Listening is
critical in interviews. It's more important than talking. The best way to
listen is with your mouth shut.
Have you ever
been in a conversation with someone who talked so much you couldn't get a word
in? Of course you have. People who monopolize tend to want to build lots of
background minutia before they get to the point. They talk fast, take
quick gasps for air so they can keep talking, repeat themselves, often stray
into side points, and take what seems like forever to get to the point. They
seem to fear you will not understand their message without all the background
details. And they're afraid they will forget to tell you something if they get
interrupted. A simple answer or a "yes" or "no" doesn't
seem to be in their vocabulary.
Conversation goes
two-ways. Dissertations are one-way. Job interviews are the last place to make
the mistake of monopolizing conversation. Interviewers often try to get rid of
people who monopolize.
Monopolizing is
the process of taking control, dominating, shutting out, and not sharing. Not
only is it boring, it is rude and disrespectful. Monopolizing is deadly
in an interview situation. It connotes desperation. It conveys an inability to
summarize things in a crisp, concise manner. It describes disorganization of
thought. Monopolizing defeats the exchange of thoughts and ideas.
It's also a
deadly mistake for an interviewer to make. If interviewers monopolize,
particularly hiring managers, they will learn nothing about the candidate and
have no ability to decide if the candidate can do the job. They will come
across as desperate to find someone for the job. And the candidate will not be
left with positive feelings. Plain and simply it's poor interviewing technique.
Sometimes the
candidate who monopolizes is a good friend or family member, one you don't want
to offend by telling them what they're doing wrong. Well perhaps it's a mistake
not to be brutally honest, particularly if they are preparing for a job
interview.
When candidates
monopolize conversations, there's not likely to be an additional interview.
Share
this thought with job seekers you know who tend to monopolize conversations.
