Feedback please :)! Lack of communication skills in interview?

[doctorbettyrock]

A few of my responses to interview questions were not well thought out, and I'm wondering if my interviewers will think I have poor communication skills?

One question was to tell of a time that I had a conflict with another employee. I simply described an incident and what I did, without telling the MAIN IDEA. (I gave the examples without the topic sentence!). I guess it was hard for me to think of a major conflict because I haven't had a lot. So I got nervous and just started talking about little disagreements I've had. The funny thing is that I think those little disagreements had a theme (They showed that I take responsibility and am assertive), but perhaps the interviewers didn't recognize the theme b/c I FAILED TO MENTION IT!

Anybody else experience something like this? Any thoughts are GREATLY appreciated! 😳

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[yeeseng]

First, I think you did fine.

I am much worse than you at interviewing. Like you, I will get nervous and I will dwell too much on my personal experience without including a "topic sentence" and making everything tie together. Worse still, I frequently digress and go to a topic which is not related to the question. Good news is I feel for most schools, interviewing is just a formality, it does help people with worse grades or no EC to explain themselves. Otherwise, I find it hard to explain my acceptance at some schools while doing badly on their interviews.

More reputable schools however, emphasize more on interviews as otherwise it will be hard to differentiate between their over-qualified students. I did not apply to many of these schools anyway.

 

[Habibti]

A few of my responses to interview questions were not well thought out, and I'm wondering if my interviewers will think I have poor communication skills?

One question was to tell of a time that I had a conflict with another employee. I simply described an incident and what I did, without telling the MAIN IDEA. (I gave the examples without the topic sentence!). I guess it was hard for me to think of a major conflict because I haven't had a lot. So I got nervous and just started talking about little disagreements I've had. The funny thing is that I think those little disagreements had a theme (They showed that I take responsibility and am assertive), but perhaps the interviewers didn't recognize the theme b/c I FAILED TO MENTION IT!

Anybody else experience something like this? Any thoughts are GREATLY appreciated! 😳

I think that everyone analyzes what they said in their interviews over and over again and always determines that they could have answered better. Don't be so tough on yourself. Maybe you could have answered better, by using the 'topic sentence', but its over and your ability to come up with examples that illustrate the point is far more important that using a topic sentence. The interviewers are smart people; I'm sure they could have figured out what point you were going for.

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

Topic sentence? What the heck are yout talking about? Just answer the question. If you are asked a question asking you to describe a situation, just describe the situation. No topic sentence. Trying to frame your response like you are writing a paragraph will make you sound fake. If you are looking for specifics here, if someone asks you to describe a situation, start with "OK, I remember when <describe the situation here>" or something like that. No topic sentence.

 

[PepperMD]

Topic sentence? What the heck are yout talking about? Just answer the question. If you are asked a question asking you to describe a situation, just describe the situation. No topic sentence. Trying to frame your response like you are writing a paragraph will make you sound fake. If you are looking for specifics here, if someone asks you to describe a situation, start with "OK, I remember when <describe the situation here>" or something like that. No topic sentence.

I don't think the OP means preparing some awkward thesis for each response, but rather discussing a general theme and illustrating it with examples. For instance, when asked how one deals with conflict, they might begin by saying, "Well, I feel it's important to understand the other person's perspective" (general), and then say, "For example, at my old job I'd often have heated discussions with co-worker X, but after taking the time to consider their point of view, it was much easier to meet them half-way to find a solution" (specific).

 

[melissainsd]

I agree with jota- a topic sentence seems very fake. I think your response should illustrate your points (show, don't tell). If you want a specific example, PM me.

 

[baylormed]

I'm going to side with jota and melissa on this one. Just answer the question.

It's not complicated, it's not a trick question, it's just a question. Answer it.