- 11 May, 2020
- 0 Comments
- 3 Mins Read
Upskill to keep your job, upskill to get a job!
Now Is the Time to Upskill. Why?
Because employers are looking for those self-starters who use their time to better themselves in their professional careers. Employers are looking to promote the same self-starters so whether you are looking for a new job or a promotion it’s possibly time to upskill.
This means employers are looking for people who have better skills for success in their job; better communicators, better presenters and better speakers.
So what have you done to better yourself? Have you invested in yourself?
Because this really requires an investment – in yourself and an investment in your future. I remember about 28 years ago when I applied for 33 jobs in a market where jobs in my chosen profession were fairly scarce. I got ONE interview, but I nailed that interview and got that job. I was able to articulate very clearly my skills and what I could bring to their company. As it was, I had exactly what they were looking for but, I’m certain, the outcome would have been very different if I hadn’t had done these three things.
- Listen to exactly what they were asking in the interview.
- Answer with particular attention to detail around each question. As in, I didn’t let nerves get the better of me and ramble on or go off on another tangent.
- Enunciating my words clearly, speaking at a good pace and modulating my voice to keep their attention.
To this day, that job was one of my favourites.
The Interview
How do you feel about going into an interview situation? Maybe it’s been a while since you’ve last done one. Are you up to play with the situational interview? They can be really challenging. If you have time on your hands, spend it up-skilling yourself. How to calm nerves, how to stick to the subject, how to speak clearly and with authority so people will actually listen to you are all very important when it comes to job interviews.
Here are my 5 top tips to prepare for a successful interview:
1. Research the company (this should be a given, but sadly no. A friend who worked in HR for British Airways recalls an interview where they asked, “what do you know about BA?”, the interviewee shrugged his shoulders and said “not much”. Did he get the job? Ummm, no. In this day and age, not knowing anything about the company you want to work for is out and out laziness. Or stupidity.
2. Prepare possible answers. When things are stressful it’s really hard to remember what you want to say so prepare ahead of time. Write it down what you want to say and practise.
3. Practise. Keep refining your possible answers, record yourself, interview yourself in front of a mirror (this is excellent as you can see how you look when you speak and spot any of those idiosyncrasies like Jessica Much-McKay (sp) on TV1 news with her right hand).
4. Learn one exercise from each aspect of voice and speech development (there are 7) so your mind, body and voice are ready for clear and effective speech.
5. Plan a reward. Interviews are super stressful so if you have a reward prepared for yourself after the interview you will have something to look forward to afterwards and you will automatically relax and smile when you think about this before the interview.
If all else fails, make sure you know how to breathe into your diaphragm because that is the method of breathing needed to speak with authority and also calm your nerves.
Take a look to see how it’s done – https://www.sayitclearly.nz/