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Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners
What can I do to become better at job interviews?
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I feel like no amount of preparing ever makes me a good candidate during an interview because there are ALWAYS unexpected questions that are asked- which means I never got to rehearse them. When I get caught off guard I get sooo nervous and my mind goes blank. Some people can naturally talk their way through and say something amazing on the spot but I cant. Any way I can improve on this? -
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Grace du Prie
Counsellor
A HOLISTIC SERVICE.Would you like a more satisfying and rewarding life? Are you looking to get a great job? Or do you have important choices … View Profile
Being nervous is normal and most experienced interviewers understand this. And it rarely harms your chances if you acknowledge your nervousness. No one is expecting you to be perfect, just be the best you can be. It’s very important to be yourself. The interviewers want to meet the real person.
However, excessive nervousness can work against you — especially if you continually apologise for it. It makes other applicants, who are more relaxed and confident, seem more attractive.
-One thing that can help you to relax a little, apart from doing relaxation exercises, is to realise that the interviewers are actually on your side. They have seen something good in your resume and want to know more. They have not come to judge you but to receive confirmation why you can do the job.
-You will be able to control your nervousness more effectively if you have taken the time to practise answering questions before the interview. The secret is to practise Q & A out loud (not just in your mind) You can do this with a friend or someone who can coach you. It’s not about ‘learning’ answers but understanding the process better. I do often coaching sessions with clients and the more they understand about the process the better they perform during the IV.
-It does not help to try and learn specific answers to specific questions by heart. It is much more important to know your work history ‘story’ and to be able to answer with examples of your own experience. Prepare by going through your work history and find examples that you can present. Having a good resume can help you with that. For instance: what have been your strength areas in the past, how do your past skills match the vacant position, what attracts you to this job and company,
-Remember, if you don't understand the question ask for the context in which the answer should be or ask for a little bit of time to think about the response.
The recent trend in job interviewing has been towards behavioural or competency-based interviews.
Behavioural interviewing is about looking at your previous experiences and situations and behaviours that you demonstrated to try to gain insight as a predictor of your future performance.
Examples of real-life situations are the best way for employers to understand how candidates are likely to handle similar scenarios in the position being filled.
The easiest way to make sure the question has been answered completely is to remember the acronym:
STAR: situation, task, action, result.
Describe the situation you were in, what was the task you were doing, what actions you put in place, and what results you achieved.
Again, be yourself, and keep in mind that many people who have to conduct interviews are often also nervous as it is not their day to day job. Good luck!Report this post
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Dr Simon Easterbrook-Smith
Health Professional
My research interests include immunology and the mechanisms of amyloid formation. The latter has implications for people who are dealing with Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease … View Profile
I think that Grace has offered you good advice. Adding to it (in my day job I interviewed people quite often):
It is fine for you to take some time to compose your thoughts before responding to an “unexpected” question. This is specially important if you think that the question is unclear - it is OK to ask the questioner to clarify - "Do you mean X or Y?".
The risk that you run without clarifying is that you could respond to Y while the questioner might have X in mind - not a good look.
All the best.Report this post
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Margie Ulbrick
Counsellor
I am a Melbourne Relationship Counsellor and Family Lawyer who is skilful in helping people get out of the pain of relationship distress and create … View Profile
In addition to the helpful advise recommended I would also suggest an appointment with a counsellor who can take you through a visualisation and help you programme your brain in advance as to what you want to experience. You are basically conditioning yourself to expect success. This is different from hypnotherapy in that you are awake and you use new skills to create a new picture in your mind and to feel that in your body. Athletes do this all the time. Find someone who is experienced in this kind of creative visualisastion. In addition EFT works well in this area. Please contact me if you need more information. All the best.
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