Interview Prep: Clarifying You
Interviews. What a nervy experience! Especially for us that are prone to freeze like a deer in the headlights. It can often feel like walking straight in front of a firing squad and telling them to shoot at will. What if there was a way to prepare for such a thing and have ready made and custom tailored answers that fit you to a T available at your fingertips? Is this really possible? If so, how is such a thing done? First, we have to get to know ourselves on as deep of a level as possible.
5 Tips for a deep dive on you
Mind Set: Remember there will be a beginning, a middle, and an end to each interview. No matter what, unless there is some random act of violence in the middle of the thing, you will most likely experience no physical harm and most definitely live to see the other side of the interview. Also, no matter how the interview goes, you are here for a reason and have a valuable skill to offer this world. Whether they choose to see that skill or not is out of your control. However, what is in your control is becoming consistently curious and eventually clear about your unique skills as a whole and the specific set of them that will most definitely shine in this specific setting.
Your Strengths: As soon as you confirm a day and time for the interview or even before an interview or application is even in sight, it would be a good idea to write down at least ten, but preferably more if possible, things you feel confident or gifted at doing. It doesn’t matter if it has to do with a specific job or not. Think about all the different areas of your life including recreation, social, academic, jobs, spirituality, hobbies, romance, family. It could be as obvious as a great singer to as subtle as being a solid support and source of encouragemnet for others. If you get stuck, ask a close friend for suggestions. Just keep going as long as you can.
Your Drive: Make a list of all your passions and interests. Again, try for 10, but keep going until the ideas run dry. Consider interests in all different areas of your life including recreation, social, academic, jobs, spirituality, hobbies, romance, family.
What it means: Once you have a comprehensive list of both your strengths and your interests, you can continue adding to them as you learn more about yourself and/or talk with others who know you well and have suggestions. You may also want to make a venn diagram (draw two overlapping circles, one labeled strengths and the other labeled interests) to see which items are both strengths and passions. The overlap in particular may serve as valuable as gold, first, for guiding you in a fulfilling direction, but also when aligned with specific job descriptions.
Match it up: Once you have a clear view of your comprehensive strengths and interests, you can use that overlap list to guide your job search, if you don’t already have one or some in mind, or write down specific items from either or both of the lists that match up well with the specific job description you have your eye on. In the latter case, this specific notecard will serve as a most insightful and reasonable answer to the inevitable interview question, “Why do you want to pursue this specific job?”
To wrap up, just the thought of having to interview at any point in the near future can be terrifying for us as ADHDers with monstrous emotions and wavering self-confidence. However, the above tips have hopefully presented you with a broad and bird’s eye view of your own self and what you already have to offer as the multidimensional person that you are. Having this broader view could not only get you ready for plenty of possible interview questions in your near future but remind you that you are first, foremost, and most largely a human being who has purpose and value stretching far beyond the result of any one interview and a way of gifting them to the world like only you are able to do. Stay tuned for next time on digging for career diamonds through the good, the bad, and even the ugly.