How to Use Sound Bites for More Effective Job Interviews
You can’t schedule every last line of dialogue in a job interview – and you shouldn’t – but you can schedule a few things you want to communicate. One good way to do this is to make a list of “audio snippets,” which are a few memorized phrases or sentences that you want to convey during your interview.
How to use sound bites
This may sound a little disingenuous, but even if you get along well with the interviewer, it’s important to remember that you don’t have a casual conversation. Sound bites allow you to highlight the most important in response to a specific interview question and allow you to more organically tell the rest of your story, without having to wonder if you fit into the important message behind the story.
For example, you might say, “I want to make sure my decisions are supported by data, so I will always monitor my results and adjust accordingly.” For example, in my last role … “
In this case, the phrase “validated by data” could be a phrase that you repeat periodically throughout the interview. For every anecdote you hope to share in your interview, also think about memorizing the relevant passage. A few good sound bites, especially those that sound natural to you, will be easier for the interviewer to remember.
Make sure your audio bites cover the most important aspects of your personal brand as they are a great way to concisely state your point of view. If all of your stories include some great sentences with a consistent message, it will be easier for you to stay in the minds of those who might hire you.
This story was originally published in July 2011 and was updated on January 20, 2021 to follow the Lifehacker style guidelines.