Many electric toothbrushes have a shut off mechanism that
turns off the toothbrush after two minutes of brushing -
which is the time that someone decided was enough
teeth-brushing for any one period.
Coincidentally, it turns out that two minutes (or less) is
the recommended time period for the desired length of any
one answer during the interview.
When answering an interview question it is best to be as
focused as possible so that you can be succinct and to the
point in as little time as possible - two minutes. . When
you ramble and bring in details that are not relevant to
the question, you lose your audience, who in this case is
your interviewer.
A successful answer to an interview question is one that
addresses the question asked and gets to the point while
not rambling. Here are two examples of answers to the same
question. Note how one question addresses the question, and
one rambles on and is not specific.
Question Asked: Can you give me an example of a time when
you worked on a project that required a great deal of
written communication?
Rambling Example:
"I've always been a good writer. My writing skills have
always been my strong point. I have been commended on my
writing ability in every performance review that I have
ever had. I am very good at researching facts and following
through on leads. In my last job I was involved in the
creation of our website by writing the content. That was a
great experience. Working closely with the designers, I was
able to contribute and add to the message that they were
trying to get across. Writing isn't the major focus of my
job responsibilities but I do like to write very much. I
have written some proposals and they have been received
very well. When I do have writing assignments it is usually
in addition to my regular job. I can tell you that whenever
I have had the opportunity to write I have received several
comments on what a good job I have done. In fact, I was
given an award for my writing skills as a team member on a
project that received a grant. I am looking at this job as
a chance to learn and develop my writing skills."
The listener - the interviewer probably had the idea that
you have strong writing skills after the first two lines,
but you kept be-laboring the point and adding irrelevant
facts.
Concise Two-minute Example:
"That would be when I took over the responsibility of
writing the department newsletter. This was my first
experience at coordinating a publication from start to
finish by myself. The first thing I did was to consult with
the people in the company that had written similar
newsletters. This gave me a sense of what to do and what
not to do. Next, I did an informal survey of company
employees, everyone from the support staff to the director
of the department. From their comments I came up with a new
idea of getting the people involved. Each month I hold a
writing contest and then publish the winner's stories. The
employee involvement has made a big difference in my
efforts. Recently, the newsletter was awarded "most
creative departmental newsletter."
You can see that the first question does not address the
question asked and has irrelevant information in the
answer. While the second answer gives a specific example of
a time when you had a writing experience - which is what
the question asked for.
A tip in interviewing is to take time to listen to the
question. Next, take time to process how you are going to
answer. Pre-interview preparation will make a significant
difference in your interview performance.
When you think about it, two minutes is a fair amount of
time for a person to give his full attention to what others
have to say. By sticking with the two-minute rule you will
find that you will keep your interviewer interested and
listening to your answer.
Start getting a sense of what you could say in two minutes
-maybe the next time you brush your teeth.
----------------------------------------------------
Carole Martin, America's #1 Interview Expert and Coach, can
give you interviewing tips like no one else can. Get a copy
of her FREE 9-part "Interview Success Tips" report by
visiting Carole on the web at http://www.interviewcoach.com
No comments:
Post a Comment