How to Ace that Job Interview

Communications coach Bill McGowan recently offered some excellent advice for handing job interviews. Some of it will be familiar; some will present a familiar idea from a different angle; some of it will be new. All of it is worth heeding.

1. Maintain eye contact; offer a firm handshake. When we are discussing an uncomfortable subject-- why you left your last job-- McGowan notes that we all tend to fidget and look away from the interviewer. We disengage and disconnect.

To overcome these tendencies, you should rehearse  answers to difficult questions with another person, even to the point of going over it again and again until you can do it on auto-pilot. 

2. As you begin an interview you are likely to feel anxious. This will show itself in your accelerating the pace of your communications. And when we speak very quickly we are more likely to make mistakes. So, McGowan suggests that the beginning of an interview you should slow down your speaking pace. 

He adds that you should not be afraid to pause, to allow there to be a few moments of silence. And he cautions against an overuse of filler-words-- like, um, you know, and like.

3. Next, confidence sells. How do you show confidence? By having facts and figures available that will show what and how you have contributed to another company. 

Importantly, McGowan adds: “You are not going in asking them to do you a favor by hiring you.”

The opposite of confidence is neediness and desperation. If you sound like you are begging, the interviewer will think that this means that no one wants you. Not one ever wants to buy desperate. 

4. Next, McGowan says: be specific. If you are asked to describe yourself, you should not offer a list of positive attributes, but should offer stories that show you tackling different projects successfully. 

5. Since you know that certain questions will often come up, prepare answers for them. If you are asked about your biggest weakness or mistake, offer a story that shows you making a mistake, but learning from it. Again, since this is an uncomfortable subject, rehearse the answer with someone you trust.

And also, as I have emphasized, be well informed about the company you are interviewing. When they ask you if you have any questions about them, have several at the ready. 

6. Finally, McGowan tells you that you need to show them that you are confident and self-assured. Excessive modesty and humility do not have a place in a job interview.

You do not show confidence by bragging, talking only about yourself, or making it appear that you were the best thing that ever happened to the company you just left. 

Confidence is allowing your achievements speak for themselves. But it also lies in giving credit to your staff or your team.