Frequently I see long-winded
resumes. They often belong to people who are verbose talkers as well as
writers. I suspect these same people don’t realize it how badly it reflects on
them. It shows an inability to express oneself crisply and succinctly. How do
you suppose a hiring manager is going to view that in an interview? Regardless
of whether they realize how they are coming across, they are in serious need of
professional interview coaching.
Here is the point: Verbosity is
likely to cause the listener to stop listening and focus on how he or she is
going to get rid of the candidate!
Why are some people so verbose?
In some cases they may simply be narcisstic. But I think in most cases it is either
the inability to express oneself well, or it is simply fear, and perhaps
desperation caused by the inability to get interviews; more reason for them to
get professional help.
Some people believe they can’t
answer a question without building the background to their answer first. They fail
to respect the listener’s ability to comprehend. They may fear that if they
leave anything out they may not pique the listener’s interest. Of course quite
the opposite is usually the case. Interviewers are interested in getting the
answer quickly and asking a follow-on question or moving on to the next
question, not listening to a lot of information that doesn’t answer their
question. Verbosity is an interview killer!
So here are just some suggestions
for people who are verbose.
- Listen well – this is #1 in
importance. When interviewing, listening is more important than
speaking. Focus on being crisp and concise.
- Pause,
Breathe. Listen for reaction. Watch body language.
- Role
play responding crisply and concisely with someone who can offer positive
feedback. It takes lots of practice.
- If
necessary pause a moment to organize your response when asked a question.
- Tell it but don’t tell it all –
generate interest and bait the interviewer for more questions.
- Speak at a modest pace, not so
slowly as to be boring and not so fast that the interviewer cannot grasp what
you are saying.
- Practice good enunciation. Don’t
slur your words. Get rid of the gum before the interview.
- Practice not using “um, uh,
like” etc. Did you ever notice that good public speakers never utter any of
these? They have trained themselves not to.
- And get help. Take the time to
learn how to verbally communicate. It takes considerable practice and
self-control to overcome verbosity:
Get more help on this and other tactics by emailing me at kl@hoochresumes.com or by visiting http://www.hoochresumes.com. And leave a comment if you like this post.