Dressed for success, resume in hand, research done – you’re about to walk into the job interview of your life. But now, you have to decide, what version of your personality are you going to bring to the interview. Yes, qualifications and experience are incredibly important to showcase in an interview, but you succeed or fail by the personality you bring on the day.
According to a recent article in Forbes, 70 percent of employers consider personality when deciding whether or not to extend a job offer. So what’s it going to be? Which version is preferred? Which version will get you a second, third or final interview?
When it comes to your “interview personality” you should bring out the best version of yourself to get the job and the one that makes you seem confident, authentic and employable.
There are several personality traits that will serve you well in an interview and we all possess them, it just takes practice to bring those traits out at the right time.
Confidence: You might be a naturally humble person. You might not be comfortable talking about your achievements out loud. But your “interview personality” is going to bring out that underlying confidence you have in yourself.. Ask yourself, why are you applying for the job? You wouldn’t apply for something that you weren’t qualified for, so showcase your talents and talk about them with passion and confidence.
Authenticity: Be as authentic and honest as you possibly can. Employers don’t want standard, robotic answers. They want to see your personality draped in professionalism. They want to see what drives you and what excites you. When asked the typical question “what are some things you need to work on?”. The cliche answer normally revolves around time management, doing too many things at the same time, working too much. But what they want to know is can you balance your workload and are you going to work hard. Your answers can be simple and to the point, as well as being interesting and unique.
Culture: Whether or not you are going to fit into the company culture is a huge factor when hiring the right person. Ask what the company’s culture is like and once you find that out, you can adapt your answers to appeal to the company’s vibe.
Bring forward the personality traits that will fit the circumstance and then work really hard to maintain that. Being the best version of yourself will make you better at your job, better at communicating and better in social circumstances.
Preparing for an interview is like baking a cake. There are certain things you absolutely have to do to make it work. But if you add that extra amount of panache, color and flavor, you and your baking skills will be remembered.
