The Simplest Way To Prepare For A Job Interview: Yap

Job interviews: When you hear those two words, the first things that may come to your mind may be LinkedIn, preppy dress clothes, and perfectly outlined resumes… or they may just stir up an overly abundant amount of anxiety and nerves. However you may react is perfectly acceptable — believe me, I get it — but what if I told you there was something you could do to make yourself feel more comfortable, confident, and competent in every job interview? There is, in fact, and it’s actually something most of the world does every single day: It’s simply talking.

I have always been a talker. My ideal night involves engaging in deep, insightful conversations with friends, getting to know them better by listening to their stories and learning about their values and personal experiences. Although I have always known I enjoy these types of interactions, it wasn’t until I applied for my first internship that I realized I had been underestimating the power of conversing in my everyday life. When I filled out my first job application, questions about what type of communicator I am and how I approach problem-solving allowed me to reconsider how I see the power of simply talking. It’s more than just a recreational, social activity, I realized: It can be applied to every aspect of life, including job interviews. 

When preparing for job interviews, it can be easy to focus on having the perfect answers and ensuring the employer knows you have all the technical skills to be successful. But the reality is, your ability to do a job isn’t likely to come across if you aren’t comfortable with the very basic skill of communication. When you’re able to not just tell — but show — who you are in a job interview,  it can make the difference between being a good candidate “on paper” and a great candidate in person.

But how exactly does the simple act of talking prepare you for interviews? Here are a few reasons:

You’re more able to present yourself as a well-rounded candidate — and person.

You know those conversations with friends that end up being about a little bit of everything? They can be invaluable practice for job interviews. Sure, you want to be sure you’re presenting all your best information and actually answering the questions the interviewer is asking you, but by incorporating other tidbits about yourself within your answers, you can show how your life experiences relate to your abilities and potential as a candidate. 

As I have been applying to internships for this upcoming summer, I’m looking forward to showcasing the various parts of who I am through my interviews and making sure to tell more about myself that is not limited to my academic interests and accomplishments. I show this in my job applications by explaining how my outside hobbies — such as listening to podcasts, dancing, and serving in leadership positions in my sorority — have all contributed to my passion for writing and pursuing a marketing or PR internship.

You practice navigating difficult conversations.

Look, job interviews can get awkward. There might be a long lull in the conversation, or you might get flustered and say the wrong thing. It happens! But how you handle those moments make all the difference. And the more you practice outside of the interview room (or virtual video call), the better you’ll be at getting through them. You may walk away from a conversation feeling uncomfortable, but you can feel confident knowing that the moment just helped you develop a stronger sense of adaptability that will benefit you both in the interview process and in any job you ned up getting.

Plus, job interviews are great opportunities to form an understanding of how a job aligns or fails to align with what you want — but this can really only be done by having difficult (and potentially awkward) conversations. While it may be uncomfortable gathering the courage to talk about stuff like compensation and advancement opportunities — or even just ask questions on more abstract topics, such as company culture, ethics, and values — this is a crucial way of not just making sure you’re right for a job, but also making sure a job is right for you. 

In short, you have to experience discomfort in order to experience comfort. It takes courage to have awkward conversations, but the more you do it, the easier it gets.

You get better at problem-solving. 

One of the most common questions you’re likely to get in an interview is when you’re given a hypothetical situation relevant to the job you’re interviewing for, then being asked how you’d handle it.

For many, this kind of on-the-spot problem-solving is stressful, but if you’ve spent enough time talking with others, you’re not just more likely to be able to think on your feet, but you’ve also likely been exposed to many different ways of thinking, which can definitely help you with this kind of interview question.

You learn how to truly listen to those around you.

There is a huge difference in listening versus hearing. Yes, they are both auditory responses, but hearing is passive, while listening is the active process of paying attention and making sense of what’s being said. When you converse with others and practice active listening versus passive hearing, you’re training yourself to learn from differing opinions, collaborate with peers efficiently, and make unified decisions — and what kind of hiring manager wouldn’t want that in a candidate? 

So, my advice: Yap to yap, but also yap to listen, understand, and empathize with others. When you get really good at this, it’ll naturally shine through in your job interviews, and make it clear to whomever you’re speaking with that you’re a candidate worth paying attention to as well.

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