Confident Communication during an Interview.

People often confuse, good communication to good English. Let me clarify something for you, English is just a very popular and widely spoken language, which makes it a good medium of communication and NOT communication itself.

This means it is not necessary that you should have flawless English.

This means it is not necessary that your grammar needs to be on the top shelf.

The meaning of good communication is – having the ability to convey your message to your audience clearly and precisely. Your audience needs to connect with you when you communicate.

In my 10+ years of experience interviewing candidates as a recruiter and as a hiring manager, I have often seen people losing their confidence and failing to put across the message to the interviewer despite having strong knowledge & expertise in their job, and sometimes despite having good command on English, and this is certainly because you are nervous.

Here are a few hacks which will help you boost your confidence by putting you at ease and help you put across your message effectively to the interviewer.

1.?????Study and understand what the employer is looking for before you get into the interview

Why knowing what the employer is looking for is so important because this is one the most important subject on which the discussion will be carried out, this is the language both you and the interviewer will speak. So knowing about, what the employer is looking for will put you at ease and make you comfortable in the situation because you fully understand the requirement and tune yourself to the right frequency.

Spend some time on the Job description and read between the gaps to figure out the skills required and leverage them while being interviewed. Know what are the primary & secondary skills required. Also, learn as much as you can about the organization, and this will help you align your responses in favor of your candidature.

Interesting Fact: 47% of interviewers say they wouldn’t choose a candidate who has little knowledge of the company

2.??????Greet confidently.

In any interview process, a good first impression plays a very vital role.

Your first impression is so important that if you fail to give a good first impression you may not make it.

As per the recent LinkedIn Survey, the recruiters make a decision to shortlist the candidate in the first 90 seconds.

The way you greet when you first meet your interviewer is a kind of deal-breaker in most interviews. I strongly feel that Greeting is something which is in your control, so make sure you greet well.

Whether it is a Face–to–face interview or a virtual interview make sure you give a confident start and let the energy be felt. You need to have a Gentle yet firm handshake when you meet your employer first. Wear a smile when you meet your employer. If you are in front of the screen wave your hand and say hello.

The followed question is usually, how are you? – Don’t just answer: I am fine.

Now, more than 90% of the candidates answer - I am fine, thank you, or I am good, thanks, how are you?

Don’t you think your answer sounds very boring and it kind of takes the energy down?

And if so, you have lost an opportunity to make a good first impression. Next time when you are in an interview and the interviewer asks you – How are you? Try and be better, something like this –

“Well, I am interviewing for my dream job, so honestly, I am a little nervous, but I was looking forward to this conversation, so I am very excited to meet you all”.

Now can you see the difference between the 2 answers, the one above and “ I am fine” and the send one “Well, I am interviewing for my dream job, so honestly, I am a little nervous, but I was looking forward to this conversation, so I am very excited to meet you all”

?Which one do you think is more impactful? Which answer has just made way for an interesting conversation opener?

So what happens here is you have tamed the interviewer’s subconscious mind in your favor against other candidates who gave the traditional boring answer.

Dress your best: Getting well-dressed is a very effective confidence booster. When you look good – you feel good – when you feel good – you perform better. Also dressing appropriately for the Occasion can show that you are serious about the interview and you have taken efforts to be your best.

Let’s say there are 2 applicants for the interview, one is shabbily dressed and you are dressed in a nice formal suit and well-groomed. Who do you think has caught the attention of the interviewer. You need to look like an ideal candidate first, the visual appearance has a much deeper impact on the interviewer’s mind than you can imagine.

Interesting Fact: Bad handshakes are the reason for 10% of applicants getting rejected.

LinkedIn says - Lack of confidence during the interview is why 40% of interviewers don’t take a candidate past the first stage.

3.?????Have your stories ready to be shared.

This is one of the most critical parts of your interview preparations. Have enough stories thought, prepared, and kept ready at your disposal to pull out to tackle the interview questions. You need to have stories to prove and cover all the skills you possess and all the skills required for the job.

Have stories ready to be presented around your:

Experiences

Achievements

Task/Duties

Learnings

Use a STAR approach to present a story or a situation. In simple terms, your story needs to have the below elements to it.

S – Situation: Start by explaining the situation you were in, and give a brief about the problem statement and difficult situation which needed attention.

T- Task: Talk about the task, you were supposed to carry out, or what task was required to be actioned.

A – Action: Explain what actions did you take to solve that particular problem, and try to be as creative as you can

R – Result: And finally what was the outcome of your action.

Now, remember, prepare your stories in such a way that the example you quote from the past has to relate to how you are going to tackle similar situations in the future which will help your potential employer.

Most of the interviewers will engage in asking behavioral interview questions to assess your behavioral response. So make sure to prepare and have your stories ready.

Interesting Fact: 75% of employers ask behavioral interview questions to assess soft skills.

4.?????Keep it Short and simple:

Another simple yet very critical thing to keep in mind is to keep your conversations and answers short and to the point and NOT complicate your response by making it too long and loaded with irrelevant information.

It so happens that when we are nervous, we tend to ramble and go on and on and on…

Try and keep your answers brief and simple, let your response be relevant, and do not load it with unnecessary information. If that happens, the interviewer may lose interest in you soon.

Remember when you are talking about the situation or telling a story, try and keep your sentences limited and relevant. Make sure your conversation is about you making a point and not going on uncontrollably.

5.?????Practice, practice, and practice:

Write down each question and draft an answer in your mind, even better on paper.

Once you have your draft ready, you need to practice those answers by conducting a mock interview for yourself. Take help from your friends or family members and ask them to be your interviewer and ask you those questions. And when you answer it, you will be surprised to see how beneficial this can be, if you have nobody to support, take the help of a mirror and start practicing, look at yourself at how you express yourself on that particular question.

This exercise will give you all the feedback you need.?

The reason practice is so important is because by doing this exercise you are gathering your thoughts, ideas, and example and channelizing them in a direction where it is most suited.

This means you have the right example to quote to the right question.

During an interview, your thoughts, ideas, and examples are like a fully ripped volcano crater waiting to outburst.?

Let's say you go to an interview without practicing, you might end up talking more than necessary or answering irrelevant. This is the reason why practice is important because by practice you tend to control your thought and you have compartmentalized your ideas and example and you pick them appropriately when posed a question.

?I hope this helps. Thank you