Confidence and Interviewing - 工管

You have worked diligently for months preparing for the GMAT/GRE/TOEFL/IELTS

and crafting compelling essays and now you have received a coveted interview

invitation from your ideal graduate program. Congratulations - this is already

a huge accomplishment! But unfortunately you do not have time to celebrate

this small victory because you suddenly realize that interviewing well under

pressure will be the most difficult part of the application - you only get one

chance and small block of time to make a lasting first impression. Plus, as

an international applicant you have never experienced an English interview

which makes this a particularly daunting task.



Most interviewees understand that they will be assessed by the quality of

their work experience and progression, whether their career plans are realistic

and achievable, and whether they understand how graduate education can help

them reach these goals. We have found that with adequate preparation for the

typical graduate school interview questions, most people can deliver a fairly

coherent explanation about the challenges they face at work, an achievement,

their future plans and why they are seeking graduate education. But with so

many applicants that have impressive academic credentials, solid work

experience and lots of extracurricular involvement, what is the dividing line

between those who are admitted or rejected? The point of differentiation will

often come down to the interviewee's confidence, assertiveness, poise and

charisma - those key 'soft skills' that we hear so much about. Unfortunately,

this is the aspect of the interview that an interviewee cannot plan for by

simply writing out answers and memorizing them.




So how exactly can an interviewee convince the interviewer that they are

charismatic, self-confident and warm? Here are our suggestions in how to

prepare:

- Videotape yourself. Try videotaping your responses to typical

interview questions and then watch your performance a couple times.

This is effective because you might notice some awkward facial

expressions, bodily ticks or issues with your speech that you can modify

and eliminate.


- Engage in realistic interview practice. Doing interview practice with

a friend is a good start. But practicing with someone you do not know

at all or very well provides a much more realistic setting that can

help you quickly improve. By doing so, you will feel the pressure of

trying to clearly introduce your key experiences and making a strong

connection with that person.


- Power posing. Are you naturally introverted? Do you have

self-confidence issues? If so, it might be hard for you to convince

an alumni interviewer that you are a future CEO. As we all know, many

people naturally exude confidence while others look terrified at the

sign of the slightest pressure. As Harvard Business School Professor

Amy Cuddy taught us in her viral Ted Talk, "power posing" - standing

in a posture of confidence, even when we don't feel confident, might

help us overcome very stressful situations. We are not pretending to

understand the science behind Professor Cuddy's research, but if you

really have confidence issues, why not try some power posing before

your big interview and imagine how you are going to use strong body

language to communicate a sense of confidence to your interviewer.

You never know, it just might give you the edge you are looking for!




We hope this was helpful and good luck with your next interview!

Regards,

David



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創陞教育（Transcend Admissions Consultants）

David Johnston
Georgetown University Law Center
[email protected]
http://transcendadmissions.com/ Plan. Execute. Succeed!

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