Page 69 - 101 Dynamite Answers to Interview Questions

62 Nail the Job Interview!

someone without a college degree. Do you plan to conzplete college?” You
may very well be thrown questions that are designed to challenge
what may be perceived to be your well-rehearsed interview script.
Remember, interviewers will be loolung for indications of your
weaknesses by aslung questions that elicit such indicators.

17. Know how you communicate verbally to others.

Strong verbal communication skulls are highly valued by most
employers. They are signs of educated and competent individuals.
Do you, for example, speak in complete and intelligible sentences?
How’s your diction? Do you say ‘g~i~zg” rather than ‘goin, ’’ ‘going to”
rather than “gonnn, ’’ “didn 7t77 rather than “din’t, ’’ ‘j7es77 rather than
and
‘’yea77? Do you have a tendency to use vocalized phases (‘‘~ZS~~
“zahms”) and fillers (‘)oil know, ’’ “like, ’’ “okay”)? How’s your gram-
mar? Do you use the active rather than passive voice? Do you avoid
using tentative, indecisive terms, such as “I think, ’’ ‘‘Ipess, ’’ “I feel”?
Do you avoid ambiguous and negative terms such as “pretp good” or
‘YairZy well” which say little if anything? They may even communi-
cate negatives - that what you did was not good!

18. Know how you communicate nonverbally to others.

How do you dress, groom, greet, shake hands, use eye contact, sit,
maintain posture, use your hands, move your head, maintain facial
expressions, listen positively, eat, drink, or enter and leave a room?
These are nonverbal behaviors that may communicate more about
your competence and personality than what you say in the
interview. You may want to videotape yourself in a mock interview
to see how well you communicate both verbally and nonverbally.

19. Dress for success.

Before you ever open your mouth to speak, your appearance has
already made an impression. Since you never get a second chance
to male a first impression, male it a good one. Make the first few
seconds of the interview work for you by nonverbally communicat-
ing your class, professionalism, and competence.