The non-intuitive formula to job interview success.
by Sharon Saylor, JobMob
You’ve role-played your interview over and over, you’ve researched the company and come up with three ways you will be a team player, how to be an asset to the company and the one thing you’ve learned from failure….
You’ve been coached on what to say, you’ve practiced your firm handshake, your friendly smile and know how to make good eye contact….
You’re ready!
Well, I hate to break it to you, but none of those will set you apart from all the other candidates for the job. The examples above are choreographed and they look it….
Face it; all job candidates are coached on the skills above to make the right first impression. So, how do you set yourself apart from the crowd to be memorable?
Show your passion!
The purpose of a passionate delivery is to persuade. Passion is contagious. A passionate tone of voice creates an emotional connection and it’s the emotional connection someone feels towards you that makes him or her decide in your favor.
Research shows that we are feeling creatures that happen to think even though we like to believe we are thinking creatures that feel. We make decisions on how we feel and rationalize it later, so take advantage of that little known fact and create a passionate tone of voice that others are drawn to.
To create a passionate tone of voice you need two things: emotional connection to your message and natural breathing — with natural breathing being the most important.
Breathing is more than supplying oxygen to your lungs. It profoundly influences your mood, how your brain functions, how sensitive your nerves are, how tired or alert you feel, it can activate your “fight-or-flight” response and it determines how others react to you.
Unconsciously, the listener(s) react to how you are breathing. If you are breathing shallow and rapid — what the listener labels as “anxious” or “stressed” — the listener(s) rarely believe your message as their fight-or-flight response has been activated by your rapid breathing. Your shallow, rapid breathing unconsciously signals “danger.” No one hires someone that makes him or her “nervous,” “unsettled,” or “in danger.”
Reminding yourself to breathe naturally and comfortably, no matter the situation, delivers a passionate, nonverbal message of confidence and poise.
This simple equation explains it all:
+ An emotional connection to your message
+ Full, complete, natural breathing
= A passionate tone of voice
Yet, to create solid rapport to set yourself apart of the crowd, expand the equation to have:
+ An emotional understanding of the interviewer’s desires, fears and needs
+ An emotional connection to your message
+ Full, complete, natural breathing
= A passionate tone of voice that the listener believes and creates the know-like-trust factor.
For bonus points and to really create raving fans, combine the above with a message that will arouse curiosity, intrigue, anticipation, and desire in the interviewer, so much so that they’ll feel compelled to take action in your favor. Like passion, intrigue is a powerful motivator.
To create intrigue, your message has to be 100% about the listener’s desires, fears and needs. What is exciting, different, or a new way at looking at a long-standing problem or a current challenge you can fix for them?
Leave your listener in a state of curiosity and just slightly unsatisfied. Why? You will be remembered; you are still an unfinished conversation to them…. The intrigued listener is likely to seek you out for completion of the conversation. The mind hates a “vacuum” and will seek closure.
In closing, while the passionate tone of voice is easy to create and is the one nonverbal that will make you memorable, combine it with full breathing and the body language of success for a cohesive message. When you combine a passionate tone of voice; full, natural breathing; a bit of intrigue with the body language of success, the body language no longer looks choreographed.
To use body language that says success, walk into the interview with your chin parallel to the ground, eyes forward and use a slow-smile. A slow-smile is one that starts with a neutral face and when the person says their name, your smile should be at its zenith. The full smile at the same time someone says his or her name says non-verbally “this smile is just for you.” As you shake hands take your cue as to firmness of grip and the length of the handshake from the interviewer, all while making consistent, but not constant eye contact.
The final formula to nail your next job interview is:
+ Emotional understanding of the interviewer’s desires, fears and needs
+ An emotional connection to your message that creates intrigue in the listener
+ The body language of success
+ Full, complete, natural breathing
= A listener that knows, likes and trusts you.
When you are known, liked and trusted you become the perfect combination to be their next hire!