Job Interview Advice: How and Why to Practice, Practice, Practice!Here's some quick and helpful job interview advice regarding how to practice before your interview, and then evaluate your interview performance for both your many strengths as well as a few important areas you could make small but significant improvements in. Job Interview Advice Part 1: The Best Way to Improve Your Interview Skills One of the very best job interview tips I can offer you is to improve your interview performance through experiencing “the real thing.” In other words, attend an interview whenever you can. Even if you’re quite comfortable in your current job, it’s good a good practice to attend a job interview at least once or twice per year to keep your job search skills sharp and your industry knowledge current. Job Interview Advice Part 2: Build Your Job Search Momentum through Interview Practice In each job search, your first interview may not be the winner that results in a job offer. In fact, you may feel quite rusty and not get your points across they way you wished to because you’re out of practice after spending years comfortably gliding along in a stable permanent job. It’s best to accept that this is the way things work, and build your interview skills and job search momentum through being willing to attend several interviews before you land the right job. Any and all interview experience or practice will help you to improve your interview skills and make it more likely that the next interview you do will be “the one.” Attend as many interviews as you can. Never turn down the opportunity to practice your interview skills and keep them sharp! Even if an interview doesn’t seem that exciting to you, attend it anyway. It could well be the first in a series of “practice runs” that eventually results in you finding your dream job! Practice, Practice, Practice! it’s important when preparing for interviews to develop rough-draft answers in your own words in point form, and then review them several times for necessary changes after speaking them out loud. Don’t try to memorize your answers – this will create too much anxiety and pressure within you when you’re at the actual interview and it’ll take away from your ability to be spontaneous and to “be yourself.” Instead, memorize your point form notes as best you can, relying upon them as the basic “skeleton” structure from which you can easily add “meat” to during the interview. This works well for all interview answers, including situational, behavioral or scenario questions that use a simple situation-task-action-result (STAR) skeletal structure. Then you can practice your answers further by performing a “dry run” with a professional job search coach, family member, roommate or trusted friend to get valuable feedback and reduce some of the natural nervousness that arises during the interview. Each interview is different. So I recommend that you practice for as long as you can before you attend each and every one. The more you practice, the better you’ll feel and the more professional you’ll perform at your next interview. Job Interview Advice Part 3: Debriefing and Evaluating Yourself The interview is always right. What do I mean by that? I mean that by-and-large and with few exceptions, whatever happens during the interview is an accurate picture or snap-shot of both you and the employer and the match or fit between you as it relates specifically to the job you’re applying for. Therefore, it’s quite valuable to look back and debrief exactly what happened in your interview, both good and bad, as soon as possible after you get home. Even small improvements in your interview performance can make a big positive impact upon your results. A lot of small positive changes in your interview style will likely result in more job offers and better job opportunities. Job Interview Advice Part 4: Chart Your Progress One approach is to draw up a simple chart composed of your own self-evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of your interview performance. Subdivide this chart further vertically into verbal and non-verbal categories. Make a List of All the Positives First In your interview self-evaluation, use a “solution-focused” approach – start with your strengths! Ask yourself, “What did I do well?” Whatever you did well, you will want to do more and more of in the future. Think of everything you can for that “positive/strengths/things done well” part before you move on to what you would like to improve next time. Continue this process by asking yourself, “What else did I do well” and then, “What else?” Keep going this way for a while until you completely exhaust your review of your strengths before taking your time to also consider what you most need to improve before attending your next interview. Common examples of verbal strengths include: • Answered all questions (without getting any “mental blocks” or “drawing blanks.”) :-) • Spoke clearly and at the right volume. • Remembered to use the STAR (situation-task-action-result) structure when answering behavioral, situational or scenario questions. Common examples of non-verbal strengths are: • Presenting a friendly face; smiling and showing goodwill throughout the interview. • Dressing in proper professional interview attire (appropriate to your occupation/profession). • Using appropriate hand gestures (not too much or too little). • Strong, assertive handshake (not too loose or too tight and with two “pumps”). • Good eye contact (only looking away occasionally to break any uncomfortable intensity). Be Honest About Your Weaknesses Too Interviews are hard, and everyone can take positive steps to improve their interview skills regardless of how many interviews they’ve attended in their career or life thus far. Common examples of verbal weaknesses are: • Incomplete answers. For instance, not answering all 4 parts of a situational/behavioral/scenario question – for example, forgetting to include the end result and longer-term impact your actions had on your team or organization. • Answers that aren’t concrete, detailed or precise enough to answer the question well and earn full marks. • Speaking too loudly or softly. • Responding “No” or “All of my questions have already been answered” when asked at the end of the interview if you would like to ask any questions. Common examples of non-verbal weaknesses include: • Showing up too early, or showing up late. • Allowing your cell phone to ring during the interview - or, even worse, looking at who is calling, or answering the call. • Slouching in your seat at any time during the interview. Remember that nobody’s perfect! When applying this job interview advice, be gentle with yourself and know that you will improve step by step as you progress in your job search and your career.
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