Humor is a great way to become memorable, stand out from the crowd, and leave a positive impression as a likable and fun person.
It can also be a way to shoot yourself in the foot by coming across as unprofessional, inappropriate, and otherwise cringe-worthy. Humor, especially job-interview humor, is a skill that some of us have mastered to a greater degree than others have.
My experience as a hiring manager confirms that misplaced and poorly-timed jokes are anything but funny in an interview.
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So, what do you do if you want to use job-interview humor in a way that will boost your candidacy? Keep these job-interview tips in mind:
1. Stay away from jokes
Jokes come across as clumsy, scripted, and fake. They can leave the interviewer thinking, “If he made that up, what else is he making up?” So, stay away from anything fabricated. If you feel compelled to memorize something funny, find a quote or two that might be relevant and keep them in your back pocket.
2. Reflect on something genuinely funny or fun in your life
The good news is that each one of us is surrounded by real-life events that are funny. When you share a real-life experience in a fun frame, you get an opportunity to lighten the mood without coming across as fake. Look for something that has happened in your world and consider a way of slightly exaggerating or remixing the story to make a point.
3. Tie it into something relevant for the interview
Capturing a phrase or a story turn and linking it into your response or observation. Yes, this is a strategic use of humor.
Not sure if you're coming off funny or annoying? An interview coach can help you with that! Click "Chat With Me" to have a mock interview test with me!