4 Smart & Simple Tips for a Friendlier Job Interview [VIDEO]

TL;DR: Uncomfortable in job interviews? Talking to your interviewer as if they were a friend will let the true you shine through for a winning job interview.

> Watch time: 4 minutes or Click here to read the transcript

4 Smart & Simple Tips for a Friendlier Job Interview [TRANSCRIPT]

Hey there! Jennifer Shryock here with Rainmaker Resumes.

Today I’ve been thinking about interviewing as if you’re speaking with a good friend.

This comes up a lot for my clients, especially those who are:

A little bit nervous about the job interview, or maybe
They’re defensive — a sense that the interviewers just won’t get them, or they’re out to get them, or maybe they’re trying to, you know, trip them up and see how they handle stress. That does happen in some interviews, but it’s rare.

1. Overcome Any Fears

Either way, whether it’s happening, or you’re just bringing that fear into the interview with you, one way to overcome it is to imagine that the interviewer is a good friend and you’re just speaking to the good friend.

Try This!

I love to superimpose a friend’s face — or somebody who I know really cares and wants to hear what I’m going to say — whenever I’m speaking to a difficult group. You can use that in your job interview, too.

2. Speak with Detail

Another way that interviewing as if you’re speaking to a good friend can be helpful is if you tend to be a little bit too vague, which is also something I hear a lot.

So, you might find yourself just wanting to kind of list your titles: “As you’ve seen on my resume; I’ve held these titles or job descriptions; I’ve been responsible for this or that.”

Those tend to be way too vague for an interview.

Yes, the interviewers may know a lot about your industry or your position, but they don’t know about you. And the way to convey more about what you’ve done is to go into some more detail.

Here’s how…

3. Take Action: Practice with a Friend

You can practice with a friend. You can have a friend ask you an interview question, and then you answer it as you would in the interview.

And then ask your friend: “Did you understand?” And it may be that your friend says:

“No. You said you were an account manager. What does that mean? What, what do you manage? What does it look like when you are in full swing? Give me an example of a time when you overcame a challenge.”

So your friend, if they can’t really convey back to you what you do at work, that’s a good indication that you’ve been too vague or your tendency is to be vague in the interview.

4. Assume Interviewers Are Intelligent

Of course, assume that your interviewers are intelligent — that they want to hear from you, or they wouldn’t have brought you in and asked you any questions.

Just like a good friend cares about you, they want to know more about you, they’re intelligent — but they don’t know what you look like on the job. They may not even understand what you do on the job.

And by conveying more of those details as if you were speaking to a good friend, you’re likely to convey much more of the relevant information that your interviewer needs to know.

Got Questions?

I’d love to hear how this goes for you, what your experience has been in interviews.

And if you try any of my tips, let me know!

Check back, good luck in your job interviews, and I’ll talk to you soon.

Let me know if you’ve got any questions. Drop them in the comments below. I’ll be sure to answer them right here.