What it Means to Be Yourself in a Job Interview - The Muse

What it Means to Be Yourself in a Job Interview - The MuseWhat it Means to Be Yourself in a Job Interview Just be yourself. Its an extremely common piece of advice for many different types of situations, including job interviews. The intention is to encourage you to relax and not try to be someone else simply because you think thats what the hiring manager is looking for. Rex Huppke, a columnist at The Chicago Tribune, believes that when you try to fit into the perfect candidate mold, you run the risk of masking what should be your strongest selling point you. Yet, Adam Grant, author of Give and Take Why Helping Others Drives Our Success and prof of psychology and management at the University of Pennsylvania, thinks being yourself is an absolutely horrible recommendation, though. As he says, Nobody wants to see your true self.- ouch- We all have thoughts and feelings that we believe are fundamental to our lives, but that are better left unspoken. What I believe hes trying to say, i s that who you are is defined by what you think. And if youre true to who you are, that means youll go hog wild and voice every single thing that crosses your mind ( la Kanye West). As you can imagine, this could be a pretty chancy move when youre trying to get a new job (or, um, maintain any type of relationship). If youve taught yourself how to write code, for example, and the interviewer mentions that a coding training program is available to all employees, you probably shouldnt say something like, Oh, thats cool, but I learned that on my own in, like, a day. So thats not very useful for me. Humans have thousands of thoughts each day, and, furthermore, not all of them are legitimate. James McCrae, author of Sht Your ich Says Strategies to Overthrow Your Ego and Become the Hero of Your Story, poses that you shouldnt give weight to every word that passes through your brain. When we examine our long patterns of brain activity, says McCrae. its clear that thoughts can be unstable and often arbitrary, shifting depending on context and contradicting our better instincts. Its what you do with all thoughts that comprises your partality and builds your character. You need to consciously decide what you should (and shouldnt) say, as well as the appropriate time for it. Its great that youre a self-taught individual, and you definitely want to showcase that. But you can save that fun tidbit for when youre asked what your biggest strengths are, and you can share it in a much less condescending manner. One of my biggest strengths is that Im really driven and always want to expand upon my skillset. Last month, I spent a weekend teaching myself how to code, and Id love to continue learning more about it.As Grant says (and this part I do agree with), No one wants to hear everything thats in your head. They just want you to live up to what comes out of your mouth. So, yes. You should be yourself. The person vetting you for the job does want to get to know the real you. The t rick is making sure youre showing him your best self.