the interviewers question or statement.
• R             Reason                What is your reason for your Point of View
• E             Example             This is the golden nugget!  It’s a personal example so it therefore Can’t be questioned.
• P             Point of View     Reinforcing your Point of View.  This goes to Primacy and Recency.

Research

Knowing some important details about your prospective employer is a great tip.   Not only does this show a genuine interest but could also provide questions which you would like answered.  There is really no excuse nowadays.  We all have access to Google all at our fingertips.

Dress Appropriately

One of my early mentors said to me “always dress better than your best dressed customer”.  Certainly sage advice.  It’s always better to be over dressed than under dressed but that said, your dress should be commensurate for the position you are being interviewed for.

Good luck and think positive!

Until next week, my name is Con and I am The Con Versationalist