6 Aspects of an Impressive Introduction in a Job Interview

To introduce oneself in an interview is the simplest yet the most commonly mistaken thing. Most job seekers fail to have a well thought out introduction in a job interview. The interviewer forms an opinion about you within the first few minutes of an interview. It takes an extraordinary effort to change this opinion once formed. Jobseekers terribly disappoint with monotonous and repetitive introduction formats, lack of confidence, too much unwanted information, and signs of inappropriate attitude.

Here are a few tips to create an impressive introduction:

1.     Prepare:

No matter how confident you are, you need to prepare and practice your introduction for a job interview. Preparation should include laying the outline of your introduction, choosing the right words that describe you the best, opting for the right amount of information in the introduction, and consulting someone who can advise. Once you have the introduction ready on paper or in your head, don’t assume it’s done. You’ve just started. You should now say your introduction out loud so that you can hear yourself and preferably see too, maybe in a mirror. This will give you the feel of how your introduction sounds and you’ll know what to change.

 2.     Be Concise: Stick to the basics

It is of utmost importance to mention only the key aspects of your profile and not irrelevant information. The interviewer may not be interested in knowing too much about your family or where your friend works. The introduction is an opportunity to highlight the best things about you. If you’re a fresher you must talk about your qualifications, key skills, and internships, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities. If you’re experienced you must highlight your job roles, key skills, significant achievements at work, and your road map for the future, and everything that shows how you fit this particular role. All other information is a waste of time and energy leading to a bad start.

 3.     Keep it simple: Make it easy for yourself

Most people complicate their introduction by including information that’s not really necessary. You could say many things that sound good just to be ornate but they may not be the smartest things to say. The things that you say in your introduction are entirely up to you and hence you can choose to make things as easy as possible for yourself. Saying things that you cannot handle is almost like asking the interviewer to reject you.

 4.     Don’t wander into the roughs: don’t talk about things, you don’t really want to.

I’ve seen several candidates ruining their interview by saying things they can’t bear out later. For instance, when one talks about strengths during his introduction, it is almost obvious for the interviewer to ask for weaknesses too. Now, it’s a tough spot to be in if you’re not prepared to deal with the question.

 5.     Be confident, enthusiastic, enjoy talking about yourself.

Being confident ensures that you come across as someone who can be a positive influence on the others in the team. Recruiters prefer hiring an average skilled candidate with a great attitude over a highly-skilled candidate with low self-confidence. So go out there with the valor of a warrior and you never know, it could make the difference.

 6.     Be yourself: don’t end up looking like someone you aren’t.

Everyone wants to ensure their selection in an interview and hence try to paint a pretty picture in the mind of the interviewer. However, you mustn’t pretend to be someone you aren’t. You may pull it off during the interview but soon enough the organization will know whom they’ve actually hired. You should present yourself in the best possible manner without saying things that aren’t true. Employers don't look for perfect candidates; they are willing to train their employees for the job role. Present yourself as an individual with appropriate skills and willingness to improve.

Once you start paying attention to these aspects of your introduction, you will be able to improve consistently on your own. 

?Thanks for reading. Hope you found it useful. Connect with me on LinkedIn, or email me at [email protected] for more help with interview preparation.