You’re supposed to talk about yourself during an interview, right? Not if you talked too much about yourself, according to Joann Lublin’s WSJ column that began with an employer complaining about a candidate’s 3-4 minute “long-winded” response. The assumption is that someone who was so long-winded was probably unproductive compared to a concise professional.
In other words, nerves make a blabbermouth of an interviewee, which leads to a dangerous state of “too much information”.
4 tips to avoid blabbing incessantly and ruining your chances of making a good impression or getting that job are:
1) Rehearse a concise answer to how your background matches the job, especially when answering the “tell me about yourself” question. Think “2 minutes max” for your answer – remember, an elevator pitch is supposed to be under 30 seconds.
2) Double check the question with the interviewer to make sure you know what you’re being asked. Here, you want to be careful not to come across as a dunce, by asking the interviewer to repeat the question every time. The trick is to paraphrase some questions and then ask for the specifics of vague questions.
3) Watch the other person‘s body language to see if you’re still engaging his or her attention. Other than fidgeting or looking blatantly bored, a tell-tale clue is when you see the interviewer’s face subtly puff up a bit, followed by slightly red, watery eyes. This is the sign of a silent yawn, where the person is too polite to yawn in your face.
4) Ask for feedback after the interview. I’m ambivalent about this tip, because not all interviewers are comfortable telling you what they really think, at least to your face. You may then get feedback that is sugar-coated.
