A beggar had been sitting by the side of the road for over 30 years. One day a stranger walked by. “Spare some change?” mumbled the beggar, mechanically holding out his old baseball cap.
“I have nothing to give you,” said the stranger.
Then he asked “What is that you are sitting on?”
“Nothing” replied the beggar, “just an old box. I have been sitting on it for as long as I can remember”.
“Ever looked inside?” asked the stranger.
“No” said the beggar. “What is the point? There’s nothing in there”.
“Have a look inside” insisted the stranger.
The beggar managed to open the lid. With astonishment, disbelief and elation, he saw that box was filled with gold.
(From “The Power of Now”- Eckhart Tolle )
More often or not, we tend to ask others what ‘sounds’ good in interview. ‘Sounding intelligent’ and giving ‘correct’ answers concerns a lot of people before interview. An interview is much more than just giving the ‘right’ answer.
It should be seen as an opportunity to embrace the inner you, to show the interviewer your unique potential as a candidate. What are your exceptional selling points – your key achievements? Highlighting your own skills allows you to come across as an authentic candidate and gives you more confidence because you are using your own words.
Rehearsing reams of information, and learning how to phrase each answer word by word is confusing, and will only lead to us becoming more frustrated and nervous before the interview. Plus it doesn’t allow for that crucial element of spontaneity that interviewers need to see in you.
An interviewer is often faced with interviewing a large number of candidates. They look for key specific factors, a candidate that they can ‘connect’ with, and a candidate they ‘believe’ will be capable of doing the job.
How do we convince the interviewer that we are genuine? We use and support our answers with real-life examples in our careers. Sifting through your career to date will allow you to do this.
Where have your demonstrated excellent presentation skills? How can you illustrate that you are a good organiser? This method of interviewing is also called competency-based interviewing and uses behavioural interview techniques to assess how a candidate’s past performance in work-related situations can be used as a predictor of future performance.
It is becoming more widely used as it allows interviewers to bypass the ‘standard’ answers and enables them to see how the person actually performed in their own career. Every job can be described in terms of competencies, namely the skills, abilities or behaviours required. Some will be regarded as essential, others desirable.
Although preparation, research and positivity are all key factors in ensuring interviewing success, remember that embracing your ‘inner you’ let’s you reach out to your interviewer. It enables them to gain an insight into why you are the ideal candidate. Each of us has a ‘box of gold’ inside ourselves.
By identifying your own strengths and skills, you give yourself a powerful edge in communicating. It sets you apart from other candidates and makes you memorable in a more increasing competitive job-seeking environment.
“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else” – Judy Garland.
If you would like us to help you unravel your own unique strengths, email [email protected], putting My Strengths & Skills Questionnaire in the subject line.
Sli Nua Careers (tel 094 95 42965, www.SliNuaCareers.com ) are based on Main Street, Headford, Co. Galway, and carry out CV Preparation, Interview Training, and Personal Branding. For your free e-book on interview & CV tips, email [email protected].
