The worst way to prepare for your job interview

When you are preparing for an interview, you want to make sure you are completely ready before the big day. How you prepare will determine how you perform in the interview.

Unfortunately, it’s easy to prepare in ways that are not actually effective. This causes you to waste time and still be frightened on the day of the interview.

So let’s look at two common ways to prepare for an interview, and talk about the right methods.

Practice

If you are practicing common interview questions and answers, you are listening to questions and giving a possible answer that you might use. You are paying attention to your body language and the fluidity of your speech. Also, you are anticipating your main message and using it in various answers.

Rehearse

If you are rehearsing, you are writing your answer and speaking it out loud in order to memorize it. You are focused on making sure every word is pronounced correctly and that you have no grammar mistakes. In addition, you are anticipating every question you may be asked and preparing a possible answer.

So which one is a better way of preparing for your interview? 

When you’re preparing for an interview, the best thing you can do is to practice for your english interview. Not rehearse. 

Unfortunately, nine times out of ten, people naturally begin to rehearse for interviews instead of practice. Especially non-native speakers. 

Why is it bad to rehearse?

To be clear, rehearsing is not ‘wrong’. There are certain questions you can prepare more or less exactly what you will say. However, rehearsing every answer can be dangerous. Here’s why: 

Rehearsing prevents you from listening

If you know what you’re going to say already, you will not listen as closely to your interviewer. Many interview questions are predictable, but all interviews will contain variation. Rehearsing your exact answers can lead you to make common interview mistakes.

Rehearsing makes it more difficult to improvise

If you are only repeating answers you’ve practiced before, you won’t know how to respond if you don’t understand the question. When you are caught unprepared, you are more likely to make speaking mistakes and appear, well…unprepared. 

If you rehearse, you will sound rehearsed

To almost any native speaker, the difference between a rehearsed answer and a spontaneous answer is clear. This will become even more painfully obvious when you answer a question you didn’t rehearse. You may sound robotic and uninterested and will leave an underwhelming impression. 

So how can you make sure you’re practicing instead of rehearsing? 

Prepare “talking points,” not your entire answer.

It’s easy to want to practice every single word that you want to say. But, for the reasons above, this is not a good idea. Instead, focus on themes and topics that you want to talk about. Form an outline of your answer instead of a script. For example:

Rehearsing:

Question: Why should we choose you for this job?

“I think you should hire me because I work well under pressure. I manage my tasks well so that when something unexpected comes up, I can deal with it promptly. I remember at my previous company, a client asked me if I could give a presentation the next day. Originally, it was supposed to be the following week but there was a conflict. So I had about 24 hours to prepare. Luckily, I had already planned the main ideas and some of the slides. So, instead of panicking, I applied myself to the task and prepared a strong presentation. As a result, the client thanked me for my flexibility and promised to give me more warning next time.”

Practicing:

Question: Why should we choose you for this job?

Main point: I work well under pressure Secondary point: I manage my time well Example: The time I gave the presentation with short notice Result: The client recognized was grateful and recognized my flexibility.

Preparing your main talking points will allow you to be more flexible. It will allow you to listen to the questions and adapt your main message to each question. By the end of the interview, your interviewer will know your best characteristics and recognize your value. 

Practice with someone who will challenge you

A mock interview is crucial to prepare for your interview and is always a good idea.

When you do a mock interview, find someone who has experience as an interviewer if possible. If your practice partner is only asking you the same basic questions, you will not gain valuable experience for the real interview. 

A good mock interviewer will break from the typical script. They will notice details of your answers and ask you to elaborate. For example, they may ask specific questions about your resume or ask you to tell a story about your former supervisor. 

In short, the more you are challenged while practicing, the more prepared you will be for the real thing. 

Prepare for the unexpected

There will always be questions in your interview that you did not prepare for. It’s simply impossible to predict every question and every follow question. And there’s nothing wrong with that. 

Instead of trying to write a script for every answer, think about the questions that might be asked. For example, consider your answer if they ask why you switched jobs after 6 months in one company, or if they ask if you’re willing to work in a different office than you expected. 

The point is not to be prepared for every unusual question. The point is to practice so you are comfortable when you hear a new or unexpected question. 

Without practicing, an unexpected question can cause panic, and damage your whole interview. However, if you practice unexpected questions with a good partner, you will be prepared for everything. 

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