Are You Really Listening?

You have applied for the job, received the call and now today is interview day! You might have even taken the time to research the company (which you always should) and have a bunch of questions ready to ask during the interview. Everything has fallen into place for you.

Now, you are sitting in front of the interviewer. What are you thinking about? Are you thinking about all of the questions you prepared in advance? Are you patting yourself on the back for being ready for this interview? Wait – what did he say? What did he just ask? Oops – you weren’t listening. Now you are going to have to ask him to repeat the question. Not a good thing to do during an interview.

Listening skills are vital in any part of business but especially now during this all important interview! Not just listening skills but active listening skills. Being able to take what the interviewer said and paraphrase it in your own words. Opening your mind and really and truly listening instead of looking around the room or thinking about what you are going to do after the interview and so on. Active listening is a skill, not a given. Don’t kid yourself into thinking you are having a great interview if you are not actively listening because that interviewer can tell. Your body language – as in how your body is positioned will tell the whole story. Are you sitting back thinking – wow this is easy or are you sitting forward really listening and really taking in the questions and the conversation? Are you answering the questions with sentences or are you just saying yes or no.

Active listening is truly the key in any interview. Practice it at home. Practice it with friends, family and neighbors by rephrasing their comments back to them. If they look at you funny you can explain that you are learning how to be an active listener. Learning this skill can make the difference between a “thank you for coming” dismissal at the end of the interview or a “I would like to set up a second interview with you” appraisal. Which response would you like to have?

By: Nancy Anderson, Staff Writer