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12 Sep

Interview Prep: An Outside The Box Idea To Ace Your Next Interview

Next Level Interview Prep

Recording yourself on camera can be an uncomfortable practice, but if you find that your interview skills are lacking it may be just what you need to start securing better positions. By simply recording answers to potential interview questions you get to hear your voice and speech patterns; but maybe more importantly you get to see your own body language.

In recordings you see what other people see, and this can provide a strong insight into the impressions that you convey to people when speaking in front of them. Whether you are preparing for an interview, presentation, speech, or you just want to be able to communicate better with staff, recording yourself on camera is like giving yourself an x-ray into how you come across during an interview.

Observe Your Speech Patterns

When you record yourself you can listen to your tone of voice and observe patterns of speech that you don’t consciously notice. Are you speaking in a low, inaudible tone? Can you understand your own words? Do you use fillers like “um” and “like”? Listening to yourself gives you a picture of how you sound to other people. You will know exactly where to improve, and subsequent recordings can help you map your progress.

Observe Your Body Language

The biggest advantage of using a camera is being able to observe your own body language patterns. You can exhibit a number of cues that give the wrong impression, and a video camera reveals it all in detail. Make use of the replay button; each time you replay your recording, you can observe things you haven’t seen before. Are your eyes looking downwards or sideways? Do you cross your arms in a defensive posture? The camera can dissect all of these things. You can then make a conscious effort to correct them (or at least observe) next time.

Set Goals and Targets For Improvement

You may not want to focus on specific things to improve, especially if you have identified a number of areas you want to work on. With each video you can track your progress, and once you’re satisfied you can move on to the next area to work on. You can also find public speaking videos online to use as models to follow. Compare your own to these and see how best you can imitate them to better your confidence.

Recording yourself doesn’t always produce the best feeling in the world, but just like diagnosing an illness, you can work on improving yourself once you have clearly identified the problems. Listening to your speech patterns and observing your body language helps you to observe yourself objectively. In time you will be able to look and sound the way you want and give the best impression you can.

When you’re applying to a high level position, you need to not only look good on paper, you need to be able to present yourself confidently in person, as well. Take the time to work on your interview skills so once you land the interview, you’ll have an easy time landing the job, as well.

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