(1) I dread job interviews. I used to be pretty shy and am still what you might call quiet. My verbal skills aren’t the best, and they are further handicapped in an interview by a couple of factors. I have a very hard time bragging about myself–goes against my upbringing. I like to think before I speak and I have trouble coming up with coherent answers in an instant. Stopping to think hasn’t been well-received in my interview experiences.
(2) I’ve had several bosses who were completely incompetent (including one whose writing was nearly incomprehensible–and a major part of her job was writing grants!) except for the fact that they spoke well. They seemed to have talked their way into their positions and were able to talk their way out of any trouble their incompetence brought upon them.
You might guess my opionion, but I want to hear yours.
Is the interview process a reliable way to guage a future employee’s performance?
Does our society place too much importance on the ability to speak well?
Is the interview process a reliable way to guage a future employee’s performance?
Does our society place too much importance on the ability to speak well?
Sadly, no, not really. I mean, how much can you really tell from someone after interviewing them for an hour or two? There are people who interview well and then go on to be the worst employees imaginable; there are others who may do badly in an interview but who are ultimately excellent employees. But the prospective employer needs to talk to you before he or she hires you, so an interview is important (a simple application isn’t sufficient, IMO).
Yes, but I think we’re actually getting away from that a little. Now it’s easier than ever to work from home, so speaking well isn’t as important (as far as work is related). We’re becoming more and more dependent on the Internet every day; we order groceries online, shop online, pay taxes online. This makes us a little more of a detached society, and therfore less importance is placed on verbal skills.
Interviewing is an acquired art, and the people who can do it the best are the ones who have undergone countless interviews, honing their skills out of necessity. You don’t need to brag about yourself in an interview, either. Prospective employers aren’t looking for someone who’s the greatest person in the world - that person doesn’t exist, and they’ll spot a fake a mile away. What you want to do is be proud of your accomplishments. Even if you don’t have many, you need to convey a feeling of confidence in your abilities.
Since I work in a communication-based position, I’m going to be biased here, but:
Does society place too much empahsis on the ability to speak well? And is the interview process a reliable way to gauge a future employee’s performance?
The answer to both – in some cases yes. The ability to speak well is perceived as a measurement (however flawed) of your ability to deal with things as they’re thrown at you. Employers like employees who are able to think on their feet, and short of putting you through a complete job simulation, an interview is one way they judge that.
Certainly for an engineer or a computer programmer, verbal skills aren’t paramount on the list. But as long as working consists of one person making an assignment and the other person completing it, verbal skills will have some importance.
Also, the importance of chemistry in the workplace can’t be over-emphasized. Again, you can charm your way through an interview and be a complete louse on the job, but if you sit like a log and stare at the interviewer, the question will arise whether you are a future disgruntled employee.
Okay, I’m as humble a person as you’ll meet. I’m 30 now, so I’ve gained some confidence since my first job interview out of college 8 years ago, but I was prepared when I walked into interviews. I became my professional persona. We all take on a different persona when working, and you have to develop it over time.
Since employers don’t know you, you have to point out your positives – whether specifically or in general. Talk them up. And, if your humble, you likely won’t come off so arrogant.
You have to spend time, a couple of nights at least, going over FAQ by employers. Have a friend ask the questions and verbally answer them. Or, look in the mirror and answer those questions. (There’s books out there that will help you with this?)
Remember, if you’re in the interview, the employer already believes you have the qualifications. The interview helps the employer get to know you, and gauge whether you’re a good fit for his business/agency. Is it fair? It’s not perfect, but I don’t think you can downplay the importance of personal interaction when picking an employee.
I’m not an expert on this subject. But, I’ve interviewed for four jobs in my life, and gotten three of them (two as a newspaper reporter and one in my current P.R. position). Luck has had something to do with it, but so does preparation. The only time I was turned down was when I interviewed with a good friend’s husband for a P.R. position. I had a hard time getting into my professional persona because I knew this guy, and I had the attitude that he was going to pick me. I didn’t spend enough time accentuating the positives.
as some one who conducts a lot of interviews and teaches interviewing skills - look at it this way.
The interviewer has about 1/2 hour to ‘figure you out’. Are you as skilled as you appear on paper? Will you get along with the other employees? are you a jerk? And the costs, if they’re wrong, are pretty substantial (it costs quite a bit to hire a new employee only to fire them/have them burn out/quit within short time).
So, we try to increase our odds of winning a good employee.
Practice interviewing - it gets better with practice. If you have tough areas (lack a bit in education or experience, were fired from a previous job or have a felony), especially practice how you’ll handle those questions.
Prepare for the traditional “what are your weak points/strengths” question (my favorite answer to ‘what is your weak point’ was “I don’t interview well”)
As has been pointed out, interviewing is something that becomes easier the more you do it. That’s why I’ve gone interviews even when I wasn’t sure that I qualified for the job or was even interested in the position. The interview should be seen as a two way street: I’ll tell you about me and you can tell me about the position, the company, etc. I always view them simply as another type of conversation. That allows me to be myself, not get stressed out, and just let it flow.
Are verbal communicatin skills over-rated? No. No matter what position you have, no matter how isolated you are, you have to be able to verbally communicate. Written communication can’t contain the inflections and nuances that are important to getting your point across in a way that does it justice. I do a tremendous amout of writing in my position, but my writing style tends to be rigid, dry, and very ordered (the material requires that). Put me in front of a group of people and I can convey the same information but in a much more “user friendly” way. I wouln’t be as good at my job if I didn’t have that ability.
>>Is the interview process a reliable way to guage a future employee’s performance?
Of course not. Particularly if the job never requires communicating with anyone else at any time.
>>Does our society place too much importance on the ability to speak well?
No.
Look, I’m not trying to be flip here. And I am sympathetic with feeling like a dork in a interview. (Hell, I feel like a dork most of the day.)
But the fact is that if you want to be successful in a job that involves dealing with other people (most do) you need to work on being able to communicate with them. If that’s not easy for you, that’s your challenge but you have to face it.
You can be smarter, more talented and more creative than anyone else in the tri-state area (or the planet) but if you can’t communicate your ideas to someone, you won’t be able to do much with your ability.
You found the Straight Dope. That, by definition, means you’re smarter than 99.9% of the planet. Read good books religiously and try and use the language you find there. Don’t be shy. Speak your mind. If you do that, you’ll never have problems speaking