Can You Have a Sense of Humor During a Job Interview

Can You Have a Sense of Humor During a Job Interview Can You Have a Sense of Humor During a Job Interview Youre a person who knows how to defuse a tense situation with a witty remark or clever joke. Friends say youre one of the funniest people they know. And you consider your sense of humor to be one of your best personality traits. But when you get in a job interview, youre not sure how much of that particular trait should be on display. Is it safe to have a sense of humor during a job interview when youre trying to land your dream gig? Or is it better to play it straight and stick to business? Preparing for an interview is already challenging, so you should not plan a full-fledged comedy routine as part of your presentation to your potential new employer. In fact, if it appears that youve come to the meeting with canned jokes at the ready, your attempted use of humor could backfire in disastrous ways. However, telling a funny story or two while meeting with a hiring manager may be a good idea, as long as youre smart about what you say and how you say it. Here are a few suggestions to help you use a sense of humor during a job interview: Dont force it. If youre not a naturally funny person, its probably best to avoid attempts at injecting humor into the interview. Your efforts are likely to sound rehearsed and uncomfortable. Instead of getting a laugh, the result might be awkward silence and a hit to your confidence. Likewise, dont laugh too hard at little quips made by the interviewer. Make sure your responses to humor are appropriate, and play to your strengths regarding any attempts at making jokes. Get a feel for the room. Youre not visiting the hiring company to do a stand-up routine, so you shouldnt open your interview with a string of jokes. Instead, take a few minutes to listen to the people who are conducting your meeting and try to get a handle on their personalities. If the atmosphere is loose and a bit jocular, feel free to let your own sense of humor show. If its more serious and businesslike, tailor your message accordingly. Avoid touchy subjects. You may have access to a plethora of wonderfully sarcastic jokes regarding a particular politician you despise, but your interviewers may not share your opinions about them. As the old saying goes, if you want to be safe, its probably best to avoid jokes related to politics or religion. Instead, find ways to gently poke fun at yourself. Thats the kind of humor thats most likely to play well during an interview. Remember the importance of timing. Any humor you do use should back up the overall message you want to give the hiring team. As suggested in a blog post from Simply Hired, that means you should be aware of your timing. Self-deprecating remarks that are light in nature but reference your prior experience are the perfect way to break the ice and get the conversation flowing in the right direction, the post says. After all, you may enjoy an hour-long conversation where you and your interviewer exchange chuckles, but that still won’t land you the gig without solid qualifications. Show the interviewer how you use humor in your job. This idea comes from Recruiter.com, which says you can show the hiring team how you have used levity to inspire and motivate your team or to deal with challenging situations. Textbook conflict management skills and procedures are great ways to demonstrate your ability to resolve conflict, but it doesn’t take a psychologist to tell you that laughter is a great medicine and an effective way to cut through hostility, reduce tension, and open up the channels of communication again, the article says. Run through a practice interview. Doing a practice interview always a good idea, regardless of your plans for including humor in your discussion. Find a friend or family member who has some background conducting interviews, and ask them to run through a few sample questions with you. Make sure they understand that you want honest feedback about both the content and tone of your responses. If you use this practice effectively, youll have more confidence going into the interview, and youll have a good idea of some questions that might lend themselves to a humorous response. Remember, no one is going to force you to be funny during a job interview. The most important thing is to be yourself and help your potential employer understand what you can offer the company. If that means adding in a few humorous quips, so be it. As long as youre smart about it and leave your hand buzzer at home, you should be fine.