Interview skills

It looks like I'm heading back onto the job market. Which means I'm likely to be interviewing around soon, and competing against several other similarly qualified candidates.

Everything I'm looking at (currently) is a step up salarywise from my current position, which is actually relatively low for someone with my experience and responsibilities. I'm well qualified to perform the required duties.

Problem is, my interview skills are atrocious. Especially when I'm desperate and/or really want a particular position. I don't make eye contact, I don't smile, I slouch, I fidget, I stammer out responses. Of course, in a normal work setting I can be perfectly approachable, personable, and articulate. It's just when it matters to my career that suddenly I'm unable to control these impulses.

So, I'm thinking, should I take a shot of bourbon followed by some mouthwash to mask the alcohol smell before I go in to my interviews? I'm half kidding, of course. But all other things being equal, a job candidate who's professional, evened-out, calm, and confident is always going to beat out the nervous, fidgety guy.

Anyone else have this problem? Do you have any tricks to solve it?

I always second think answer to questions

I found this helpful Interviewing articles | Monster

This may be a bit unorthodox, but I'd tell the interviewer right up front that you haven't been on an interview in quite a while and you are a bit nervous. Express that you are confident in your job skills but not so polished at interviewing.

arturo7 said:

This may be a bit unorthodox, but I'd tell the interviewer right up front that you haven't been on an interview in quite a while and you are a bit nervous. Express that you are confident in your job skills but not so polished at interviewing.

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Excellent!

I can sell-cold call over the phone, but my interview skills are lacking. Usually your interviewer will say something like"how are you", which is right where I respond,"just the usual interview jitters". That breaks the ice for me, and lets them know I am not at my best.

+1 to honesty - that's something they will remember and likely appreciate.

You really should work on getting over the eye contact thing, it's
very important to project confidence and competence in a face to
face interview.

A shot of Bourbon is a terrible idea.

They understand you are going to be nervous, so don't worry about
looking so damn nervous. You know you're qualified, you stated that,
so go into the interview prepared. Look over the company information
and get acquainted with their style.

So when you walk in you already know them. Then go about explaining
why you are qualified, just like you did in this post at the beginning.

A couple deep breaths work (seriously) to physically slow your heart
rate and control physical anxiety.

bernerbits said:

But all other things being equal, a job candidate who's professional, evened-out, calm, and confident is always going to beat out the nervous, fidgety guy.

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That's totally untrue. Not having the skills they are looking for is the deal breaker. Poor communications skills is also a deal breaker. Not showing up for an interview, lying on you resume (so easy to spot BTW), being late, not being prepared, all those are deal breakers.

Lots and Lots of Engineers have confidence issues in interviews - in fact most I think.

Read up on common interview questions. Put together a question sheet with answers in outline form. Include both technical and non-technical questions.

Have your wife, girlfriend, local prostitute, drunk neighbor, etc... practice with you.

You can't just show up at an interview and hope everything is going to "work out." This is war. You have to be prepared.

It's OK to be nervous and jittery. Interviewers generally expect such things. If you weren't, you would be relaying a feeling that you don't much care about the interview.

Make sure you can talk at length about the stuff in your resume. This is one of the only things they have about you. There are going to be questions about it.

You always talk faster than you think. S...L...O...W... down, and just say one thing at a time. This will help calm you and to make you sound less jittery.

Poor communications skills is also a deal breaker. Not showing up for an interview, lying on you resume (so easy to spot BTW), being late, not being prepared, all those are deal breakers.

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All covered under the blanket statement "all things being equal". If I'm up against 5 people and we're all all equally qualified, prepared, show up on time, and are truthful on our resumes and prepared, they will go for the person who interviews well.

Two words for ya... Liquid trust

Liquid Trust Spray - the first Oxytocin product, formulated to enhance people's trust in you!

Firm handshake... and discretely wipe the sweat off it onto your pants. Interviewers hate shaking hands with a wet sponge. +1 on the eye contact. Force yourself... look through their eyes rather than into them or focus on their nose bridge if you have to. And be prepared for those stupid cliche interview questions (as a just-in-case), like, "what do you consider your most positive attribute?... what's your most negative attribute?" (and don't say "I work too hard.")

Best of luck.

that is terrifying

menschmaschine said:

Firm handshake... and discretely wipe the sweat off it onto your pants. Interviewers hate shaking hands with a wet sponge. +1 on the eye contact. Force yourself... look through their eyes rather than into them or focus on their nose bridge if you have to. And be prepared for those stupid cliche interview questions (as a just-in-case), like, "what do you consider your most positive attribute?... what's your most negative attribute?" (and don't say "I work too hard.")

Best of luck.

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I usually look at peoples eyebrows, noses, ears, mouths, etc. and rotate around. Looking directly into people's eyes makes almost everyone uncomfortable. Direct eye contact always comes across as forced, whereas indirect seems natural and confident.

I always liked this answer to the 'what is your worst trait?'

"Some people accuse me of over preparing and giving answers that seem rehearsed." it is key to deliver that line with a **** eating grin

oh yea - interviewers are really into google-ie tech interviews these days... things like "you are a squirrel and have four nuts, the squirrel next door has five..." etc... you should look those up because they speak to your algorithm and problem solving skill level. Personally I hate asking them because half the time person on the other end of the phone has poor communication skills and asks something like "what is a squirrel?"

A shot of Bourbon is a terrible idea.

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I don't disagree, but humor me. Why?

Kramer endorses the idea. Though that's scotch, not bourbon.

Aside from preparing for typical interview questions do your research on the company. You should know what they are about and why you would want to work there...

Also you need to have a close at the end of the interview. Shake hands with the interviewer on the way out and say something sincere ( provided that you want the job) like:

"Mr Smith thank you for your time. I know that with my background and experience I would be an excellent fit for ACME Inc and I am confident that I could handle the job. What are the next steps in your hiring process?"

Or something similar. Also if you do not get the job call Mr Smith back and ask why.. best feedback ever as he will tell you how to improve dramatically for your next interview.

But what do I know?

GAH! All the advice is making me more nervous.

OK so I'll get a list of common interview questions and potential catch-you-off-guard questions and practice at home. I'm normally good at algorithm-type questions and I'm sure my wife won't understand a damn word I'm saying anyway.

Relax do your best and ask for the job.

You could find a local technical school and take a class that teaches interview skills. Most Tech schools have them.

I work in the human resources dept of our company. I interview people everyday. I vote for the tell the interviewer you are nervous, slow down a little when speaking be honest. I NEVER hire the slick guy with all the perfect answers. I never hire the goofy guy with perfect technical skills. I usualy hire the "nice enough" guy with decent tech skills and a good attitude about the company and the team.

What I always did to help put the ball in my court was to go into the interview with a suspicious mentality. I always asked questions back to them whenever I could, including a couple times where I was able to avoid a question that I didn't want to answer. The interview process is a two way street. You want a job, they want to hire someone. You also need to be looking for reasons not to work there, as much as they are looking for reasons not to hire you. Ask about layoff issues, when was the last one, how are they faring in this economy, etc. And overall, just think of it as a conversation. Don't think of any witty lines beforehand, just talk to them. You'll do fine. And best of luck, let us all know how you did.

bernerbits said:

GAH! All the advice is making me more nervous.

OK so I'll get a list of common interview questions and potential catch-you-off-guard questions and practice at home. I'm normally good at algorithm-type questions and I'm sure my wife won't understand a damn word I'm saying anyway.

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Unless you're being interviewed by the people you'd be working with, they won't understand what you're saying either. My only advice is dress up like you're a high priced attorney and try not to fidget.

What's you're worst trait?

That's a bs question that's rather unfair to ask, imho. It's asking you to put yourself down a notch and therefore it has no place in the interview... at least from the interviewee's perspective. The best way to throw the question into the dumpster and move on is with a short, concise answer that prevents further discussion of the matter.

What's your worst trait?

Brevity.


It's not true for me... I tend to be verbose. But I've used that line in three interviews and it's freaking awesome to see the interviewer get a surprised look on their face because they're so used to people fumbling through that question... then, not knowing what to do next, they look down at their cheat sheet and move on to the next question. It's a beautiful thing. If you don't like the "brevity" answer, some others that work include, "I can be very matter-of-fact" and "I hate wasting time."

I can be very matter-of-fact

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I like that one.

dress up like you're a high priced attorney and try not to fidget.

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I'm told that if I'm going for something any further up than mid-level, I need to dress up anyway. It's cool though, I like perfecting my half-windsor.

bernerbits said:

GAH! All the advice is making me more nervous.

OK so I'll get a list of common interview questions and potential catch-you-off-guard questions and practice at home. I'm normally good at algorithm-type questions and I'm sure my wife won't understand a damn word I'm saying anyway.

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Heh. Most of the time the people who interview you will not know either. The point is just to make it sound like you know what you are talking about. You also have to get across the fact that you learn easily, willing to learn, and you are motivated enough to teach yourself.

I'm a practical software/hardware engineer so I never do well on the technical interviews. Maybe that's a good thing though. I rather work at a place where I can do and learn a lot, and not be told that I don't have the skill set to do something.

A job to me is not just a paycheck, it's a chance to push myself to improve my skill set.

This could be a good opportunity to get something better.

Sir Humpsalot said:

What's you're worst trait?

That's a bs question that's rather unfair to ask, imho.

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I certainly agree and I think it's a bogus question. However, I believe the intent is to see how the candidate reacts to the question rather than the answer itself. They know a candidate is not going to say the truth like, "Well, I've got a bit of a gas problem. --brrrrrt--":cross:

That being said... I believe (or maybe, hope) that HRs and interviewers are getting away from those trite questions... they were really more of a 90s thing.

Sir Humpsalot said:

What's you're worst trait?

That's a bs question that's rather unfair to ask, imho.

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I actually ask a similar question, "What would you consider an area or trait that you'd like to improve upon". What I'm looking for with this question is retrospective. Everyone has *something* that they can improve on, I'd like the candidate to do some thinking about areas for growth and be able to articulate them.

Even if they can't think of anything, a well thought out answer is good enough... like, "While I can't think of a particular area right now, I am always looking for things that I can do better at." and then perhaps give a hypothetical.

I'd like the candidate to do some thinking about areas for growth and be able to articulate them.

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This is a catch-22 though. If it's directly related to your job, you're admitting you're underqualified. If it's not related to your job, then who cares?

I'd like to sharpen and focus my game programming skills so I can get out of web application programming. I'd like to expand my encyclopedic knowledge of design patterns and standard algorithms. I'd like to have a greater knowledge of all the cutting-edge technologies that keep emerging. But I'm sure as hell not going to use any of those in an interview. The first suggests I'm unsatisfied with my career path; the next two say I'm underprepared; the last one says I don't keep up.

bernerbits said:

This is a catch-22 though. If it's directly related to your job, you're admitting you're underqualified. If it's not related to your job, then who cares?

I'd like to sharpen and focus my game programming skills so I can get out of web application programming. I'd like to expand my encyclopedic knowledge of design patterns and standard algorithms. I'd like to have a greater knowledge of all the cutting-edge technologies that keep emerging. But I'm sure as hell not going to use any of those in an interview. The first suggests I'm unsatisfied with my career path; the next two say I'm underprepared; the last one says I don't keep up.

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I disagree. I'd prefer to have a candidate that can reflect on themselves, rather than someone who thinks that they know everything. If you can demonstrate the aptitude to learn, I'd rather know that. Rarely will you have a candidate that fits the job criteria 100%. Sure, core skills are important, but it's the intangibles beyond the guy who can put his head down and churn out code that is important to *my* organization.

For those things that you'd like to improve, why do you want to improve them? That'd be my response to you if you said that they were growth areas. If your response was to get out of web programming, I'd want to know why you'd want to get out of there... I would want to put you in a position that you want to work at, rather than one where you're not going to be happy. That doesn't help either of us...

I'd want to know why you'd want to get out of there...

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Nothing wrong with it. It's just the direction my career took, and I'm not unhappy doing it. However, I've always had more fun doing game programming and wanted to make a career of it, but in order to make that switch I need to develop games in my spare time while continuing on my current path.

In other words, there's nothing I can say that won't require a lot of follow-up explanation.

I was told that when you are asked about a shortcoming you answer is as a positive. take me for instance. I am an IT guy at a Law firm and there is really no room for advancement from this position unless I want to move to Nebraska. The home office prefers to have most of the control in this area. I went on an interview for ****s and grins (due to the economy I am staying put for now). I was asked "what is your area of weakness? " I replied that it was on the server admin end and that this was due to my lack of exposure to the server side of the Network. However, I backed this up with the fact that I have my own windows domain at home and host my own ftp and Web Server and that I am a learn by doing kinda guy and will learn the information any way I can. So while I study for MCSE exams I have at least some practical knowledge. I hope this helps

I am in the process of selling my house, to move closer to my family. That said, I have been interviewing, looking for a salary job- It would be fraud if I wrote my own loan, so I need to go to a Bank that I am not affiliated with to get a mortgage. I am a mortgage banker. I need a salary-

I interviewed for a job today- Hottie!!!!! was my first interviewer, made it past her. Then get Bertha(BULL DIKE)- Head Of Human Resources- She was tough, Got past her, then get Director of Human Resources- she was ok, we went to the same high school. 2 hours into the process, Hottie!!!!!! offers me the job.

Bernerbits, You can do it!!!!

Hell, I took a salary job offer at half my comission pay just to get a steady income job.
Now doing Quality Control for a nationwide corp. that manufactures plumbing supplies.

Have faith in yourself.

Okay, keep in mind that I'm a shrink, so I tend to think of things from the neuro/chemical/biological perspective.

For certain, specific environmental events that make someone nervous, I would recommend going to your doctor and asking about a short acting beta-blocker like propranalol (but not if you have certain health conditions. You gotta go to your doctor for this!). Beta-blockers are used for cardiac conditions and for folks with high blood pressure, but are known to block the physical signs/symptoms of anxiety, thereby stopping that mental anxiety to physical anxiety to mental anxiety spiral.

Important note: TRY IT OUT BEFORE THE INTERVIEW. You want to get the dose adjusted so you don't appear drugged or feel groggy.

works like a charm for a lot of folks.

Jill