3) Making Yourself Stick: Your Words
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Your First Words
The traditional way of recruiting is to keep to yourself and respect the space of your interviewer. You don’t want to give too much away, be too abrasive, or have the interviewer think you’re kissing up to him. After all, you hate all those people that “hog” the company representative during info sessions and suck up like crazy.
Respect rules, not boundaries
The rules are to be respectful, sincere, and polite. The hierarchical boundaries do not exist, and you should make the move to establish the relationship.
The goal of the interview is to show that you can bring value to the company and that you can fit within the company culture. You need to open up and openly express interest in the activities of your interviewer. You can express interest without “sucking up” by being good hearted and sincere. Sincerity goes a long way and the interviewer will open up when she realizes that you truly have an interest in her hobbies and activities.
You should instantly initiate a friendly conversation at the moment you meet your interviewer. It could be as simple as, “So how was your weekend?” If you find that you and the interviewer have something in common, then you can start building a relationship outside of the recruitment boundaries. Your ultimate goal is to establish a relationship with the interviewer so that she fights for you come decision time. Instantly start and take control of the conversation; do not wait for the interviewer to lead the conversation. The pressure is on you to show that you fit within the culture.
The Importance of Your Voice
The more you practice your interviewing answers, the more comfortable you will become at telling your stories. This comfort comes with a price. You begin to add more and more information to each story that you want to get out to your interviewer as quickly as possible. You’ll begin speaking very fast so that it shows that you have a lot of content and that you know what you’re talking about. It’s good that you have a lot to talk about, but you must realize that the more you talk, the less the interviewer will remember.
Professionals interview hundreds of students throughout a season and often hear the same stories over and over again. The key to being sticky is to control the pace and tone of your voice.
Voice Pace
Speak slowly and clearly. I know that you have a lot of information that you want to get out in a short period of time; however, the way to be remembered is to choose your words carefully, and emphasize specific parts of your stories so that the message sticks to your interviewer. Practice stripping down all of your stories to its core content. Once you find that core, begin building your story, adding only that which will further emphasize the point that you are trying to make.
Most students speak too fast, causing them to throw in a lot of “Umms” and “Likes” in their speech. Slow down, use pauses, and create simple, concrete, and succinct stories. This is a team effort and requires that you get all of your friends involved. Ask them to stop you every time you say an “Umm” or a “Like.” Trust me, this will greatly pay off and make your speech sound much more professional.
Voice Tone
Your voice tone gets higher when you get nervous. In order to portray the feeling and emotion of your confidence, you will need to lower the tone of your voice. I do not mean that you should speak in a monotone voice; on the contrary, you should speak emotionally and passionately about your stories with a lower tone of voice. Speak with your personality so that the interviewer will feel that you fit in with their culture. Lower your tone so that they feel confident placing you in front of a client.
If your voice is naturally deep and monotone, then you have to do the opposite of lowering your voice. You need to put life and passion into your voice so that your stories are engaging and exciting. If you don’t make your stories sound interesting, then the interviewer will not find them interesting.
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