By Mitch Rupert, Communications Manager for Tyler Bloom Consulting
The art of interviewing as a candidate comes down to two basic things: Knowing what to say and what not to say. Seems simple enough, doesn’t it? Well, my astute reader, it might seem so, but as we know, things are never quite as simple as they seem. Because while we, as seasoned interview veterans, might be comfortable with the topics we’re going to discuss in a job interview, we also have to think about how we express those answers.
Our goal is to make the decision-making process of the interviewer as easy as possible. Pass along the most pertinent information as clearly and concisely as we can. We’re trying to present ourselves in the best light possible and give ourselves the best possible opportunity to land the job we’re applying for. And having a good interview is going to look favorably on us as job candidates especially when the final decision comes to such small details which separates candidates.
So in this article, we want to focus on some tips on how to best express our thoughts and experiences. These are probably things we don’t think about going into an interview but really need to be in the back of our minds as we prepare. When interviewing for a role in golf maintenance, it’s pretty easy to formulate an idea of what is going to be asked about our experiences. So with a little preparation, we can formulate a gameplan on how to address those questions while also expressing points which are important to us.
Here are my Top 5 tips to make your interview answers better:
- Slow down
Fun fact: The average rate of thought in humans is between 400 and 800 words a minute. But the average rate of speech is between only 125 and 175 words per minute.
So what, Mitch? What does that matter?
Well, unnamed reader, it matters very much. When we get nervous, we tend to speak more quickly than when we’re in a comfortable situation. And when our thoughts are flowing at that lightning rate speed, we may feel the need to get it all out in an instant like a verbal shotgun. But in an interview setting, it’s imperative you slow yourself down. When a question is asked, take a moment to gather your thoughts and figure out how you want to attack the answer. Don’t just blurt out whatever comes to your mind first, and avoid rambling nonsense until you find your point. Just stop and think for a second. Allow yourself to pick out the best of those thoughts and share them. It will make your answers more poignant and your interview will be much more effective.
- Express concise thoughts
This was a key point in our initial blog post on interviewing tips. The combination of nerves and lack of interviewing experience tend to make us ramble. On top of that, as someone who has interviewed people just about every day since the year 2000, I find an inherent need for people to try and impress an interviewer with every little aspect that they know about a particular topic, especially when they’re a little uncomfortable in their setting. But it can be easy to bog down an interview because of this. So hit on the key points of the topic at hand and get out. If your interviewer needs more information, they’ll ask for it in a follow-up question, and you can expand upon your answer then.
- Provide examples
Explaining your experiences to an interviewer is great. Providing examples of those experiences is even better. Many times, those examples are going to show how you attack a problem or task. It’s also going to give a more in-depth look at just what your experience has entailed. If you’re interviewing for an Equipment Manager position, don’t just explain what kind of welding you’ve done, explain a project where that welding was put to use. Are you an irrigation technician? Don’t just explain what kind of systems you’ve worked with, explain your approach to a specific issue you had.
- The ‘why and ‘how’ are more important than the ‘what’
This is probably geared more toward higher-level positions, but how you went about achieving something is more important than what you achieved. I see resumes all the time with people saying they saved money on the budget, or saved man hours on payroll. But it doesn’t particularly matter if you don’t explain how you did those things, and also why you did those things. Did the board or General Manager ask you to do those things, or was it something you did on your own? How did it impact the overall product or results? Did it come at a cost to your results, or did it actually improve results? Those are all more important things to touch on than the actual achievement itself.
- Don’t answer a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question with only ‘yes’ or ‘no’
As an interviewer, yes or no questions are what we call close-ended questions. They don’t require your interview subject to expound beyond yes or no. So while open-ended questions are better for getting quality answers, they’re also more difficult to formulate unless it’s something you do on a regular basis. So as an interview subject, you’re bound to get a fair share of yes or no questions. But don’t allow yourself and your answer to be handcuffed by that. Answer in the affirmative or negative and then spell out why you answered yes or no. A good interviewer knows when they’ve asked a bad question and they’ll be appreciative when you provide a good answer despite a bad question.
If you’re in need of further insight and best practices, set up a FREE Talent Strategy Call with our team.
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