People used to say that interviewers make up their minds about candidates within the first four minutes. Now this estimate has shrunk to something closer to fifteen seconds.
And this judgement is likely to be subjective and unfair. Perhaps the interviewer doesn’t like blondes, or people who look considerably younger …and you happen to be all three…
Which is why interviews usually include the same questions asked to all candidates, enabling evidence to be compared objectively.
BUT we can’t stop human beings having unconscious reactions to each other, which are usually based on individual memory. We may be unaware of these memories, like when we speak of experiencing a‘ gut reaction’ to another. And when it comes to getting a job, however objective and rational the interviewing process may be, we require interviewers to have a significant vision: an imaginative leap to picture us doing the prospective role.
It makes sense, then, to use behavior in an interview that can help the interviewer listen in as open and relaxed way as possible. We want them to feel reassured to some extent, by our presentation.
What Creates Doubt
So putting yourself into your Intee avatar again, and taking their point-of-view, I’d like you to think about what behaviour from others causes you to feel doubtful about them? That you can’t trust them or feel uneasy about them possibly?
Come up with a few examples of doubt-creating behavior in your mind – and then what the opposite of that is.
For instance: mumbling might be one, or its opposite, dramatic over-enunciation.
In workshops, people have identified doubt-creating behaviors as:
- shifty eye contact
- rushing speech
- twitchiness and fidgeting
- saying too much, so I can’t get a word in
- over-dramatic delivery
- grubby clothes
- seductiveness: self- consciousness, behaving like they know they’re charming me
Nerves and Self-Consciousness
When we get nervous and self-conscious, our attention is going on how people are judging us. We often apply adjectives and nouns to these imaginings: ‘an inadequate fool’, ‘a naive rookie’ ‘ an overweight has-been’.
Ouch! I am writhing while writing these – at our extensive powers of self-criticism.
This is our inner critic speaking, that voice that sets us goals, monitors our performance and gives us feedback going into overdrive. And many of us have inner critics that leap immediately to the negative and often forget to ever get to the positive aspects. In which case we are not being our own best coaches – as good coaching must always involve identifying and developing the positive.We don’t want to silence our inner critics entirely.
This critical thinking and analysis beforehand that will equip us to do well in the interview, but we want to quell commentary during the interview.Here are some ways of doing this:
- remind yourself that all our interactions with each other – including interviews – involve us taking the role of researcher.
- doing effective research involves asking the right questions.
- focus your attention fully on the interview by holding questions in mind like:
- how formal/informal is the interview? what do the choice of interviewers say about the enterprise?
- being preoccupied with how people are judging us can take our attention away from what we are doing. Concentrate fully on this – and if useful, make mental notes to yourself – ‘I’m explaining now’ ‘I’m illustrating’ ‘I’m engaging’ ‘I’m reassuring’.
- Do the right actions to the interviewer – and you’ve much more chance of a good result.
Please do remember do, that unless you are going for a job as a psychoanalyst, no interviewer is interested fully in all your neurosis and foibles. They’re not too bothered if you locked your grandma in the laundry room when you were five, if all else points to you being the perfect new team member.