Learn 5 Reasons to Improvise During an Interview

The Secret Behind Successful Interviews

Interviews are brief presentations of who we are, what we stand for, and what we are looking for. The end goal is to understand if there is a match to whatever position we applied for. While the candidates introduce themselves and express why they are the perfect fit for the position and for the company, the recruiter explains the role and the company’s goals in more detail. Therefore, how does improvising fit into interviews? Well, improvising is part of life, interviews consequently are a part of it. However, what’s the importance of it? Here are the 5 reasons to improvise during an interview:

1. You Aren’t Supposed to Act on Stage. Be Yourself!

Recruiters can perceive a recital. In other words, it is obvious to understand if you spent long hours memorizing a paragraph to introduce yourself and prove your candidacy is valuable to their organization. Guess what? They most likely already heard most of the things you are planning on saying. Why? Because an interview isn’t a theatre play or a movie, it isn’t supposed to be staged. When you improvise, it sounds natural. In addition, in an interview, you’re talking about yourself. There is no need to memorize it because it is your life and experiences you are sharing. Allow yourself to improvise and take a more natural approach. Use your natural ability to phrase thoughts, even if they aren’t all perfect. It shows you are human and original instead of a machine with all the correct answers.

2. It Shows You’re Confident

Most candidates fear rejection and embarrassment as a consequence of lack of preparation. That is true. You should definitely prepare; however, extremes are never healthy. Once you remind yourself that your essence can be found in improvising because it forces you to be present in the moment, we are able to see that you true self comes out. Being yourself is always the best way to go, because you are unique and that’s what will make you stand out.

Sometimes, during an interview, you will find yourself trying to guess the right answer to whatever question the recruiter asked you; this will only make you freeze. Listen to your gut and don’t look back. YOUR answer is the RIGHT answer. Don’t allow self-doubt to win you over.

3. It Demonstrates You Can Handle Reality

Recruiters can realize many personality traits when interviewing a candidate. Improvising can prove you are able to handle reality. How? Well… as you probably know by now, not everything we plan happens exactly how we want, there are many unexpected events that occur throughout life. By improvising when answering unexpected questions, you are confirming you can handle the real world and the workforce, which often requires this skill.

4. It Proves You Are Able to Deal With Mistakes & Recover From Them

Read this outloud: nobody expects you to be perfect and flawless all the time! Did you read it outloud? Read it again.

You have more chances to be valued when making a mistake and recover from it than being perfect all the time. Recovering from a mistake shows you have the ability to work through things and still succeed. In fact, have you noticed that most people tend to admire when presenters make mistakes? Do you know why? It shows they are human and real.

Dare to improvise and succeed. As Robert F. Kennedy said: “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.”

5. It Shows You Know How To Listen

Listening skills are essential for any job, as it is part of the communication process. In order to improvise, you must listen to the question the recruiter is asking you and then come up with your own personal answer. Most of the time, people use part of their brain to listen, while the other part is already working on a response. You have to learn to be present in the moment. Try to focus on what is happening NOW and forget about planning the next move, the next answer.

If you are looking for jobs, you know you will be interviewed at some point. Remember to breathe beforehand and read our 5 reasons to improvise during an interview. We hope you enjoyed this article. Good luck!

Explore by tag

Career advice

Related offers

See all jobs