Perceptions Of Interview Anxiety
Have you ever gone into an interview with your thoughts being unsure?
What should I say? The quicker I give my answer the better. But how do you tell the difference between a confident interviewees performance against a less confident interviewees performance?
A research article titled Influence of Vocal and Verbal Cues on Ratings of Interview Anxiety and Performance wanted to explore how quiet, shaky voices shaped the perception of anxiety. What you say and how you say things can greatly impact how we feel we are coming across. The findings in study 1 suggest that students found mock employment interviewees frequent use of filler words as a reflection of their anxiety.
Do You Know How To Make Your Case To An Interviewer Follow These 10 Interview Tips To Boost Your Chances Of Landing The Job
10 interview tips to boost your chances of landing the job.
The day has come: You found an awesome job on Monster, applied, and got a call from a real-live human being who wants to meet with you. Congrats! But your work has only just begun. Right about now, you need some interview tips. Lucky for you, we’ve got a few good ones.
Even the smartest and most qualified job seekers need to prepare for their job interview. Why, you ask? Interview skills are learned, and there are no second chances to make a great first impression. These 10 interview tips will teach you how to answer interview questions and convince the hiring manager that you are the one for the job.
Preparing Good Interview Answers
Interviewers will follow up your preliminary answers with further questions about your actions. To prepare for these types of interview questions, the following tips might help:
- Review your research about the company and the position.
- Make a list of key attributes for your desired job.
- Write sample interview questions that are likely to uncover the attributes you identified as important.
- Create answers to the sample interview questions based on a template such as Situation Action Result with specific details from your work experience.
- Practice answering the interview questions and follow-up questions so that you are very familiar with several detailed examples/stories. Rehearse key points.
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What Are Interview Skills
Interview skills are skills or actions that allow a person to be more effective throughout the interview process for a new position. Not all interview skills are conventional rather, many interview skills help candidates prepare for the interview and guide them as they participate in job interviews. Acing job interviews requires in-depth preparation as well as the ability to feel comfortable and confident when discussing your skills, experience and qualifications with hiring managers.
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Follow Up After The Interview
Always follow up with a thank-you note reiterating your interest in the position. You can also include any details you may have forgotten to mention during your interview.
If you interview with multiple people from the same company, send each one a personal note. Send your thank-you email within 24 hours of your interview.
It’s worth the extra effort. A Robert Half survey reports that 80% of hiring managers said it was helpful or somewhat helpful to receive a thank-you note after an interview.
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Know How To Respond When You Need Time To Think
During your interview, the interviewer might ask you a question you don’t immediately have an answer for. It is important to know how to respond when this happens. It is ok to take a minute to think about your answer, just let the interviewer know that it’s a great question and you need a minute to think about your answer. Doing this will show the interviewer you can respond calmly when faced with a challenge and will also highlight your problem-solving skills.
Brush Up On Your Interview Skills
How well you answer interview questions isnt everythingthough it is a lot. Interviewers are also consciously or subconsciously picking up on how well you use other interview skills such as active listening, small talk, and empathy. These skills not only help you impress an interviewer, but also give them a sense of what it might be like to work you as a colleague.
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Answer The Right Questions
Although you’ve prepared responses to the questions you think you’ll face, be sure to answer the questions that you are asked.
Listen carefully to what’s being said, and don’t be afraid to ask for clarification if necessary. It’s better to have the question repeated than to “wing it” because you haven’t understood what you’ve been asked. This will also show that you’re fully engaged in the interview and buy you some time to consider your answer.
Even if you get the precise question you’d anticipated, resist the urge to repeat your practice answer word for word. Instead, act as though you’re hearing it for the first time. This will stop you from coming across as robotic or overconfident, and reassure the interviewer that you’re giving an engaged, honest response.
Reflecting On Your Interview And Refining Your Methods
Another skill to practice after an interview is to reflect on the experience and refine your methods, even if you get a job offer. That way, your interviewing skills can become rote, making it easier for you to create exciting new career opportunities.
Here are some examples of areas for improvement:
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Using the STAR method to tell even better stories about your professional history
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Conducting more thorough research on a company
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Coming up with more insightful and pointed questions about a position youâre interested in
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The Interviewer Seems Disinterested
If you repeatedly find that the person interviewing you seems disinterested or bored its a solid sign you need help with your interview skills. Ideally, you want to be as engaging as possible. If youre interviewing, they like your background now you need to excite them with your personality if you want the job. Some reasons for an interviewer losing interest:
- Youre not engaging interviews are two-way streets, make sure to have some questions to ask and turn the interview into a conversation.
- You dont seem interested in the role if you dont act interested, how do you expect an interviewer to get excited about you? Make sure to research the company and share a couple reasons youre interested in working for them.
- You complain excessively about your past boss/employer this is a big no-no. Weve all had bad managers and employers you dont need to go into extreme details. Just give simple reasons for leaving and Im sure the hiring manager can read between the lines.
Remember The Interview Starts As Soon As You Leave The House
The interview starts long before you shake hands and sit down around the table. You never know who you might bump into as you get off your bus or train , or enter the companys building for all you know, your interviewer could be in the same coffee-bar queue as you. So make sure you project a friendly, confident, professional air from the moment you set off.
Doubtless youll have made sure you arrive early. Give yourself time to have a comfort break and make sure youre hydrated. Make conversation with the receptionist, switch off your phone and take in your surroundings you might notice something that will make a useful small-talk topic later. Dont try and cram in any last-minute facts you want to come across as calm and organised, not flustered and under-prepared.
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So When You Answer What Skills Do You Need To Improve Pick A Real Area Youd Like To Get Better At But Make Sure Its Not Something Essential To The Job
You can choose something youre already pretty good at, but still trying to improve even more. You can choose something that you learned a long time ago but havent used in recent jobs very much.
You can name something not directly related to your work but something youre passionate about learning. For example, maybe youre an Accountant but someday youd like to be a Team Leader, so youd like opportunities to improve your leadership. You could suggest that youd like to lead a meeting or project to begin, just to build out that skill-set over the long term.
Lets look at some example answers and this will start to make more sense
Ill put that Accountant example above as the first example.
Things To Do Before During And After Your Interview
An employer will invite you for an interview if they believe that you have the skills to succeed at their company. In the interview, they will seek to evaluate your genuine interest in the company and the role, your preparedness for the position, and your potential to add value to their team.
Your answers to the questions they ask will help them assess your skills, experience, and motivation.
Below, you will nd suggestions on how to prepare for the interview and demonstrate that you are the best candidate for the position.
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Be Ready To Tell The Interviewer About Yourself
For every interview, youll want to have an answer to Tell me about yourself thats tailored to this job and company and ready to go. Interviewers almost always ask this question or a similar onelike Walk me through your resumeto start off the conversation, so you want to make sure youre getting started on the right foot.
Calm Your Nerves And/or Get Psyched
Immediately before the interview youll want to get yourself in the right headspace. Expect to be nervous and plan ahead of time to use whatever tools you need. These methods are different for everyone, so think about whatll work for you. Maybe theres a friend who can pump you up over the phone or text or a song that always makes you feel like you can do anything. Perhaps you need to do some breathing exercises or give yourself a pep talk in your car. Whatever will get you ready to go into your interview confident, calm, positive, and ready to ace it.
Regina Borsellino contributed writing, reporting, and/or advice to this article.
The Muse is a values-based careers site that helps people navigate every aspect of their careers and search for jobs at companies whose people, benefits, and values align with their unique professional needs. The Muse offers expert advice, job opportunities, a peek behind the scenes at companies hiring now, and career coaching services. The current team of writers and editors behind The Muses advice section includes Regina Borsellino, Brooke Katz, Rebeca Piccardo, Devin Tomb, and Stav Zivand over the years has included many other talented staffers! You can also find The Muse on , , , , TikTok, and Flipboard.
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How To Improve Interview Skills: Before During And Afterward
One of the hardest things in life for anyone is to admit that they need to improve themselves. However, when it comes to job interviews, a refresher course is needed every now and then.
Whether its the wrong kind of eye contact, or not answering the question, the things you do before, during, and after an interview can impact whether or not you get the job. Heres how to improve your job interview skills.
Try Out The Companys Product Or Service
If the company youre interviewing for sells a product you can feasibly check outtry it before your interview . If hired, your goal will be to create value for the people who use that product, and being a user yourself is the first step. Plus, itll help show the hiring manager that youre truly interested in the role.
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Research The Company And Show What You Know
Do your homework and research the employer and the industry, so you are ready for the interview question, “What do you know about this company?” If this question is not asked, you should try to demonstrate what you know about the company on your own.
You can do this by tying what youve learned about the company into your responses. For example, you might say: “I noticed that when you implemented a new software system last year, your customer satisfaction ratings improved dramatically. I am well-versed in the latest technologies from my experience with developing software at ABC, and appreciate a company who strives to be a leader in its industry.”
You should be able to find out a lot of information about the companys history, mission, values, staff, culture, and recent successes on its website. If the company has a blog and a social media presence, they can be useful places to look, too.
Along with reviewing what the company shares on its website and social media platforms, you can also search the company’s name online. That will help you turn up recent news coverage on the company.
Skills You Need To Ace Your Next Interview
Related: Interview Skills: 7 Advanced Tips & Examples + Bonus Hack
In this video, youll learn 7 advanced tips for taking your interview skills to the next level. There’s a bonus tip at the end of the video.
Interviewing is an important part of the hiring process and it’s vital to make a great impression during a job interview. There are certain skills that will help you succeed during that interview, including communication skills and professionalism. The more you understand about interview skills, the better prepared you’ll be for your next interview.
In this article, we explore the definition of interview skills, as well as 10 skills that can help you ace your next job interview.
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Bonus Tip: Work On Your Answers
You know you can do the job make sure the interviewer believes you can, too. One way to do this is by preparing well-thought-out answers to questions they’re most likely to ask. Need some help with that? Make a free profile on Monster. As a member, you’ll get interview tips, career advice, and job search insights sent directly to your inbox so you can come across as a strong, viable candidate. From ice breakers to the nitty-gritty , Monster’s expert advice can help you craft answers that highlight your skills and eagerness to get the job.
Familiarize Yourself With The Star Method
Whenever youre answering interview questions with a story, you want to make sure that story is well structured and the takeaway is clear. Your goal should be to give your interviewer all the context they need to understand what happened while still answering the question clearly and concisely. One way to do this is using the STAR method. STAR stands for:
- Situation: Briefly lay out the scenario using just enough detail that the interviewer will understand the stakes and everything else in your answer.
- Task: Talk about what your role in the situation was.
- Action: Discuss what you did and why.
- Result: Tell your interviewer about the outcome and what you learned.
Note that for some questions you might want to tweak this structure slightly. For example, if youre talking about a time you demonstrated leadership skills, consider defining what leadership means to you before jumping into the situation. But the STAR method will ensure your stories always have a beginning, middle, and end.
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Interviewing Techniques Tip : Anticipate Likely Questions
To get to the motivations and working style of a potential employee, employers often turn to behavioral interviewing, an interviewing style which consists of a series of probing, incisive questions.
Sample behavioral interview questions include:
- Describe a situation in which you didnt meet your stated goal, how did you handle it?
- Tell us about a situation in which you encountered resistance from key people, how did you convince the person or people to do what you wanted?
- Describe a situation in which you took the initiative to change a process or system and make it better, how did you identify the problem? How did you go about instituting change?
How To Be A Good Interviewer:
Read our guidelines below on how to conduct a good interview and find answers to commonly asked questions.
Be prepared.
It’s important to prepare thoroughly before interviewing a potential employee so that you don’t come across as disorganized and unprofessional. Be sure to brush up on the interviewee’s skills and employment history beforehand by reading their resume, and print out a copy for reference during the interview.
Choose your questions wisely.
Create a list of questions that are tailored to the role you are hiring for, such as questions relating to skills, job knowledge, and work history. You should also include behavioral and situational questions to give you a good idea of how the candidate handles challenging situations. Preparing a list will also ensure that you ask each candidate similar questions.
Have an interview structure.
An unstructured interview can cause you to lose track of the interview and end up wasting your and the candidate’s time. The best way to avoid this is to set out a structure during your interview prep.
For example, make the first part of the interview a brief introduction and description of the main goals of the position and what your company hopes to achieve, followed by the interview questions. Lastly, give the interviewee an opportunity to ask a few questions of their own.
Take notes and listen carefully.
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