Tip 3 - Avoiding brain freeze

​Don’t let one word define your interview
In many interviews, HR representatives are simply trying to get a feel for your personality in a very short period of time. People often go about this in different ways. I’ve been to PR interviews at universities where an initial interview took place in an office and then I was invited out to lunch with two more individuals on staff. This was done to ultimately measure how I carried myself outside of the office atmosphere (I’ll expand on interview locations in another tip at a later date). Either way, assume you’re being studied at all times.

Specifically, this tip pertains to the “brain freeze” moment when there’s a particular word that you just know will make or break your acceptance to this company (this is a myth), but you lose your thought. You can attribute this to nervousness, anxiousness or excitability. Despite the cause, it happens. Let’s be honest. Even the most prepared, outgoing person gets nervous at some point in interviews (don’t let anyone tell you otherwise). It’s simply how you choose to manage the nervousness that will make or break your first impression with the leaders of the company.

So, should you pause and mumble until the one word that you’d like to use comes back to you? This is the LAST thing that you want to do. Despite the interviewer prompting you to “take your time” or saying “let me know if I need to read the question over to you,” once you leave the room, the interview panel will see this in a negative light.

Don’t let one word define your interview. I’ve witnessed interviewees actually pause and mumble, “Goodness, and I just looked up a good word to use here.”  I can assure you, this does more damage. My advice: MOVE ON. Think of an alternate thought and don’t let your interviewers know that you have missed a beat. Prepare…. Prepare… Prepare.