How to talk your way into a job—literally!

Most of your job interviews run on communication. The way you choose to communicate your ideas to the interviewer in those 30–35 minutes (on an average) determines your chances get hired. Basically, it's all coming down to you being able to talk your way into a job! 

Here are a few techniques that you can follow during this time to increase your chances of getting hired:

Do not compromise on preparation

Make sure you are well-prepared before an interview. Being prepared doesn’t only mean setting your alarm, taking a nap, and eating breakfast. These are important, no doubt. But, you also need to be well-versed with your resume. Research well about the company. Study the job-description well, so that you know exactly what the employer is looking for. You can also research on compensation so that if things go well, you know what to ask for. 

Making an impression 

The first thing the interviewer notices about you is the way you have dressed. Make sure that you wear your best outfit for the day. Speak politely with everyone in the office. When you enter the interviewer’s cabin, greet him/her. A ‘good morning’ or ‘hello’ with a firm handshake and healthy smile leaves a good first impression. Be humble enough and ask them, “May I have a seat?”, if you aren’t asked to sit already. Be sure to use pleasantries like ‘please’, ‘sorry’, and ‘thank you’. This displays your etiquette and the interviewer is bound to remember you by easily. 

Turning questions into your favor

Try to subtly turn their questions around into the direction of something you are good at. For example, if you are a fresher and are giving a technical interview, the interviewer may ask you about your technical skills. While you answer this question, you can mention the skills briefly and how you leveraged them while building a major project in college. What happens next? The interviewer asks you about your major project, which is something you know everything about. However, try not to impose such questions in the face of the interviewer. Keep it subtle and make a smooth transition.

Be versatile

With so many applicants with the same qualifications, interviewers look for candidates who can provide the company with some additional skill-set apart from their core competencies. You will need to make yourself stand out, so do not miss an opportunity for displaying your other skills as well.  

For example, let’s say the interviewer asks you about your hobbies. And suppose you have a good amount of followers on youtube for some skill-set. While you answer this question, you could say— “I like to dance, draw, travel, blog. Singing is also one of their interests. I own a Youtube channel for the same, where I upload my vocal videos. It has over 2k+ subscribers.” This way you have made the interviewer aware of the fact that not only do you have other hobbies, you are also good at some of them. Although, what you need to make sure here is that, you don’t brag about your achievements in any field. You can state facts, sure. But, slip them in humbly. Also, do not talk about your other skills too much. You should always talk more about the role you are going to be hired for.

Stories and experiences

Interviews are about making a connection with your recruiter and building a rapport. Therefore, you must remember that stating facts and facts alone is not going to help you achieve that. Stories and experiences are much more powerful than facts. When an interviewer asks you: “Tell me about your experience in your previous company.” 

Don’t say: ”I worked as a junior developer for a year, and then got promoted as a senior developer for a year … and these are the technologies I worked on.” 

Say: ”I started with ‘ABC’ in around December 2017, when I was freshly out of college. I started working as a Junior developer under an amazing mentor. I started with front-end, HTML5, CSS3, Javascript...and soon after migrated to the backend team. The place has helped me learn a lot, and I worked on some advanced technologies like…. and so on..” 

You can tell a story, but keep it short and factual. Try slipping some stories under situational questions as well.

The syncing technique

As VJ Vijai, a Hypnosis hacker suggested in one of his talks on hacking a technical interview, ‘People like people who are like themselves.’ When you sit with an interviewer, observe his/her actions and movements. Sit with the same posture as his/her, look in the same direction he/she is looking. Breath at the same rate. This helps you create a strong connection with the interviewer. That said, don’t mimic yourself to awkwardness. Keep it stealthy and comfortable.

Ask intelligent questions

This technique links to the first point of the article, where we talked about preparation. Once you have done your homework, it is easier for you to ask questions related to the company. You could ask, “What are the challenges that you are primarily addressing as an emerging company for supply-chain in the market?” Don’t ask questions like, “How do you expect me to contribute to the growth of the company?” This is the question you are supposed to answer, not them. Being a good listener during an interview can also give you a chance to ask some credible questions. The interviewer will always appreciate such participation. This also displays your interest in the company.