#4. Top Ten Interviewing Mistakes: Rambling during your interview

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You only have 45 minutes to sit down with your interviewer and impress them. Aside from not answering the question, rambling on and on about your experiences is the worst thing you can do during an interview answer. Your answers should be concise, short, and straight to do the point. Every word you say should show why you’re an excellent candidate.

Saying more does not necessarily mean you know more

As you become more confident with answering questions, you’ll speak more fluidly and you’ll have much more to say. This in turn leads you to talk faster and say more to show that you are very knowledgeable.

Remember, the interviewer will remember how he FELT during the interview

NOT what you said during the interview.

If you speak very fast and ramble with your answers, the interviewer will remember feeling confused during your interview. You must control the tempo and pace of your voice so that he feels that you are confident and that you know what you’re talking about.

Tips to help you not ramble:

• Keep your answers around 2-4 minutes long so that he remembers what you actually say
• Emphasize key points during your story so that he feels what parts are important and what parts you created the greatest impact
• Speak with a lower tone of voice and slow down your speech

Structure, structure, and structure

The number one reason we ramble during our interview answers is that we don’t structure our answers correctly. Your natural reaction is to start blurting out an answer as quickly as possible because you want the interviewer to think that you really do know what you’re talking about. The truth is, interviewers appreciate it when you sit back for five seconds, gather your thoughts, and give them a clear and well structured answer.

General interview structure:

1. Set up the situation in detail

• Interviewers want to know the exact details of your story because it shows that you are detail oriented and that you are telling the truth. Set up the situation with the time frame, position, and project goal.

1. Finish your interview answer with what you learned from your experience

• It is always good to tell the interviewer how good you were at your past internship; it is even better to show what you learned and how you now apply your new knowledge to projects.

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