Yes I know that we usually think of interviews as us doing all the talking, but the reality is different. At least 40% of the time we should be listening, and what we hear will have an enormous effect on what we say.
So listening well is a most important interview skill.
But why do so many of us find it difficult to listen well? After all, so long as our hearing is not actually impaired we can hear most of what is going on around us. However many of us will find listening difficult for a number of reasons:
• if there is anything we might consider unusual, or irritating about the speaker's appearance, voice, accent or pronunciation we allow it to put us off;
• we naturally think at about four or five times the speed at which we think, so when someone else is doing the talking we can find a lot of time to allow our minds to wander;
• our own thoughts are generally of more concern to us and we find it easier and more pleasant to tune in to these than concentrating on what someone else is saying;
• since we were quite young we have taught ourselves to listen to many things at once, and actually pay only the minimum attention to any of them, so it becomes difficult to pay attention to one thing for a longer period of time;
• as soon as we think we've heard enough to establish in our minds what response is needed, we stop listening to the speaker and start composing our answer.
Misunderstandings arise from failing to pay full attention in many situations, but in the interview it could cost you the job you really wanted.
With his background of over 25 years running businesses, and as a Career Coach and Consultant in many sectors, Peter Fisher guides job seekers through the steps needed in order to achieve that all important new position.
As Managing Director of Career Consulting Limited, and previously MD of three recruitment companies, he has personally coached thousands of individuals to career success.
His distillation of these years of experience is all the essential facts and actions you must complete in order to achieve your own success. He is very clear that you shouldn't be misled by others into thinking of "acing interviews" or "finessing" your way into a business; the most sustainable and fulfilling roles are gained through understanding your own specific needs and creating your strategy accordingly.
You can learn more about his dynamic and comprehensive approach to career change, with every page dedicated to helping serious career changers if you go to http://www.your-career-change.com/index.html
Phishing-Based Scams: A Couple of New Ones Phishing in its "classic" variant is relatively well-known. PC users are getting more cautious about e-mails asking for personal and/or financial information. B...
Easy Christmas Crafts for Children Nothing brings out the kid in you better than sharing some together time with your own children and there's no better time to do it than during the holiday seas...
The Best Romantic Vacations What are the best romantic vacations? Thet are vacations that give a couple some time alone, and some time to do things together. Here are five examples.
Global/Israeli Corruption! I trust there is a loud public outcry demanding an investigation into the allegations that the Withdrawal Plan was hatched to divert attention away from the Gre...
Boning Up On Calcium Calcium is a mineral that many healthy women don't get enough of. The National Institute of Health recommends that an adult female consume 1000-1200 mg of calci...
Mystery, not Myth: Jesus Christ is real! Did Jesus Christ really live or is He just a fairy tale? We acknowledge His actual presence in history every time we write a check, make an appointment, or set ...
Resume Writing - Things to Consider You are looking for a job and you are out to land the job of a lifetime. It can happen! Before you consider want ads, job websites, or making inquiries of compa...
Encouraging Debt So many people think they're doing the right thing by not getting credit in some form. They hear on the television every day about people in debt so they live o...
Reverse Mortgages: When Is One Right For You? How do you know if a reverse mortgage is right for you? The
answer depends on your current financial situation of course.
But other factors such as your medical...
Googles Wonderland: Trouble In Paradise? The fairy tale existance of Google is starting to experience shockwaves. So, what's the source of these shockwaves? Click fraud. As my readers know, I've writte...
7 Ways to Know Your Child Why is it that we search for other people to tell us about our child? We read endless books and articles and all the theories about temperament, intelligence a...
What A Tangled Web We Weave The world wide web or www is a wonderful, inspiring, endless, fantastic place. They do call it a web for a reason - there are hundreds of thousands of websites...
Dharma and Purpose There is an old Indian Sanskrit term, "Dharma", which means, "one's calling" or "one's purpose". When you are in Dharma, and therefore, living your life purpose...
Cell phone applications Using cell phones for entertainment or learning is quick, efficient and enjoyable - no wonder cell phone applications are some of the hottest purchases in the i...
Blogging Explained in Simple Terms For those who are new to the concept of Blogging, this article explains
the newest internet craze in easy-to-read terms.
Theme Gardens Flower gardens are for enjoyment. They provide you with visual beauty, the joy of working with soil and plants, and the pride of showing others what you have c...
Economic Illiteracy Can Be Very Costly! On a local scale, economic illiteracy about personal finance may cause temporary hardship for a household. On a national scale, economic illiteracy about policy...
Diet Scams : How to Avoid Getting Ripped Off Ever been tempted by the ads for miracle diet products? Avoid being taken for a ride. Print out this article and read it next time you think you've found a "no ...
Tips for Finding a Low Rate Loan Online If you've been looking for a low rate loan without success, you might want to consider trying to find a low rate loan online.
Two Vital Abilities Any Leader Must Have If you formulate a positive plan, if you get agreement on it from your staff, if you are not weak about your orders and if you follow through and get compliance...
Print this page