Interview Survival Guide: top tips for introverts

Written for LinkedIn: view the original here.

 Interviews might look at first glance like a bit of a nightmare for introverts. They’re all about talking, after all: using what you say and what you have done to create a winning impression and persuade your interviewers that you’re the person that they should invest the organisation’s money and time in.

Let’s not deny it: it’s an uncomfortable experience for most people, but for those far along the introversion spectrum it’s quickfire nature can feel particularly bruising.

Whilst most great advice applies to introverts and extroverts alike, it is important that introverts take particular note of advice for coping when one feels one’s energy draining as the process is played out. With no likelihood of any radical rethinking of how we recruit any time soon, they are very much the left-handed folk in a world created for the right-handed.

Here are some top tips for introverts to be their best at interview.

Anticipate universals

By universals, I mean qualities and characteristics that are likely to be desired, and considered as highly important, to almost any role or to a wide enough group of roles that they transcend role and sectoral boundaries.

Leadership, communication, decision-making, prioritising, dealing with conflict, Examples of success and failure (and how you learned from them), your key strengths, your key weaknesses and where you see yourself in 5 or 10 years are all areas you can expect to be asked about.

Then of course, there is the obvious question of why you want the job and what you will bring to it.

Take a good look at your career and life story to date. Against each key area, put examples that can be used as evidence. Look at this periodically to see if it needs updating, but also to really learn your story so that reaching for a good answer when put on the spot feels more like a gentle stroll than an Olympic sprint.

If you have any formal or informal coaches or mentors that you trust, get them to practice firing questions at you.

If in doubt, spell it out!

Beware of leaving any important points unspoken. IT’s really crucial that you do more than describe when presenting examples, presenting qualities or responding to scenarios.

Since there is less of an immediate connection between thought and vocalisation for someone far along the introversion spectrum, there is a risk that key points may be left as implicit for the interviewer to pick up upon. If they are half decent as an interviewer, they probably will get it, but don’t leave it to chance. Show that you really know why you’re the candidate for this role!

Suppose I ask you how you might handle an angry customer. You may think to yourself that you need to give an example that displays tact, sensitivity and ultimately reaches a solution. If you aren’t sure if you have got this across in how you have presented the case, it takes a matter of seconds at the end of your answer to affirm again what characteristics the situation calls for. Don’t leave it to chance. Even if it feels forced or stylistically clumsy, the substance of your answer will always matter more than the polish of your presentation.

Have some clear lines when you need time

However much you prepare, an unexpected question may throw you. Here’s one a friend threw at me in a practice interview: “If you wrote your autobiography, what would its title be?” You bet I had to think about it!

Don’t leave your interviewer guessing whether the question is a struggle for you, or whether you are just thinking your answer out. It’s much better to ask clearly and plainly for a minute to think about the answer.

Learn the art of mindfulness

I am a passionate champion of the practice of mindfulness. Whilst the grand symphony of a full-blown session of mindfulness meditation does wonders for the soul, mindfulness can be applied in a matter of seconds even in highly pressurised situations like an interview.

At the core of mindfulness is bringing one’s attention fully to the present moment, letting go of the thoughts crowding the mind and focussing on the here and now. It is done through the medium of the breath, training our attention solely on the sensation of the breath’s rising and falling.

If you find that you are thinking too much, perhaps anticipating something yet to come or dwelling on the questions that have passed, give yourself a few seconds to count a couple of breaths and note where you can sense its rising and falling in your body. It’s like taking a broom to your mind and giving it a quick sweep so it can grapple fully with the question in hand.

Don’t panic about asking questions

You’ve probably heard it said that you should ask a question if given the opportunity to do so. I fully endorse this advice. This can be made easier by making sure some questions are prepared beforehand.

It’s also important to remember that questions don’t have to be complicated – the simpler, the better, in fact.

You may simply want to know what the organisation is like to work in from their own perspective. You may want to know how they see the role, for example by asking what are the main challenges that they anticipate or what success looks like. You may want to ask something very specific, such as about the systems that will be used.

There’s no such thing as a silly question, unless they’ve already addressed it in the job description. IT’s all about communicating interest, engagement and motivation.