The interview – The one I didn’t expect.

When I first sent of my CV I was aiming for jobs that I knew I could get but didn’t really want as I already have a very good job, Sounds a bit crazy I know but I wanted the experience of doing interviews and getting over all my fears of stammering in an interview situation.

Then about two weeks ago I got a call from a guy in an agency saying he had a job that he thought I should apply for, I spoke for about 20 minutes on the phone to him and monitored my speech and what I would call behavioral ticks such as covering my face when I was under pressure or keeping my hand on my head as if I was in panic mode when I stammer. That call went ok and I thought that would be the end of it (As the job was a very senior management role which I didn’t think I’d get near.)

Then last week I get a call back from the same guy asking me to attend an interview with the company, Surprised, I agreed. Straight away all the usual thoughts came rushing through my head, “How will I introduce myself” “How will I talk about my current role” “what if I stammer, what if I implode in front of these people and blow my chances.”

Here’s the thing though, I now have a new voice in my head telling me I’ll be fine, Relax, You can nail this if you prepare. I read a very good post from one of the guys on stutteringforums.com which said that he decided “not to give his stammer centre stage in his life anymore” and that is exactly what I have done. Instead of worrying about my speech, I prepared for the interview.

How I prepared
I started by getting hold of sample questions that I knew I could be asked, and recorded myself asking these questions on a Dictaphone. Then I set up my Camera and recorded a complete dry run of the interview. When I watched this back I was able to pick up on anything I needed to be aware around my speech and also what my answers were like. This was invaluable! I have a soft copy of the questions I prepared for if anyone wants them drop me a mail.

The Interview.
I was interviewed by a panel of two, One male (Company Director), One female (HR Director). At the very start of the interview I couldn’t say my current employer’s name which was all down to nerves but quickly recovered and relaxed. I was asked a couple of tough questions which I had not prepared for but stayed calm and answered them very well (I think!) Overall I was in there almost an hour and I left with my head held high and thrilled that at least in my eyes I did a very good interview. Apart from the small hiccup at the start my speech was never an issue.

I’m still waiting to hear back whether I get to the next round of interviews ( three in total !) so I’ll keep you posted.

As always thanks for taking the time to read this, If you have any comments or questions as always, they are more than welcome.

Charlie.