Welcome to “Land Your Dream Job” series, Part 7, as we examine the important role of practice during your career search journey.
If I have not emphasized anything else to you during this series, I want you to remember that practice is the foundation for making a composed, confident presentation of your job-related qualifications during an interview. If you don’t make practice an integral part of your interview preparation, your planning, research about the employer, and your education and experience will not shine as brightly as they would otherwise, because you will not have rehearsed your delivery of this pertinent information that makes you the best candidate. You might wonder what is the best way to practice and enhance your interview skills. Well, there are quite a few ways that you can practice your interview skills. We will review three here and you can select the option that you feel most comfortable with, or you might even choose another strategy. My philosophy is that “interviewing is a skill. Interviewing well is an art.” The only way to perfect your art is through practice, so the three strategies that we’ll look at today are: 1) Practice In the Mirror; 2) Involving Others during Your Practice; and 3) Practice Using Recorded Mock Interviews.
- In the Mirror – Body language, eye contact, facial expressions, posture, etc. are very important characteristics that you must be aware of at all times during a job interview. Because many people get nervous during interviews, they sometimes exhibit body language that is not truly representative of the type of person who they are. For example, you may be very outgoing, but if you cross your arms during much of the interview, the interviewer(s) may perceive you as closed-off and not approachable. You don’t want that. Also, it is absolutely essential to maintain a healthy level of eye contact during an interview. You don’t want to stare the interviewer(s) down and cause them to feel uncomfortable, but you want to come across as warm, trustworthy, composed, and conversational. So, you want to ideally direct your response to the interviewer but look away periodically. During a panel interview, I recommend that we begin our response by first visually acknowledging the panel member who asked the question by directing the initial part of your response to him/her via direct eye contact. Then establish a pattern of direct your response to each of the other panel members for an equal amount of time. For example, make eye contact with each panel member for an average of 3 – 5 seconds each by panning across the group at a comfortable pace as you continue to provide your response. This approach will allow you to engage each panel member equally. You must also maintain a pleasant expression on our face and maintain good posture. What better way to make sure that we’re keeping our body language and other mannerisms in check than to use a mirror? I quickly learned that sitting in front of a mirror and practicing my interview skills allowed me to prepare very well. While I prefer to have a friend or family member to play the role of the interviewer and ask me interview questions and critique my interviewing skills, that is not always possible, so I’ve had to get creative and it worked out very well. One advantage of this practice platform is that when I make mistakes, there is no one else around to see them. I just have to play interviewer and interviewee, but the advantage was that I get to practice as many times as I want and/or when I need to without having to wait on someone to be available.
- Involving Others – Having a friend or family member play the role of interviewer during your interview practice sessions is a fun and calming way to prepare for a big interview. Although the practice sessions are for a serious reason, it can ease your nervousness because a person you feel comfortable with is helping you prepare. It also reduces the pressure on you as the candidate because it allows you to focus solely on your core interview performance as an interviewee, instead of also asking yourself the questions. I’ve found that this technique works most-effectively when you develop a list of interview questions based on the duties and qualifications requirements outlined in the vacancy announcement and about our past experience. Then give them to the person who will play the part of the interviewer so that they can ask you the questions. The interviewer should also use a checklist to rate your overall interview skills. The areas that the mock interviewer should rate your performance on include: greeting; handshake; clarity of speech; body language; eye contact; posture; facial expressions; organization; completeness of answers; interaction with interviewer, etc. This will give you a comprehensive overview of how well you interview.
- Recorded Mock Interviews – One of my absolute favorite practice interview platforms is the mock interview. During mock interviews, you create a scene that is as close to an actual interview as possible. You have someone possibly sitting at a desk, or in an area that represents the workplace interview space, acting as the interviewer and you play your role as the candidate. Ideally, you will also have someone to observe the enactment to constructively critique your interviewing skills. Well, I recommend that you put a fresh spin on this interview preparation platform by recording your mock interview. Start recording from the greeting to the end of the interview. Then watch the recording and constructively critique yourself. Make the necessary adjustments, then record another take. Compare the two recordings and watch yourself get better with each take. You will be happy you did this once you get that phone call offering you the position. Whether your mock interview involves you playing interviewer and candidate; or if you have a trusty friend or family member to play the role of interviewer, recording your mock interview session will give you the opportunity to see your performance for yourself and to strengthen yourself in the areas where there are opportunities for improvement.
The bottom line is that even of practice does not make perfect as the old saying goes, it does make you much better at whatever you’re endeavoring to achieve. Even if the interview process does not make you nervous, you will serve yourself well to brush up on your interview skills. Remember, you have only one chance to make an unbelievably great first impression. Don’t jeopardize the chance to live your best career life by failing to practice, practice, practice!
Always, Career Search Success to You! Go Get Your New Job!
