Today most people will have more than one career and probably even more jobs in a lifetime. With this in mind, The Voice Clinic, a leading communication skills training company, has devised some tips on getting you hired. Not looking for a job? These tips can also apply to those in sales, public speaking or for better communication in general.
Interviewing skills is one of the fastest growing areas of group and one-on-one coaching at The Voice Clinic. Research has shown that the majority of applicants are unprepared when they come in for a job interview. “Winging it”, as one HR person described it, is not appreciated. An interviewer questions a prospect’s professional skills when the importance of an interview occurs in such don’t care way,” says Monique Harrisberg, CEO of The Voice Clinic.
Get the edge of your competition. Use these techniques in preparation and in your interview so you come across with confidence and credibility. Be someone with the professional polish that companies want to hire.
Here are three areas to work on:
Your attitude: Prepare the answers to the questions and read them out loud. Getting specific of your intentions helps you be focused and will reflect in your voice quality when answering questions.
· Three of your greatest strengths
· Three of your weaknesses and how you improve on them
· Three goals of getting a job that excites you
· Three things that you can bring to the job that others can’t
· Three reasons you want to work for the company
Your body language: Become conscious of the unconscious. In the hiring process studies show that 65-70% of a hiring decision may be based on the non verbal communication. 55 % of our inner thoughts and feelings are revealed through body language and we are not conscious of what our body is saying.
Interviewer’s observations before a word are spoken:
As the prospect is waiting, are they: pacing back and forth? Relaxed or tensed? Reading, fidgeting or smoking? Do they shake hands, smile and make eye contact?
How do they walk? A confident prospect walks in with head up, a firm step and shoulders back and arms swinging?
Where do they sit when offered a choice? Near the interviewer? As far as possible?
How is their sitting posture? Facing toward or away or away from interviewer?
Your voice: Conveying interest and enthusiasm, your voice completes the image that you want to project. Do not take it for granted that what you say and how you say it will not matter. Congruent appearance, body language, and voice equates with trust.
VOICE PRACTICE AND PREPARATION
Practise out loud using the guideline below:
· Project your voice loudly enough to be heard
· Articulate clearly
· Use pauses for emphasis
· Watch your speech and pace
· Avoid talking too fast or too slow
· Monitor voice quality: avoid mumbling or having too high a pitch
· Let your natural personality come through
The other half of being interviewed is about not talking. Be in the moment. In other words, discipline yourself to doing the following:
· Focus your attention on the interviewer and what is being said
· Listen for content of what is being said
· Listen for information to be evaluated later
· Do not evaluate while listening
· Give positive, non verbal feedback (nod, smile)
The Voice Clinic offers complimentary communication and lifestyle assessments, call us today!
