 On Saturday 21 September 2019, I had the opportunity to speak and share with the graduating students of Madrasah Al-Arabiah in Singapore, at the Festival of Learning 2019 @Madrasah Al-Arabiah Al-Islamiah. As we know, job Interviews are always a stressful situation. Yet it is an important phase to go through before we can get hired. One major factor which causes that ‘stressful’ situation during interview is because of our inability to project our confidence; and instead portraying our nervousness when speaking to the interviewers. Because of this, the chances of getting hired is not on the high side. When I was finding jobs to kick start my career, again I have been very fortunate to be able to experience a series of good interviews and no-good interviews. When I transited into the professional speaking journey in the later part of my career, I have been very fortunate to be able to work with various mentees and participants, and gained their insights about acing in job interviews. Here is my recommended 3-P framework that would help you overcome the nervousness during interview: 1) Purpose: Before we go into the interview room, set your intentions right. You need to know why are you taking up this opportunity to be interviewed. When I left my decent-paying job at the library in 2011, attending job interviews at various training companies was because of just one purpose - to hone my stand-up training delivery skills when I got the job. 2) Paradigm Shift In the interview room, chances are, interviewees are at the “mercy” of the interviewers. For example in a typical setting, when the interview asks questions. We will answer. While that is the most common way to do, I would recommend you to have a paradigm shift - by putting on a hat of a “problem’ solver” as you enter the room. As a problem solver, your approach of interview has changed. Instead of just answering questions posed by the interviewer, you are also there to find out what gaps that are missing in the organisation and how you can value add. 3) Preparation Preparing for the interview is important. Preparation is key to help with anxiety management. Besides doing your homework to find out about the company, or the position that you are applying for, I would recommend you to find out possible questions that they might ask. Some popular questions could be “What are your experiences in a similar capacity?” or “What are your weaknesses?” To help you answer those questions, I would recommend you to prepare your answers through story sharing. This is because an appealing story would cover the storytelling process of ethos, pathos or logos; the three components needed to influence people. Hope this article is useful and helps to prepare yourself to overcoming your nervousness and ace that interview so that you can get hired for the job you dream of. Towards your continued success, Hazriq Idrus, Creative Leadership | Public Speaking Strategist | author of 9 books, including "The Stage Fright Antidote" Hazriq Idrus is a stage actor turned professional speaker specialising on Creative Leadership; and is also a Public Speaking Strategist. Using techniques from the theatre, Hazriq delivers keynote talks and training programmes that are interactive and experiential in nature. He founded The Speaking Factory Pte Ltd with a mission to help leaders and their team members connect, communicate and co-create effectively by unocking their creative potentials. Hazriq is contactable at [email protected]. Comments are closed.
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