Mind and Body Control
An interview affects everyone differently, but one feeling is common to everyone – nervousness. Palms begin sweating; feet start tapping, butterflies taking flight in your stomach, etc. There is a simple technique that you can use that will help you combat your nervousness. It involves controlling your muscles and breathing in a little exercise that will relax you bodily and mentally.
First, take a slow deep breath. You can be in any position, standing, sitting, or even lying down, so don’t feel like you have to get into a certain position (it might appear odd to lie down on your back in the lobby while waiting for the interview). Then contract your stomach muscles as though you are doing a sit-up. Then while keeping your muscles tightened or contracted, breathe out slowly. Just repeat this process until the nervousness has passed.
The muscle contractions will help prevent the introduction of chemical imbalances into your body that causes nervousness. The deep, slow breathing will help dispel any chemicals that have built up. The technique not only prepares your body physically, but will also focus your mind on the task at hand. As you focus on repeating the process, your concentration will take your thoughts off of what was causing you to be nervous and when you finish you will be able to focus on the interview and your ultimate success.
Ask a teacher what the number one attribute they are looking for in a student and you’ll invariably get the same response – Attitude. The most important impression you want to leave your interviewer with is that you have the right attitude for the school. Other characteristics are important, such as intelligence and experience, but they aren’t as significant to your success in the interview as your attitude.
Every potential graduate school candidate has their qualifications all polished up and displayed proudly on their application. But those accomplishments are all in the past. An interviewer has to look at you in the present to determine how successful they think you will be in the future. The attitude you display is fundamental to their perception of your future success. Almost every teacher would rather have a team player with a great attitude working at 100%, rather than a flashy superstar working at 50%. Regardless of your usual personality, remember that you’re only in the interview for 30 minutes on average. In that short amount of time, do whatever it takes to wear a smile, remain positive and exude a positive attitude.
It is easy to blame others for your mistakes or shortcomings. If an interviewer asks a question about something that you may be embarrassed about, don’t immediately become negative and blame other people or situations. Accept responsibility for your actions and your past, but make sure that anything negative does not remain the focus. Turn negatives into positives. For example, suppose an interviewer asks, “I see on your application that you show you were in prison for a couple of years. Could you explain what happened?”
“As a teenager, I made my share of mistakes. That time in prison was the best thing that ever happened to me. Since then I have paid my debt to society. I learned to take responsibility for my actions. I was released early on good behavior and have since held the same job for over ten years. During those ten years, I have focused on giving back to the community and have been extremely active in working with troubled youths. My own background has offered an excellent background for this type of community service.”
Whatever you do, don’t constantly shift the blame to others. It’s okay to have had shortcomings in your past. The key in an interview is to show how you’ve learned from those experiences and have moved on and overcome them.
Interviews are often scary situations. It may feel as though your entire future rests in how you behave and perform during those crucial 30 minutes to an hour. That level of tension can create lingering doubts and worry. It is critical that you not allow yourself to fall into that trap, but remain above it and stay confident!
Think back over your past and try to remember all of your accomplishments. It may help to review your application and all of the highlights you’ve listed. Face it, you are a talented individual and are more than capable of the position that you are applying for. The interviewer just doesn’t know it yet, but don’t worry, you’ll show him.
Visualize your success. Years ago, Sir Edmund Hillary was the first person to climb to the top of Mt. Everest. He was later asked how it felt. He responded that it felt just like it had every other time. When asked what he meant, he said that he had already climbed Mt. Everest countless times in his mind. The actual act of climbing the mountain was already a practiced event to him. He had already visualized himself succeeding and that thought sustained him.
Be like Sir Edmund Hillary. Visualize yourself having the best interview in your life and having the graduate school position offered to you. If you can visualize success, then you are already halfway to your goal. You must remain confident in yourself, for if you can’t be confident about yourself, who can? Your confidence begins with you. Practice it for a while, and you’ll see how contagious it can be.
You’ve heard the expression, “GIGO - Garbage in, Garbage out”. Only you can control what you think about. Focus on positive, optimistic thoughts and you will become positive and optimistic. Focus on thoughts of confidence, and you will become confident. Each of us becomes what we think about. Make your choice today about what you want to be, and think on those thoughts!
A person will be judged by the way they appear. You should prepare for your interview by dressing for success. A graduate school interview does not require you to go out and purchase an entirely new wardrobe. One or two conservative outfits should suffice; men should wear dark suits with conservatively patterned ties. It is important to look professional and your clothes are an important aspect of that professional look. Avoid wearing cologne or perfume. Go for the most conservative look you possibly can- some schools are notoriously strait-laced, and even if you aren’t, you will not want to risk shocking them with non-traditional business attire.
Not only do your clothes influence a person’s impression, but their body language will also send strong message. Remain upbeat and positive, have a warm smile that expresses confidence and optimism. Lower your nervousness through breathing and muscle control techniques. Don’t appear defensive if tough questions are being asked, but remain open and friendly.
You should try your best to maintain eye contact when answering any questions. Your eyes shouldn’t wander around the room while you are talking. That makes people think you aren’t telling the truth. Confidently look into the eyes of the interviewer as you address him. If you have difficulty staring someone in the eyes, then stare at their nose, mouth, or another facial feature. They won’t realize it and will think you are looking them in the eyes.
Be aware of your facial expressions. Raised eyebrows, flared nostrils, trembling muscles, or an open mouth may all cause an interviewer to wonder what is wrong and may be a distraction. Other distractions might be excessive hand gestures, which will draw attention to them, rather than to what you are saying.
Have a good posture. A bad slouch may make you appear weak or lazy. You want to come off as having a strong, industrious nature. Finally, keep a few feet between yourself and the interviewer. You want them to have enough space to remain comfortable. A good three feet is generally considered a minimum distance to stay apart during the interview.
Maintain control over your involuntary nervous habits. Make sure that you aren’t tapping your feet, or drumming your fingertips on a desk. Don’t nervously keep crossing your legs back and forth. Avoid crossing your arms. Don’t fidget around in your seat or move anxiously about. Stay calm and collected throughout the interview. You’re a professional, look the part!
Interviewers will judge you by the words that you use and your conversational patterns. It is important to articulate properly. Choose your words carefully. It is okay to use “big” words in your interview, but make sure that you’re using them properly. Communication is a huge part of daily life and interviewers are watching to make sure that you can effectively use good English. Make sure that you don’t use colloquial terms such as gonna, fixin to, kinda, or ya know. You also don’t want to use filler words or expressions such as ummm, uhhh, yeah, uh huh, or okay. These are all danger words that can kill a first impression. They will be a distraction to an interviewer and will make you sound as though you’re struggling to maintain the conversation and your flow of thought. It is better to have pauses between phrases, rather than to constantly say, “Uhhh.”
Everyone has certain words that they use which are questionable. You are so accustomed to your own speech patterns that you may not be able to identify your own danger words. Ask a friend to monitor your speech and let you know what words are your favorite expressions that are constantly repeating. It will surprise you how frequently you will use the same term. Once you’ve identified the words you must watch for, you can begin to correct your speech and eliminate them from your standard vocabulary.
When you are in an interview, it is important to make the interviewer comfortable. After all, the interviewer may well be a future teacher or mentor and wants to feel at ease around you. First impressions are crucial. People will judge you based upon themselves. The more you appear to be like them, the more comfortable they will be around you. Therefore you want to do everything possible and within reason to look like them, act like them, talk like them, and behave like them. In other words, you want to mirror them.
The first thing you generally do when you meet your interviewer is exchange handshakes. This is your first opportunity to demonstrate this mirroring technique. A handshake only lasts a second, and so you will have to react quickly. Give their hand an initial medium strength squeeze. Depending on if they are squeezing back strongly or lightly, compensate. A person, usually a woman, who has a soft handshake, does not want her hand mauled. Another usually a man with a powerful handshake does not want a timid response. People will judge you by your handshake, and it can immediately influence their first impression of you.
The key to remember is that you do not want to be on the extreme. You should be biased strong, or weak, depending upon their reaction, but be on the neutral side of their grip. If they have a strong grip, increase your own pressure, but don’t overpower them. If they have a weak grip, decrease your own pressure, but don’t go completely limp. If you must err, err on the side of firmness. Nothing is a quicker initial turnoff than a handshake that is too weak.
Mirroring goes far beyond the first handshake. Watch your interviewer and follow their behavior. Don’t be the first to sit down, wait for them. If they appear relaxed and casual, then by all means, follow suit. But allow them to set the pace. If they are professional and formal, then don’t kick back your chair and stretch out.
As soon as you can determine their conversational patterns, mimic that as well. If they talk in a slow drawl, slow down your own speech. If they are quick and precise, then speed up the rate of your responses. Get into synch with their speech and let them set the pace. Each interviewer will have their own speed of conducting the interview. You should be able to quickly pick up on how fast they will ask questions and expect responses. If an interviewer is firing questions off at you, be able to fire back answers with a smile on your face.
Be careful though. Don’t go so far as to be obvious. Don’t use your best Australian accent if the interviewer happens to be from Australia. You do not want to impersonate your interviewer and mimic his every move, or he will quickly see through the deception. The idea is to get a feel for their behavior and follow suit such that they see you as one of them. If you are ever unsure of how far you should go, err on the side of caution, and stop where you are.
At the end of the interview, you want the interviewer to think, “That’s someone I could use as a student.” If you’ve matched his style, level of emotion, formality, and pace, you will succeed. Each interviewer will be different and have a different approach. It is up to you to adjust your response to their style and customize yourself for the interview.
Interviewers are usually total strangers. It can be difficult at best to have smooth flowing conversations between strangers and get beyond the surface level. In interviews, you will be speaking with someone who has a checklist in front of them and are trying to fill it out. They have a list of predetermined questions they believe will allow them to gauge your effectiveness.
By mirroring their speech and behavior patterns, and having a positive attitude, you have already set the interviewer at ease around you. Once they are comfortable, they are more inclined to deviate from their list of predetermined questions and may be willing to relax. It is crucial to get interviewers to open up to you and enable you to find out what situations they might be in, what challenges they are facing, what are their worries, their concerns. Soak up every bit of information that you can get them to divulge. Dig deep and determine what are their important needs by asking focused questions.
This crucial information will allow you to customize your interview even further. As they explain some of the challenges they are facing, you can relate those to your own background and make yourself seem more credible or impressive.
Always make a clear specific request for what you want. Try to ask questions that will allow you to make good tie-ins to your own experience or abilities. For example, if they explain that they are installing a new graduate specialization program, you might ask, “How long has the implementation phase lasted?”
If a question is asked that you do not have an immediate answer for, but you have a good answer and need a little time to think of it, then buy some time. Ask for clarification. Ask how the question relates to the school or position. Then while clarification is being provided, you will have that needed time to think of your answer.
In addition, asking a clarifying question gives you insight into the interviewer’s internal biases and thinking processes. Since the interview form usually doesn’t include “clarification,” the interviewer will have to make up this information on their own, often revealing subtle clues about what they “want” to hear from your answer.
Interviewers are accustomed to having graduate applicants say anything necessary in order to appear to fit in and to look their best. Sometimes remaining candid and forthright about the position is the best approach. Start out the interview by saying, “I’m not sure if your company is going to be a good match with my capabilities. If you could first just answer a few questions, it would be helpful for me to determine there is a good fit between us.” Ask school related questions to find out pertinent information.
Customize your response to show how each of the main points or answers that you were given fits in perfectly with your capabilities. For example, “You had stated that much of the graduate program position would consist of research and running reports for analysis. In my last class of marketing at LSU, that was one of my primary responsibilities. I had many years of experience using report writing software, as well as spreadsheet and database programs to analyze the data.” Don’t just give one example of how your abilities are a fit. Use all of the information the interviewer provided in order to show how you are tailor made for this position.
During your questions if you are unclear on anything, don’t be afraid to ask for clarification. This will give you a clearer picture of their schools needs, goals, and interests. Questions can uncover the fluff and in many ways, that questioning feedback shows interest and knowledge of the material (as long as your clarification questions are legitimate).
Good questions are a sign of a good listener and someone knowledgeable about the subject matter. As an interviewer is talking, if you need clarification, or want to show your understanding of the topic, ask strategic questions to demonstrate your credibility. But be careful. Your credibility can be dashed with a few careless words. It is better not to ask or say anything if the chance exists that it will not sound intelligent. Don’t say something just to fill a void in a conversation. If there is any chance that you don’t understand a question being asked, then say, “Just so I understand, you are asking about…” Remember the old proverb, which states, “ It is better to be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”
Any job that only lasts for a brief period of intensity, such as professional sports or professional music, requires hours and hours of practice. Your interview is no different. If you are not currently in graduate school, you still have a job. Your job is finding a graduate school. Your interview is crucial to getting that position; yet it only lasts for a brief period of time, usually 30 minutes. In order to guarantee success, practice!
Career services or career centers will usually offer mock interviews. By all means, take advantage of every opportunity to practice your interviewing techniques. Practice can be the difference between a good interview and a bad interview. Since a good interview can mean getting a position, you should practice thoroughly before hand.
Ask your friends to make up questions for you to practice. Simulate real interview conditions, using time constraints or even getting dressed up. An objective observer, such as your friends, can point out your strengths and weaknesses much better than you can yourself. They could also point out any words that you have a habit of repeating that need to be removed from your standard vocabulary.
Remember that you can always become your own objective observer. Videotape yourself. By watching your own interview, you can see what you did well and what needs extra work. It will allow you to focus your practice on areas that need the most improvement.