For most of us, interviewing is nerve-racking. How can we be calm and collected when so much is on the line? Well. The more comfortable you are with what you’re saying, the calmer you can be and the better you'll interview. You've survived the stress of healthcare programs. Use these tips to help you coast to the finish line.
Interviewers want to know about you.
Believe it or not, interviewers don’t want just the cold hard facts. They can get that information by looking at your résumé. And if they thought you weren’t qualified for the job, they wouldn’t be interviewing you. One big reason an interview happens is to see if you’re warm, personable, easy to get along with, enjoyable, socially aware. You don’t have to be the funniest person, or the most popular. Just be you.
Tell them why you chose your career field.
Maybe it’s because you have three kids to provide for and that motivates you to do whatever is necessary. OK. Tell them your kids’ names and ages. That’s a start. Hopefully you can also share about how you began to connect with a certain aspect of the career, like problem solving or helping people. Truthful hints about your personal interests can lighten the mood too, like sharing that your childhood dentist was so nice you always imagined you’d be a dental assistant one day. Did your aunt inspire you to be a nurse? Share that. It's the kind of storytelling that should interest your interviewer.
Tell them what really caught your interest.
After you give a brief explanation about why you chose your career field, share some details about what really opened up your eyes as you started to train. Maybe it’s the software that you enjoyed learning, or the hands-on training, or the fact that you were able to help another student with something you were able to grasp very quickly.
Tell them how far you’ve come.
Finally, share a few thoughts about what you’ve learned and how you’ve surprised yourself. Maybe your vocabulary has expanded more than you ever thought possible, or you can operate a piece of equipment that intimidated you at first. These details can help convey confidence and passion about your career.
Keep it brief and allow for questions.
Potential employers will appreciate your ability to reveal your personality while discussing your career training. But make sure you don’t go on and on. Don't talk for more than two minutes at a time. Take breaks in your storytelling to allow for questions. And watch your interviewer’s facial expressions to see if they like what your saying, or seem confused. Be ready to change the subject to what your interviewer suggests without finishing your story if that seems best. You can exit your story by simply saying, “I’m sorry, I got off subject. What else can I answer for you?”
By using storytelling to tell interviewers about yourself, the stress will start to melt away. They’ll get an idea of what it would be like to have you around the office every day, and they’ll also have something unique to remember you by. I hope these tips help keep you calm during interviews and improve the outcomes. Good luck!
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