Talking Too Much in Interviews
Interviews are a two-way street.
When it comes to interviews, most applicants expect to be
asked a wide variety of questions about themselves and their qualifications.
The assumption is that the interview exists in order for the potential employer
to get to know the applicant. Prior to
the interview, most clinicians give considerable thought to what questions
might be asked and have a number of potential responses in mind. In fact, most job candidates lose a fair
amount of sleep attempting to have a ready response for almost every question
they can conceive of being asked.
I recently received an e-mail from a job seeker who showed up
for her interview only to have a very different experience. She wrote, “The person doing the
interview just kept talking and talking!” She related that for the entire time
she was in the interview she couldn’t get a word in edgewise and felt that in
order for her to actually say anything she would literally have to interrupt
the person who was interviewing her! Unsure
if speaking up would be perceived as rude, she ended up saying very little about
herself. It was much like that old joke
about going on a first date with a person who can’t stop talking about him- or herself: “Enough about me, let’s talk about you – what do you think of
me?” If it hadn’t been so disappointing
it would almost be funny, she lamented.
I warn applicants all the time about talking too much in an
interview. One of the frequent
complaints I would hear after I had sent an applicant out on an interview was
that the applicant had and taken over control and “dominated” the interview. This
time it was the interviewer essentially doing an hour-long monologue and the
applicant who was allowed to say very little.
Was this interview a total waste? No, I told the candidate; remember that an
interview serves also as an opportunity for you to learn something about the
employer. What you learned in this situation is invaluable: You learned that
this job is probably not going to be a good fit for you.
Take-home message: Don’t get so focused on sharing your own
information that you forget to do your own assessment of the employer. Can you imagine working for this person who
couldn’t stop yakking?
I want to hear your
interview stories! Email me at firstname.lastname@example.org or visit my website www.nursepractitionerjobsearch.com