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Need some time to think of your answer to a job interview question?

8/3/2022

 
Job interview tips
So, you're at an interview and you are asked a question and you just need a chance to think about your answer or which example to use. What can you do?⠀
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Instead of sitting there silent, my advice is to let your interviewers know what's going on. Do you need to have the question repeated or clarified? Then ask them to do so. Do you need a chance to think? Then you can simply say so, by saying something along the lines of "I need to think about that for a second". Then your interviewers won't keep talking to fill the silence (which doesn't help your thinking) and they know to stay silent. And they won't hold it against you! It's perfectly acceptable behaviour and we would prefer you to think about your answer rather than launching into something irrelevant.⠀
Another simple thing you can do, is to take a sip of water. It gives you a chance to think and, at the same time, it lets your interviewers know that you are busy and that they don't need to jump in. You could also repeat or paraphrase the question, which gives you another little bit of time to think. ⠀
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Obviously, you can't do that for every question throughout the interview, but it works well to do so occasionally.⠀

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    Tina Kinirons

    Tina's Blog - Interviewer Insights

    My interview tips are based on my years of interviewing experience and my years of interview coaching.

    View my profile on LinkedIn
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