How to remain authentic during interviews?
Did you know that it takes 100–200 job applications to get one job offer?
It shows that when you appear for a job interview, the competition is intense! So, you should be at your best during the interviews!
Also, according to a study, 70 percent of employers examine a candidate’s personality to be among the top three factors in deciding whether to extend a job offer, considerably more important than education or appearance. Therefore, it is important to remain transparent during interviews. You should sound like your natural self during interviews. After all, employers want to hire humans and not robots!
Being a public speaking coach, I have been a part of many interview panels. I have seen candidates pretending to be someone else. A candidate might think that the interviewer will not know their true personality if they conceal it behind their mugged-up words!
But that’s not true at all! Interviewers will definitely understand!
So, the question arises how to remain authentic during interviews?
Let me share some tips with you!
1) Rehearse but don’t over-rehearse
Before any vital interview, do you also write your answers on a sheet of paper and try to mug them? Do you sit with a piece of paper with all the prepared answers noted down and try to learn them word by word?
If yes, you need to stop doing that!
When you give your answers during the interview like a robot, you run the risk of coming off as insincere to your interviewers. To avoid this issue, note down the main points you want to communicate.
For instance, a common interview question is: What are your weaknesses?
When such a question is asked, instead of cramming answers, you should prepare bullet points and remember the pointers you need to communicate.
After all, there is a thin line between preparing for an interview
and sounding robotic while giving your answers.
2) Don’t babble during pauses.
During your interview process, the interviewer might use a technique called pregnant pause. What is that?
A pregnant pause can be used by interviewers where they pause for some time before responding to your answers. It’s a method used by employers to seek extra information out of you. Most candidates can’t manage the awkward silence and try to fill the silence by blabbering, repeating themselves, and dispensing irrelevant details they had no purpose of mentioning when the interview began.
So, how to deal with such situations?
Instead of reacting to the silence, you can respond by smiling and saying: ‘Did that answer your question?’
3) Don’t pretend to be perfect
Let me get this straight.No one expects you to be perfect!
It’s alright to make some mistakes. It’s alright to fumble a little.
It’s alright to get nervous.
So, when being asked, what are your weaknesses?
Never say I don’t have any! Instead, mention a weakness that is
not related to your job profile.
If you’re asked to discuss a time when you failed at something, don’t say that you’ve never encountered failure. Instead, welcome this opportunity to show your self-awareness and dedication to professional improvement. Employers would prefer to hire someone who is self-aware and has a learning curve rather than a candidate who pretends to be perfect.
4) Don’t react, but respond.
The interviewer may ask you some unexpected questions like:
What’s the strangest item in your purse?
How many stairs did you climb while coming to this room?
In such situations, instead of reacting carelessly, you should take a pause.
This will help you in digesting the question.
Also, the interviewer may tweak the question or give you more time to answer the question.
In the end, you should understand that interviews are conducted to know how suitable a candidate is for the position in question.
If you need a job, they even need a capable employee for their organization. Just like any other relationship, even a professional relationship should begin on the foundations of trust, transparency, and authenticity.
Do share your thoughts in the comment section!
Till then,
Stay Awesome. Stay Productive.
– Divas Gupta
Good