Many people go to interviews with no proof to back up things they say in person or on their resume. They tell but don’t show. Are you one of them? You’re gonna love this.

Show and Tell

Ever listened to your friend sing their praises? How about a stranger or acquaintance? You may want to believe everything they tell you, but do you believe everything they say? Similar things happen in interviews.

This is the last piece in the Land Your Dream Job blog post series.

There’s so much fluff around us. I’ve had the opportunity to be involved in interviews as an interviewee and as part of the recruitment team. They’re no different.

Whenever you can: Show, don’t tell.

This helps the person on the other side know, like and trust you much faster. More power to you!

Unless I’m telling you I built Facebook, Google or some other site you’ve used before, just saying I’ve built a website before might not be as good an indicator of my web development skills as showing you the beautiful site I built.

Would you be more likely to trust that I’m a good blogger coz I say so or if I show you my traffic stats or publications where I’m featured?

Would you be more likely to trust that I’m a good dancer coz I tell you or if I show you a demo of me dancing?

You get the point.

The trouble with no proof of what you tell is that it requires a big leap of faith from the interviewer. Unless they’ve previously worked with you before.

How to Show

Interviewers are often short for time so you’re best going with a way of showing that gives just enough details to spur more interest and that doesn’t waste time.

A physical representation of your work is an effective way of show vs tell.

I’ve found that going with a printed portfolio of your work does the job well.

Of course a computer would be great if you have the time.

Software developers can go with a print out portfolio showcasing sites they’ve built that the interviewer would be most interested in.

Digital marketers can go with a print out analytics report showcasing relevant traffic stats for successful marketing gigs they’ve done in the past.

Musicians can go with a print out of their SoundCloud, iTunes or Vevo page. Anything that shows a selection (playlist) of their previous work and possibly, ratings.

LinkedIn testimonials, ratings or reviews are also good candidates for showing proof.

A benefit of using this approach is you don’t have to worry about computers. Or the internet not working. Or awkward delays in your work loading.

It loads instantly and everyone can use it.

If you’re the only one who did this at an interview (or one of the few), it’s highly likely that you’ll be one of the strong candidates on the interviewer’s mind coz of your work and how you presented yourself.

Of course, that’s if they liked what you showed them and they trusted you.

Ever tried this approach at an interview or seen someone do this? How did that go? Got any more killer interview tips? Tweet me your story.

As always, I want to challenge you to #GrowTheGood in your life and the lives around you.

-Evans “Show, Don’t Tell” Musomi