Whether we like it or not, stereotypes haunt us in every area of life. We tend to make quick rash conclusions, but will this habit work in our favour during the job interview? As professional Linkedin Profile experts from WriteMyResumes admit, you can have a pitch-perfect resume, but nothing will prevent terrible gaffes accidentally made during a potentially promising tete-a-tete with a female boss. Check out the major pitfalls and pluck up the courage for the conversation!
The differences
Before thoroughly discuss ins and outs, let’s first get a grasp of what distinguishes a female leader from a male leader, other than, of course, gender. This is very important to grasp because bearing the following differences in mind will help to correctly identify the pitfalls when you are being interviewed by a female boss.
- Firstly, let’s accept the fact that men are still more likely to hold executive positions, more specifically in the business environment, so women have a knack for masterly interacting with the opposite sex and which approaches to choose.
- Secondly, a woman leader is not a stranger to the behind-the-back whispers from the rivals, so the rumors will be a standard issue as well.
- Thirdly, women tend to be more empathetic meaning the level of emotional intelligence among them is significantly higher.
In brief, the following communication strategies with a potential Mrs boss are based on the above-mentioned features.
10 pitfalls during the Interview with a Female Boss
1. Unclear answers to questions
Often the candidate reckons that if he’s going to have a female as an interviewee, then amid the conversation he can beat around the bush and masterly dodge questions. However, this technique can be deciphered at once – one can immediately see when the interlocutor is inclined to have a mindless chatter telling stories about his personal life.
Remember that any leader is guided with a simple truth – time is money, so extended discourses will provoke rather negative reactions. It is much more pleasant if, when asked about salary expectations, the candidate gives the exact figure, instead of throwing himself a pity party on how hard it is for him, in the aspiration that his future boss will offer a sky-high salary.
2. Flirting
It has already become commonplace that at interviews with the opposite sex that men start to pay compliments and show signs of attention, thinking that this should win a female employer over.
However, this is a deep misconception. Any coquetry in a business conversation is annoying and persuades the potential boss that the job seeker isn’t serious. This approach may also suggest that similar inappropriate behavior can be repetitive during further work in the case of hiring an applicant.
3. Craftiness
Intuition is better developed in women and this is not just twaddle. The experiment conducted by the University of Cambridge in 2017 proves the statement. In the following study, pictures of human faces were presented to the 90 thousand respondents. Suffice it to say that women appeared to be more successful in guessing emotions than men.
Leaders with well-developed emotional intelligence and with experience of working with people, intuitively start spotting lies and exaggerations regarding the career path of the applicant. At the same time, such leaders are ready for the fact that there are no ideal people, so a logical explanation of even the most controversial career decisions of an applicant will be far more effective than a slyness.
4. Be yourself
You spend at least half of your life at the workplace. If you artificially build something of yourself on the interview, then perhaps later on at the work itself you will have to play the role that you declared from the very beginning. Why put yourself in discomfort right away? After all, you still have to work with this leader. Stay full of common sense without pretending to be someone you have never been since ultimately you will look like a clown. Especially if your interviewer is a woman who, generally, is much better at seeing through any falsehood.
5. Convert successes into numbers
It would seem that using numbers in a conversation is an approach that is more relevant for men, however, you must agree that if a woman became a leader and progressed as a specialist in a male environment, then she absolutely definitely adopted this quality from her colleagues. Your career achievements sound more impressive when converted into numbers. Use this trick as it will soup up your storytelling and put emphasis on your expertness.
6. Keep your emotions on
Who said that being emotional is out of style? On the contrary, be uninhibited. It is not about turning into a clown with clapping hands and abrupt fit of the giggles. Demonstrate your emotions without over-reactivity. A gentle smile, a small nod, and facial expressions when necessary will do just fine. This way you will look natural, put your best face forward, and of course, this approach will help you to get a dream job.
7. Appearance
Be as neat as a new pin since every woman pays attention to this. Bear in mind the red flags: an un-ironed shirt, dirt under nails, or on clothes, will immediately be captured by the female eye. After all, these are factors, guided by which it will be possible to draw relevant conclusions about the applicant.
8. Attention to details
Another point derives from the previous one – be extremely attentive to details. Women are a priori have a more scrupulous eye for details than men – this is evidenced by multiple studies. Bad choice of words, some facts from the biography you have mentioned incidentally won’t be neglected by women. Remember that an odd inappropriate detail can play a dirty trick with you consequently.
9. Humour
A day without laughter is a day wasted, we all know it, so the sense of humor is generally perceived as a great addition to the character. That being said, you should watch your mouth so that you don’t cross the line. the reality is such that the vast majority of applicants, being out of line, told jokes that satirize some “chiefly feminine” qualities or behavior patterns. Even more often they tell jokes about blondes, which, of course, are unacceptable under any circumstances.
10. Women like lovely things
Seems to be cut and clear, if you are having a conversation with a woman then she will definitely like topics on children, kittens, marmalade, and pink color as the starters. Right? No, it’s not. To each his own, as they say. Today among women there are firmly convinced child-free, or those who don’t like dogs and kittens. If you show that you can juggle with topics “potentially interesting” for a female audience this indicates only that you look at the interlocutor primarily from a gender perspective, and not from a professional one.
Now you are fully equipped for the interview with a female boss. So forget the fears and mesmerize every interviewee not only with your courtesy but also with your professional skills.
Author’s Bio
Carmella Andersson works as a resume writer for Write My Resumes company. It gives her an opportunity to improve her critical and creative thinking skills.
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