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Welcome to The Introverted Path!
It’s Thursday again! Hope everyone has had a good week. I am traveling back home after a great vacation in Portugal. I am sad to leave, it is such a beautiful country — but I am excited to get back into a normal routine.
This week I wanted to talk about interviewing as an introvert. For any of us that have gone through interviews, they can be a challenge.
Interviews require you to brag about yourself. Since introverts don’t like to be the center of attention, it can be harder for us to do well in interviews.
But it doesn’t have to be. There are tips and strategies you can employ to ensure you show off your unique skill set.
In today’s email:
Challenges of interviewing as an introvert
Tips to make the most of it
Links to other content I enjoyed this week
Let’s dive in 🤙
Why are interviews hard for introverts?
A typical interview is 30-45 minutes. Likely starting with small talk (5-10 mins), background about the job/role (5-10 mins), and then the interviewer will ask questions.
That doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for us to make an impression. And as introverts, we don’t tend to leave big first impressions anyways.
In social situations, it usually takes meeting someone a few times before they get a sense for who I am. It takes me a while to open up to someone.
But in interviews, we can’t afford to do that.
Not only do we need to make a first good impression — but by the nature of how interviews are designed, we need to brag about what we can do. This is another thing that introverts struggle with.
Bestselling introvert author Susan Cain often talks about how we live in a world designed for extroverts. I had never thought about it until watching her speak, but now I see it everywhere.
Interviews are another great example of that. They are usually a think-on-your-feet type format. Being sociable, confident, and energetic certainly helps.
Alright — now we have an understanding of why interviews are more difficult for introverts.
So what can we do to ensure we crush our interviews?
Tips & Strategies for interviews
Preparation
This is where introverts can really get a leg up on the competition. Many people are applying to as many jobs as they can without doing much research, hoping to just land an interview.
Doing your research before each interview will give you a massive advantage and help to set you apart.
As introverts, we need to lean on our skill set to help us make a good first impression. By showing we have put in time prior to the interview, it signals we are seriously interested.
There are a few different areas to research and prepare:
Company background: The products or services, mission statement, financial performance (if they are public), and any recent news articles.
Interviewer background: You should know going in who you will be meeting with — and if so, spend some time creeping on them via Google search of LinkedIn. How long have they been at the company, have they held various roles, who were their previous employers, where do they live, etc. Give yourself a couple things you can use as conversation starters if needed.
Position you are applying for: Thoroughly review the job description and the key skills they are looking for. Think through how you can map out your skills/experiences to those specific items, and try to use the same terms or phrasing the company does.
Questions for the interviewer: Remember — this is as much a chance for you to ensure the company is a good fit as it is for them to interview you. Try to avoid generic questions about the culture and ask specifics to get a better sense.
Practice
Some people like to practice what they will say word for word when giving a public speech, or even before an interview. I prefer to practice the highlights and leave room for adding in context in the moment.
One of the best ways I have found to practice is to copy down 15-20 common behavioral questions.
Then write down 15-20 scenarios from your past you may want to use during an interview — successes, setbacks, milestones, metrics, managing, etc.
As you go through the list of behavioral questions, think through which scenario would best apply to that question.
I always try to follow the STAR format: Situation, Task, Action, Result.
Recharge your mind and body
Leading up to the interview, make sure you are recharged both physically and mentally. Since we know interviews can be draining for introverts, ensure you are ready to go.
For me, I try and get up earlier and work out before any big meeting or event for the day. That way I feel productive as I go into the rest of my day.
And then focus on all the other things — sleep, nutrition, water. You know what is best for you body.
My thoughts 💭
The rise of remote work and video conferencing platforms has also helped even the playing field for introverts when doing interviews.
If I had to guess, I would bet most introverts feel more comfortable doing an interview over the computer in the comfort of their own home.
It also allows you to have just a slight more amount of time to gather your thoughts and respond. It doesn’t feel as much of an immediate back and forth as in person.
Whether extroverted or introverted, majority of people will get nervous before interviews.
The key is making sure you are well prepared and understanding what you need to ensure you are at your peak performance.
Links that I enjoyed this week 💥
That’s it for today - hope you enjoyed this week’s newsletter!
Best,
BG