What Is The Most Important Trait To Show In A Job Interview

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Being shortlisted for a job interview is a step closer to landing your dream job. You’ve your outfit ready, do your due diligence on the company, and you can now figure yourself acing the questions fired at you. Before you go to that interview, have you stopped to think about an essential trait that you should show to convince the interviewer that you are fit for the role? You are probably thinking intelligence, skills, and experience, or confidence. While these traits are essential and might even reduce training costs for the employer, workplaces look much deeper. They are looking for a person who has a growth mindset. The workplace is continually changing, evolving problems and challenges. The employer is looking for an individual who will be willing to sail through these waves of change relentlessly, no matter how scary they may be.

Why a growth mindset is essential and how to portray it.

  1. A growth mindset is open to learning and taking on new challenges.

From time to time, organizations review roles and responsibilities. A person with a growth mindset will recognize that one can learn new skills and positively change the change to the role. A positive mindset believes that abilities can always be improved by acquiring new skills and honing the current ones. On the other hand, a fixed mindset is comfortable with the existing skillset and believes it can’t be changed. They are only willing to operate within their comfort zone.

During the interview, narrate to the employer how you took up a role that required a skill outside your skillset. Tell them how you went ahead and enrolled for a course in that area and how you always asked for guidance from the people you knew who knew that area. If you are currently learning a new skill, this is the time to highlight it.

  1. A person with a growth mindset is flexible and a problem solver.

They say that the only constant thing in life is change. Workplaces continuously experience change, both good and bad. Sometimes during such a move, employees are forced to push their limits, work with fewer resources, and often beyond regular office hours. They will be needed to travel and meet clients while still working on a project deadline. A growth mindset is willing to work in any condition, believing that challenges are learning opportunities to improve one’s capabilities. A person with a growth mindset is a problem solver when required to work with minimum resources; they know that they can improve profits and cash flow.

If asked about a time you were required to be flexible in your career, narrate how you had to meet a client in, say, Boston. Since the resources were limited and you had to impress the client, you met him at a coworking space in Boston because of its affordability. Demonstrate how you took the opportunity while there to complete your project, working beyond regular working hours to meet the deadline.

  1. A person with a growth mindset is a self-starter.

Sometimes projects will stall or be forgotten because they are challenging. A growth mindset dictates that no challenge is too big to overcome and that one is willing to step into places others have not dared. They perceive the growth such projects can bring to the organization and how the obstacles will be a learning opportunity for future projects. A growth mindset will take it upon themselves to restart stalled projects and see their completion.

To show the interviewer that you are a self-starter, talk about projects you suggested to your previous employer. Although no one was willing to take them up, you courageously took the initiative. Sure, you failed at times, but you took the failures as a learning opportunity and soldered.

  1. A person with a growth mindset is a team player and a leader.

A person with a growth mindset would be willing to hold others’ hands and offer guidance when needed. They believe that helping a person grow is an opportunity for them to hone their skills, rather than seeing the other person creating competition.

Demonstrate to the interviewer how you are willing to be a team player. You can recount the times you offered guidance through a project and how you felt more knowledgeable afterward.

Conclusion

The dynamics of the modern workplace require people with a growth mindset. If you want to stay relevant in the workplace, it is crucial to acquire this trait for the future of your career. Hopefully, the above points will be useful guidance for your next interview.

What Is The Most Important Trait To Show In A Job Interview

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