Ramble on

Post date: 2020-12-02 14:54:40

How do I stop rambling during job interviews?

I have a job interview coming up and I can't stop thinking about my most recent job interview, which becomes more disastrous in my mind the more often I think about it.

My main weakness in job interviews is that I just... RAMBLE. I find it extremely hard to give the concise answer I might have practiced at home prior to the interview. Lots of the advice I've read online just says to "embrace the silence," but it's so. fucking. hard. for me to do that in the environment of a job interview. During normal interactions, sure, I can do that. But in an interview? Forget it!!!

What triggers this rambling is the demeanor of my interviewers. Despite advice telling job-searchers to view a job interview as a "conversation," it really isn't. When the interviewers remain silent and give me very little feedback (whether that is a nod, or a mmhmm, whatever) it just... makes my brain go HAYWIRE. It triggers something in me that makes me need to KEEP TALKING. It's just so. hard. to not do that. I just can't stop talking! I feel like they need MORE and I just can't END my answers until I get some sort of cue (verbal or non-verbal) that my answer is "acceptable." Obviously, this isn't great.

How can I not ramble? I doubt it's ever helped me get a job. Again, lots of the advice says to embrace the awkward silence, but for me it's about more than that. Somehow my social anxiety (which is at it's WORST in during job interviews) NEEDS some sort of response from them.

My next interview is on Friday, and not that I'll be able to perfectly squash this habit in 2 days, but how can I get better at not rambling?!

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