You may ask, "How long should I take to answer an interview question?" Well, talking for too long, talking too much, too talkative, rambling in a job interview, and not getting to your point can have huge consequences in the job interview process. I'll discuss why it is so important to use and provide some strategies to ensure you are concise and seen as an excellent communicator. I've seen people who fail every interview, change in this way, and ace it. Now you won't talk too much or ramble! The secret to a great interview can actually be talking less!
Here are actionable strategies of how to NOT ramble in #jobinterviews! Not to scare you, but rambling is easily one of the top reasons why interviewers reject a candidate.
When you talk for a long time, you come across as an ineffective communicator and since interviews are timeboxed, Interviewers don’t get to ask their full list of questions so you won’t be able to shine in all the areas necessary.
1️⃣Part 1: How long should you take to respond to an interview question?
🍊60 seconds. If it's an extensive question, possibly 90.
🍊Prepare answers to questions as much as you can ahead of time.
🍊Recording yourself answering.
2️⃣Part 2: Ask questions before/while you answer them.
This is GOLD. Ask clarifying questions when answering the really vague, open-ended questions they throw at you.
Watch the video to see examples of me responding to questions with questions to prevent rambling!
Have you seen rambling be an issue in the interview?
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“Tell me about yourself” worksheet to help you craft your BEST answer to the most common interview question! Get it here!
The next video to watch is “How to Answer Tell Me About Yourself.” Watch here!