How to overcome awkward silence in an interview

How to overcome awkward silence in an bewerberinterviewHow to overcome awkward silence in an interviewWeve all been there Youre in an interview and everything is binnenseemingly going well. Then, suddenly, the conversation hits a lull. Do you speak first to fill the awkward-feeling silence? Do you wait for your interviewer to lead the way? What body language do you express?Ive worked in recruiting in the financial services industry for over five years and interacted with thousands of candidates throughout all stages of their interview processes, and I can tell you that awkward silences happen in nearly all interviews. They are rarely the result of doing something wrong, but rather part of a natural course of events someone stopping to think about a previous answer or someone trying to remember the point he or she was planning to make, for example. Unfortunately, candidates often assume the void is their fault, get nervous, and departure rambling to fill the void. But thats not neces sarily the best plan of attack. Heres what to do instead.1. Understand the importance of the silenceAs a recruiter, there are so many things that go through my head during an interview. First and foremost, Im responsible for taking as many notes as possible. I dont want to forget anything the candidate is saying, because I have to pass along the right information to the hiring manager. This sometimes requires me to pause and take it all in. That said, I sometimes do use silence as a test I want to see how the candidate will respond under pressure. Hiring managers do the same - they use silence to assess a candidates comfort and emotional intelligence. To come out ahead, let the awkward silence run its course. Show poise. Count slowly to five, and then say, Is there anything else I can fill in on that point? Consider this a moment to reflect on your answers and gather your thoughts for the rest of the conversation.2. Come preparedYour battle plan starts long before you walk into the room and shake your interviewers hand. Practice answers to common inquiries with your friends and get comfortable answering open-ended questions. Structure each point to tie back to what you studied, what youve been doing, or why youre interested in this particular role. I recommend using the STAR format to make sure youve covered everything in detailSituationWhat was the context or background?TaskWhat exactly needed to be done?ActionWhat did you do to accomplish the required result?ResponseWhat was the overall outcome and how was it received?If you know youve hit all the points youve practiced, you wont feel the need to keep talking just to fill the silence.3. Know your audienceYoure likely to go through multiple interviews as part of a hiring process. It usually starts with a conversation with a recruiter or member of the menschenwrdig resources team. This can be your opportunity to drive the conversation a bit more. If and when you make it to the next stage of the process and sy nc up with the hiring manager, youll want to be a bit more deferential. That doesnt mean you shouldnt have space to ask questions - you absolutely should. But its not up to you to steer the ship, so when that silence does happen, allow it to pass so as to give the hiring manager the chance to move onto the next topic he or she has on the agenda.4. Dont rambleI know its nerves, but Ive had candidates blather on so much that their sentences stop making sense. One interviewee started by speaking about her current job (makes sense), but ended up explaining why she dislikes a certain coworker. Clearly, thats no good. When a candidate goes on and on, he or she usually loses sight of the point and starts trying to connect the wrong things. For example, I once asked a job candidate to give me an example of a time he received criticism over his work and how he dealt with this feedback. He started out well, citing a specific project, but quickly diverged into a lengthy assessment of his mana gers difficult personality. Not only did he fail to answer the question at hand, he made it seem as if he couldnt possibly be the problem.If you catch yourself going down this road, know that all hope isnt lost. You havent blown the interview. Just apologize for rambling and say, Let me start all over. Its perfectly fine to admit when something doesnt go perfectly in an interview. Recruiters appreciate honesty over all else.This post was originally published on TheWell.com.Jopwell helps Americas leading companies connect with and recruit Black, Latino/Hispanic, and Native American professionals and students at scale.Sign upto find your dream job.