As social beings, we are aware that words are important. Every day we make thousands of choices, what to say exactly and which word can express what we mean. When we talk about a Job Interview, the words become your tools, your strengths and your weaknesses. Just feel the difference here: "I was helping in competitor research" or "I performed an action plan that was used in successful product campaigns with unbeatable deals."
Both answers are related to the job interview, but one shows your professional achievement while the other will be forgotten in 3 seconds.
The second option is more powerful, indeed. How come? To begin with, the part "was helping" from the first answer shows a long process but no result. You clearly understand that no employer is looking for someone who just does something for a long time. Plus, "was helping" is a bit broad definition. Was helping with what exactly, creating competitor reports, or... analyzing their websites, or... social media profiles, or... making coffee while everyone was working on the research? On the contrary, in the second answer a more defined verb is used—to perform means to accomplish an action, to complete, to create. The interviewer will get a feeling of the task done by you. In order to complement the work completed, powerful adjectives are added; the action plan was not only performed, but it also resulted in successful promotions with the deals competitors were not able to beat! Do you get the feeling of success now while reading?
Every word you say during an interview has to be carefully picked and give an impression of you as a professional. It has to sound clear, reveal your best features and give the feeling of success the company will get if hiring you. While practicing for your next interview, work on your vocabulary list including character traits. In this article, we prepared the top 20 words and, as a nice bonus, some phrases with them to upgrade your interview answers.
Every word you say during an interview has to be carefully picked and give an impression of you as a professional. It has to sound clear, reveal your best features and give the feeling of success the company will get if hiring you.
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1. SUCCESS
As we mentioned above, the scent of success is a must during a job interview. Of course, it won't work if you simply say "If you hire me, you will get the success". A good idea to use it in a verb form: to succeed. Have a look at the options of how you could use it: I am ambitious, so am driven to succeed. My goal was to keep the team together and succeed in this project.
Don't forget about the word "successful" and don't belittle its power. Everything has to be successful in your work history: projects, negotiations, outcomes. Choose the results you are proud of and share them with the interviewer.
Also, prepare for the question "How do you measure success?". It's a tough one, but better to think about it before the interview, not during.
2. MOTIVATION
The interviewers always try to uncover something about you. One of the questions that interest them the most is if you're just going to show up to the office and do your job to get the paycheck, or if you care about your work. Will you stick through thick and thin to your projects and tasks, or just tick off the to-do lists to show the progress?
People who are motivated and determined in what they're doing can become the key players in the long-term growth of the company. If you are a junior manager, think what can motivate you before the interview day. If you are an executive, think of the ways to motivate your team or give a couple of successful examples. If you are a self-motivated kind, it's also a good idea to mention it.
3. TEAM
It could be nice but you won't be alone in the office, and even if your job is remote, you'll have to cope with other staff members. An easy, at the same time essential word to include in your interview responses.
The interviewer would like to hear about your past experiences working in a team, and see the readiness to work within a new one. If you are talking only about yourself during the interview, be ready to fail it, there are few companies ready to assign a lone wolf for the job.
We usually recommend using a more professional way of using this word: team setting, to enrich your speech and sound totally confident and advanced if English is not your native language.
4. EFFICIENT
You might love the word "productive", but we would like you to switch to the word "efficient" during the most important interview in your life.
Remember that you spend your working hours efficiently and find efficient ways to complete the tasks, i.e. you use all the resources and tools without any waste and perform your job well at a peak level. This message has a magical effect on the interviewer, that is exactly how they want to see their staff, efficient!
5. RESULTS
You were invited for the interview for 2 purposes.
Purpose 1: To find out more about your results in the past.
Purpose 2: To understand what results you are able to bring to the table.
Job Interview is a perfect opportunity to sum up your professional achievements and predict your future ones.
A good example of using the word "results" in your interview: I am able to make changes that can bring the team to positive results.
Enjoyed these hints? More useful information and individual vocabulary lists are available in our Job Interview Course
