Getting ready for a job interview in a foreign language is frustrating. But perhaps even more frustrating is the desire to produce an answer that is as strong as we would be able communicate if the answer were in our own native language.
In my experience, aiming for a perfect, or even just "almost perfect" answer leads nowhere. Instead, the aim should be to start with a highly imperfect but complete answer, that you continue to practice. Through that practice, and the evolution of your answer, story, or example, you'll start to notice that even though your spoken idea is not perfect, it's getting a lot better.
Let's talk a bit about how perfectionism causes a lot of struggle in getting ready for job interviews in English, as well as a better way to practice and the results you should expect to achieve.
Perfectionism is the Enemy
Something that we must admit is that perfectionism leads to nothing getting done. If you're reading this blog, you likely have high standards for yourself - in fact 80% of gifted individuals struggle with perfectionism. But something that we need to agree on is that if we aim for perfection, we'll never really achieve anything at all.
Steve jobs, though an incredibly inspiring entrepreneur, was a person who struggled throughout his life with perfectionism. In the book Steve Jobs his wife wrote that this perfectionism caused great struggle in their marriage - in fact, he spent 10 years searching for the perfect sofa for their home.
Cyclist Lance Armstrong is also a notable perfectionist. Though incredibly successful in athletics, this was not without scandal. His perfectionism and desire for better and optimal results led his very unfortunate doping scandal.
Although this blog is not about buying sofas or cycling records, we must admit that perfection is an enemy in job interview preparation - something I've seen in a number of clients that I work with. And to those clients who are struggling to produce the perfect answer I find myself repeatedly saying one of my favorite mantras complete, not perfect!
How to Deal with an Imperfect, Complete Answer
An important part of getting ready for your job interview is to practice speaking about the points you can anticipate. These speaking points can either be derived from a careful analysis of the job description, through general topics you can always anticipate (introductions, goals, etc.), or through a list of topics we work on together through one-on-one Job Interview Preparation Coaching. Regardless of your method, practicing speaking about these topics is essential.
An important part of practice is making mistakes. If you practice answering a question and you're not happy with the content of your answer, that's a good sign: it's a sign that you know you can do better, and you know where you can improve. But, the first step is producing that imperfect answer, but making sure that it is an answer that reaches completion.
There's a Good Way and a Bad Way to Practice
One of the most ineffective strategies to practice speaking about these topics is to get half-way through your answer, decide that the answer wasn't good enough, and then start over. The only result is a well-developed beginning of your answer, but a poorly developed response overall. That's why we say: complete, not perfect.
Perfectionism comes from fear - the fear of rejection, of judgement, or of failure. But, if you're in a job interview process you have to be open to those three possibilities. After all, only one candidate will be hired.
So in your preparation, be open to the possibility of not producing the perfect response initially. Instead, when you say something that you think you could say better, or forget a word in English, or think a certain point could be better expressed, just make a mental note to practice that section later, and continue with your answer.
The ineffective strategy is starting, finding a mistake, and starting over again. Instead of expecting yourself to produce a brilliant answer immediately, accept the fact that this is a process, and it's going to take some practice. With each answer that you practice, aim to always get to the end of the answer before you start again from the beginning.
Imperfect Complete Answers Lead to Better Complete Answers
Something that I've observed in almost every coaching client that I've worked with getting ready for a job interview in English has been that the imperfect but complete answers always lead to good ideas.
Almost always when a client of mine is starting to give up on their answer (at which moment they hear me say COMPLETE NOT PERFECT!), a great idea follows. We're then able to work with that idea, reshape it, and work on incorporating another well-expressed and well-rehearsed idea.
Have faith in the process - imperfect, but complete, answers lead to stronger, more persuasive and convincing answers.
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