Communication in the Job Interview – Essentials
In any organization, a good communicator is a positive assert and a long-term investment. Hence interviewers gauge the communication skills of the candidates. They may not be very particular about the accuracy of each answer but their primary target is fluently of expression, which you will have to demonstrate with utmost ease and facility while you respond to questions.
Your communication skills are one of the areas that an employer is looking at on the job interview. Many people will go into a job interview and say to the employer, “I have excellent communication skills.” But, if your interview suggests otherwise, then you’re just blowing hot air.
The interview gives you an opportunity to show off your communication skills. Communicating is more than just talking someone to death or listening to you talks. Communicating is a two part process. In an interview situation, you have to use active listening. Active listening basically means paying attention to what the other person is saying. Many people practice lazy listening. This is where you are not paying attention to the person speaking and you’re busy thinking about other things or what you’re going to say.
When the interviewer asks you a question, you can start off your answer by restating the question. This gives you extra time to form your answer.
For example, the interviewer asks, “How would your former employer describe you?”
Your answer would start off as, “My former employer would describe me as…”
When answering a question, keep your answers short and to the point. If you’re telling a story, keep it simple. The interviewer doesn’t need to know the life history of the people in the story. Don’t use slang or a bunch of ump’s and hubs.
Remember, you are trying to demonstrate to the interviewer that you have excellent communication skills. When you use umps and hubs throughout your answers, it signals to the interviewer that you aren’t sure of your answers or you don’t have excellent communication skills.
Practice your answers before the interview. You can’t know every question that he or she will ask you, but with the “most frequently asked questions” section of this website, you’ll be more prepared than most people.
During a job interview, a potential employer asks, “Can you take on more than one project at a time?” If you respond, “Yes,” you may want to rethink that answer. Be specific. Here’s a preferred answer to the question above, “In general, depending upon the type and length of projects, I believe I can efficiently handle more than one project at a time.” Active listening means two things: analysis and response to the message being communicated. An active listener maintains eye contact and good posture with a slight lean towards the speaker. Gestures, appearance, timing, voice responses, facial expressions, spatial distance – all affect how the speaker (or interviewer) interprets thelistener. So a person preparing for a job or work project interview should consider the cultural climate and norms of societyof the interviewer. In short, perceived active listening based on nonverbal signals can vary from culture to culture. Especially in this age of such great cultural diversity, be courteous of others regardless of cultural, sexual or societal backgrounds. If you are a woman and get to a door before a man, open it. If your interviewer doesn’t speak English very welland looks puzzled at your words, go back and explain yourself again in different words and re-establish a good communication exchange. A major part of active listening is paraphrasing. It’s not the same as summarizing. A summary is a shortened version of the original message, focusing on the main point. To paraphrase means to re-state the message in your own words. Active listeners take notes by paraphrasing or restating what the speaker said in their own words, and summarizing main points. A good listener is not the same thing as a silent listener. Good listeners ask questions, even something like, “Is this an accurate statement of what you have said?” to let the speaker know that you understand the message being communicated.
In any organization, a good communicator is a positive assert and a long-term investment. Hence interviewers gauge the communication skills of the candidates. They may not be very particular about the accuracy of each answer but their primary target is fluently of expression, which you will have to demonstrate with utmost ease and facility while you respond to questions.
Your communication skills are one of the areas that an employer is looking at on the job interview. Many people will go into a job interview and say to the employer, “I have excellent communication skills.” But, if your interview suggests otherwise, then you’re just blowing hot air.
The interview gives you an opportunity to show off your communication skills. Communicating is more than just talking someone to death or listening to you talks. Communicating is a two part process. In an interview situation, you have to use active listening. Active listening basically means paying attention to what the other person is saying. Many people practice lazy listening. This is where you are not paying attention to the person speaking and you’re busy thinking about other things or what you’re going to say.
When the interviewer asks you a question, you can start off your answer by restating the question. This gives you extra time to form your answer.
For example, the interviewer asks, “How would your former employer describe you?”
Your answer would start off as, “My former employer would describe me as…”
When answering a question, keep your answers short and to the point. If you’re telling a story, keep it simple. The interviewer doesn’t need to know the life history of the people in the story. Don’t use slang or a bunch of ump’s and hubs.
Remember, you are trying to demonstrate to the interviewer that you have excellent communication skills. When you use umps and hubs throughout your answers, it signals to the interviewer that you aren’t sure of your answers or you don’t have excellent communication skills.
Practice your answers before the interview. You can’t know every question that he or she will ask you, but with the “most frequently asked questions” section of this website, you’ll be more prepared than most people.
During a job interview, a potential employer asks, “Can you take on more than one project at a time?” If you respond, “Yes,” you may want to rethink that answer. Be specific. Here’s a preferred answer to the question above, “In general, depending upon the type and length of projects, I believe I can efficiently handle more than one project at a time.” Active listening means two things: analysis and response to the message being communicated. An active listener maintains eye contact and good posture with a slight lean towards the speaker. Gestures, appearance, timing, voice responses, facial expressions, spatial distance – all affect how the speaker (or interviewer) interprets thelistener. So a person preparing for a job or work project interview should consider the cultural climate and norms of societyof the interviewer. In short, perceived active listening based on nonverbal signals can vary from culture to culture. Especially in this age of such great cultural diversity, be courteous of others regardless of cultural, sexual or societal backgrounds. If you are a woman and get to a door before a man, open it. If your interviewer doesn’t speak English very welland looks puzzled at your words, go back and explain yourself again in different words and re-establish a good communication exchange. A major part of active listening is paraphrasing. It’s not the same as summarizing. A summary is a shortened version of the original message, focusing on the main point. To paraphrase means to re-state the message in your own words. Active listeners take notes by paraphrasing or restating what the speaker said in their own words, and summarizing main points. A good listener is not the same thing as a silent listener. Good listeners ask questions, even something like, “Is this an accurate statement of what you have said?” to let the speaker know that you understand the message being communicated.
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