“Exercise” Your Interview Skills!

Webster’s Dictionary (Excuse me? What’s that?... I meant Wikipedia), defines muscle atrophy as a decrease in the mass of muscle. Luckily, modern medicine has shown that moving around and getting active as soon as possible after a surgery or injury has big positive effects. Many of us, including myself, also know the positive outcomes of staying active by working out and/or going to the gym regularly. Although atrophy is not exactly what I am fighting at this point, it’s more “older” age, I realize the importance of keeping your muscles moving.

So if exercise is good for your muscles and good for your overall health, why not have ‘workouts’ for your career? Olympic gold medalist Nikki Stone has said “Interviews can be quite influential in the outcome of your career… Isn’t it worth putting in the time to perfect your skills?” You never know when you will “need” or “want” to make a career move. Maybe you want more, or your life circumstances have changed, or your company is having a layoff. Sooner or later you will need to brush up on your interview skills. Why not keep them “toned up” all along?

Below are a few tips, as I relate them to my daily gym workouts:

Keep it simple: The key is to just START. There are basics, just like a workout at the gym. You don’t try to do too much or be someone that you are not. For example, I will never be “The Rock”. Most of us are not impressed with this. Just like hiring managers don’t like arrogant candidates who are trying too hard, but they love to see confidence in someone.

Practice makes perfect: Find others who can help ‘simulate’ interview situations. Practice at home in front of a mirror. Just like not all mirrors in the gym are for the ‘beautiful people’ to constantly stare at themselves, but for rather people like me who want to watch their form- and better themselves! Watch your body language – it can often tell more to your interviewers than words can.

Be open to advice from others: Just the other day, a gym colleague came by during one of my exercises and offered me a “better way” to get more out of my workout. Being a ‘coachable person’, I of course tried it and thanked him.  So talk to mentors, friends, other people in your industry, and even your kids-they can teach you a thing or two about technology!

Have a Goal: Like a workout, have a purpose and a goal in mind during the interview process, this will help you stay focused and keep you on track.

Have FUN:  Try to enjoy the process. You don’t always have to be hardcore serious on your interviews, or at the gym … show others your personality, that you’re human!

We recruiters at Hobson always try to offer our job candidates tips and advice because we know how important your careers are to you. You have to keep your body AND mind on point. Just like a muscle, don’t let your interview skills “atrophy”--you never know when you’ll need to use them!

 -Rick