Great Interview Advice

I really enjoyed reading the Career Journal articles because they affirmed as well as revealed new job interview advice to me. “How to Keep Your Cool in the Hot Seat” was the first article that I read. I thought this article was well written and informative. I agree with Kayleen Schaefer, the author, when she advises interviewees to not focus on the reason why a company may not hire you. Instead, Kayleen reveals that it is important to think positively about your prior accomplishments and your abilities by making a mental list of your skills and accomplishments. I learned that this technique is called “positive self talk”. Kayleen offers good advice when saying that it is also important to practice answering interview questions prior to the interview because this allows the interviewee to become greater prepared through rehearsing. I also liked Kayleen’s perspective on the person conducting the interview. She said to remember that he/she is probably somewhat anxious too as they are attempting to sell their company to the interviewee. I agree with Kayleen as she advises interviewees to have a mindset of thinking that they will be valuable towards the company.

The second article that caught my attention was titled “When an Interviewer Says, ‘Tell Me about a Time When You…’”. I enjoyed reading this article because it offered very practical advice. The author, Arlene Hirsh, introduced me to the term, “behavior based interviews”, which means that your manner in handling specific past situations is the best indicator for future success. I liked the way Arlene organizes the article as a step by step process in preparing for behavior based interviews. I had not previously considered the manner in which to answer this type of question. After reading the article, I now understand the necessity in describing the problem, the actions taken, and the results. Arlene reminds the interviewer when describing the problem to talk about how the situation was extremely challenging making for a more impressive result. I also agreed with Arlene’s advice to keep the tone of the interview positive by putting a “positive spin” on the answers. There was no advice given by Arlene that I did not agree with. I feel that I have learned helpful information!

The third article that I read was my favorite article out these three. This article, written by Eugene Raudsepp, titled “Body Language Tactics that Sway Interviewers” was valuable. I did not know prior to reading that body language or nonverbal communication represents 55% of a response whereas verbal communication only represents 7%. The other 38% is represented by paralanguage, a person’s sighs and pauses. I think Eugene made an important point by saying that actions reveal the inner confidence of a person. He provides excellent advice on the first few minutes of an interview as well as the necessity to maintain proper eye contact with the interviewer. In my past experiences, I have been so occupied with my own performance during the interview that I never truly thought about reading the interviewer’s gestures. Eugene makes an excellent point to be aware of the nonverbal behaviors of the interviewer. However, it is important to not think that every gesture has a hidden meaning connected with it. I appreciate the closing advice to use the appropriate nonverbal behaviors to portray a sense of confidence and interest!