- Enunciation and clarity of speech
- Vocabulary, diction, and grammar
- Ability to listen
- Lucid, clearly articulated thoughts
Some of the bad ones include:
- Being argumentative (If the interviewer is blatantly wrong about something, don’t dwell on it).
- Trying to BS or guess the answers to things they do not know.
- Peppering the conversation with buzzwords to hide lack of in-depth knowledge.
- Rambling on about unimportant things, not knowing when to stop.
Regarding enunciation, clarity of speech, vocabulary, diction, and grammar – although people for whom English is a second language might seem to be at a disadvantage, that’s not always the case. Sometimes immigrants know English better than native speakers, at least at a formal level, since they are more likely to have recently studied English grammar and syntax. Most English speakers by comparison haven’t studied grammar since grade school.
The disadvantage that immigrants often do have is in the area of accents. Eradicating an accent is a difficult endeavor, and perhaps not even one you should bother with. Still, you can mitigate the effects of a strong accent by speaking slowly and enunciating clearly. Nearly everyone gets nervous at interviews, and nervousness often makes people speak faster. Resist that urge and speak out every syllable deliberately and clearly.
Note that “vocabulary and diction” does not mean you need to talk like William F. Buckley. However, you should avoid the use of slang and other informal speech. Also, you should speak in complete sentences whenever possible.
The ability to listen should be obvious, but you’d be surprised how many candidates I meet who don’t actually answer the questions I ask. I might ask “How would you use XYZ to do this?”, and they’ll proceed to rattle off everything they know about XYZ, while not bothering to actually answer the question about applying XYZ to the problem. Perhaps they don’t know the answer, or perhaps they’re just trying to impress me with their wealth of knowledge about XYZ. Or perhaps they’re preparing for a career in politics.
Finally, lucidity and articulation of thought should be obvious, but I see too many candidates who stumble over their own words. Again, this happens because they get nervous or excited and try to talk too fast, and their brains have difficulty catching up. If you find yourself in this situation, remember – take a deep breath and sloooow down. There’s nothing wrong with pausing for a few moments before you deliver your answer. It might even make you seem more thoughtful.
2 comments:
I try to sell my communication skills in an interview, not only by demonstrating them (as you say, through good listening and clear speech) but by talking about past real-world application. For example, a time when I was able to help a client clarify his thinking about a requirement, or when I helped resolve a disagreement between people on my team.
I also always make sure to include some clients or end-users that I've worked with among my references. When I got my current job, one of my references told my boss that I always picked up the phone when she called me, which he saw as a major plus (even though I'm not in a customer-facing job).
Very well presented - I may use this blog entry as a primer for some interviewers on my team.
@jacobm - if you have to explain at tedious length that you have people skills, you don't. For example, if I ask some technical question and you ramble on about how you once halped some client clarify his thinking, that would be bad. :)
Post a Comment