May
14
Communications skills - let’s start talking about ourselves?
Filed Under Job interviews, Job search, speaking
In a meeting with the head of HR of an international financial organisation we were discussing the skills that that - and other -organisations need young people to have for them to be an attractive candidate on leaving schools/college/university. He mentioned that for them it is frustrating when a good candidate to just churns out what they have been “tutored” to say in interviews. How can the recruiter find out about the person behind that?
Where client relationships are crucial to a business - and let’s face it that means all businesses - being able to talk to customers/clients has to be a core skill.
OK we are living in a world where methods of communication seem to grow by the day. And a knowledge of the available technology and how to use it is really really important for everybody in the 21st Century. But with all of this buzz around the more sophisticated methods of communication is there a chance the just talking to each other - and about ourselves - is being forgotten somewhere?
Employers value employees who are on their clients’ wavelength, who can ask them how they are feelling that day ( without having to look at a script?) and are happy to cope with the response. So when someone is sitting in front of you as a candidate and you ask them to tell you something about themselves, or a time when…, or what they feel passionate about…or - well you get the picture - and they can’t it is so disappointing.
Here in Scotland we are well known for our reticence in “bigging ourselves up” - but in an interview situation nobody else is going to do it are they? A potential employer wants you to tell them - using words out of your own mouth and with feeling - why you are the perfect person to add to their team.
Let’s think for a moment about the generation gap though. Young people challenged to talk with adults ( or people older than them) will probably find it hard to start with. After all many will tell you that they had a hard time getting adults to listen to them when they were at school so no wonder they are not practiced at it. In turn - the language that younger people use might not fit with those with grey hairs. Did you spot that I am down with the kids in my comment in the previous paragraph. ( I know , I know - that might well make a younger person cringe rather than convince them that I speak their language!)
The more experienced among us should be prepared to adapt to differences in how young people speak - and maybe we could learn something. In turn I believe that the young people might choose to self regulate once they are exposed to how their peers and managers talk.
As a Speakersbank trainer I work with young people on their speaking skills. Throughout the programme in each speech they prepare they are asked to talk about themselves. This process of thinking about what they want to say and how they are going to say is can build into an invaluable tool in their skills kit when they hit the job search market.
For those of us who have forgotten what it was like to wander by someone’s desk and ask a question and now e-mail everybody no matter how close they sit to you how about brushing up on those speaking skills.
And when making a presentation - with or without powerpoint - try letting yourself come through in what you say. Audiences really like that !
Any thoughts?
[…] Jackie Cameron wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptIn a meeting with the head of HR of an international financial organisation we were discussing the skills that that - and other -organisations need young people to have for them to be an attractive candidate on leaving … […]
Jackie,
This is near and dear to my heart.
I started off my practice doing presentation training and consulting with corporations. It’s still one of my two favorite kinds of engagements. You have brought up a point that is sooo true: People often crash and burn when needing to speak about themselves.
Yet everyone needs to present themselves as a pro, regardless of what they do. And someone–somewhere–is always going to ask, “Tell me about yourself.”
So, it serves us all well to take the time to come up with an answer that accurately represents who we are and what we can do without needing to “big ourselves up.”
The sooner people do that and practice what’s right for them, the sooner they will become more comfortable with it.
Good topic…
Thanks Steve - I need to think of a snappy banner headline for the campaign!