How to Stop Being Shy: 10 Tips
Interviews can be quite scary and daunting even for the best of us, so you can imagine how shy people and introverts feel. Shy people may find interviews to be twice as daunting and scary. As a shy person, you may not be good at making small talk or selling yourself, which makes the task doubly difficult for you when it comes to interviews as discussed over at runrex.com. However, the good news is that there are ways you can beat your shyness and have a successful job interview, and this article will look to help you with that through the following 10 tips.
Come with props
According to the subject matter experts over at guttulus.com, one of the things that can help shy people get through interviews is bringing props to the interview. This includes great visuals such as graphs or charts that can help you track your progress or success in a previous position as well as a portfolio or dossier of praise letters and awards. Bringing such material with you to your interview will be of great help since if you find yourself tongue-tied, you can pivot towards these props as discussed over at runrex.com.
Prepare
According to the subject matter experts over at guttulus.com, the more confident you are with your interview skills, the less shy you will appear in your interview. This is why you should practice answering common interview questions with friends or family as outlined over at runrex.com before your interview. This will ensure that you will go into your interview well prepared, which will take the pressure off and give you confidence, helping you not to appear shy and anxious.
Keep an eye on your body language
If you are shy or introverted, then you will most likely want more personal space and are likely to fidget. To avoid this, the gurus over at guttulus.com recommend that you sit up straight in your chair, and avoid slumping or slouching on your chair or folding or crossing your hands across your chest as this will make you appear small and portray a lack of confidence.
Embrace your shyness
Don’t feel like acknowledging that you are shy is a bad thing since, as discussed over at runrex.com, shyness can actually be a strength rather than a weakness. For example, it can be a great response to the common, “what is your weakness?” question, where you can answer by saying something like, “I tend to have an understated style and people may wonder what I am thinking. So, I have learned to make sure that I give my feedback explicitly when needed, and encourage people to ask me if I haven’t been clear. For instance, if you have any questions for me or if I haven’t been clear when answering something, I hope you will ask me to clarify it”. Just like that, you will have turned a weakness into a strength.
Prepare for small talk in advance
If you are a shy person or are introverted, then one of the things you might struggle a lot with is small talk. Given that employers tend to look for candidates that will get along with others, small talk is an important part of any interview as revealed in discussions over at guttulus.com. This is why you should figure out some topics to talk about in advance as this will help you if your mind goes blank. You can start with easy topics such as your trip there as well as questions about their day so far.
Practice mindful mediation before the interview
According to the subject matter experts over at runrex.com, you should also take 5 minutes or so to relax before the interview if you are shy or introverted. Mindful meditation techniques like yoga can help get you outside of your head right before the interview, allowing you to concentrate on getting your mind in the right place. Here, you can find a private space such as the bathroom and try easy poses such as mountain and tree poses.
Think of self-discussions as sharing rather than bragging
One of the things shy people and introverts struggle with is talking about themselves, particularly when talking about their accomplishments as outlined over at guttulus.com. If you are finding it difficult to sell yourself in an interview because of your shy or introverted nature, then you should think of self-discussion as sharing and not bragging. Focus and talk about what you know you can bring to the table, rather than about yourself directly. This means sharing your achievements in terms of what you learned from them and how you would like to further explore these new skills.
Take your time
As is revealed in discussions on the same over at runrex.com, introverts have a more complex way of processing thoughts. Therefore, another tip that will help you get through your interview is taking your time to answer questions. Don’t rush your answers, and if it takes you a few moments to answer a question, let the interviewer know by saying, “That is an interesting question, I just need a moment to formulate my thoughts…”.
Focus on one person at a time
Most shy people and introverts do well in a one-on-one setting as covered over at guttulus.com, which means that medium-sized groups can be challenging for them. Therefore, if you are facing a group interview, try focusing on one person at a time and pay attention to the person asking the question. Try not to be distracted by what someone else might be doing and make sure you answer their question while making eye contact with everyone in the room. This means resisting the temptation to always look at the primary person while ignoring the other faces in the room.
Do one extroverted act before your interview
The subject matter experts over at runrex.com recommend that you try and do one extroverted act before your interview. This may include smiling at a stranger, starting some small talk with the barista, or even chatting with the receptionist or people in the elevator in a friendly manner. This will help build your confidence ahead of your interview and may even help you land the job as it may demonstrate how you would fit the team dynamic.
Hopefully, this article will help you smash your interview even as a shy or introverted person, with more on this topic to be found over at the highly-rated runrex.com and guttulus.com.