Struggling with Interviews Despite Strong Skills: How Can I Overcome My Stammering Past?

Hi, I had a stammering problem in childhood. I have attended more than 10 MNC companies in the last 4 months, but none of them selected me. However, I am strong in aptitude and technical skills. What should I do now?

Stammering is not a reason that a company would reject you unless it is a voice process where you are required to talk to clients.

Job Search Tips for Candidates with Stammering

While searching for a job, select those types of vacancies that do not mention verbal communication as a major requirement. Very few positions require verbal communication; most would require written communication, if any.

Interview Tips

While attending your next interview, remember to ask the interviewer about their feedback and your chances of selection. Specifically, ask whether your stammering habit would be a negative point and if yes, then why? Your chances for selection will increase, or you might be selected for showing confidence.

Consider Indian Companies

There are lots of good Indian companies that also look for candidates. Why only MNCs? Search for a job that best fits your expertise and skills. Practice interviewing as you did for your exams. After each interview, sit back and think about what went well and what went wrong. If you were an interviewer, would you select yourself based on the discussions you had in the interview?

Have confidence in yourself and don't lose heart. There is always a place for a skillful and talented candidate.

All the best!

It is true that oral communication is an essential and possibly critical element in a work environment. Unless an organization has a progressive outlook, your stammering could pose an impediment to being selected. However, after reading what you have posted, I think your English language skills are a more severe limitation if the work environment conducts its business largely in English. You will have to improve your English language skills immediately.

If I go by what you claim and assume that you have strong aptitude and technical skills, then your stammering would not be a major stumbling block. You will have to present your work at interviews and be bold enough to share your stammering problem upfront with the interview panel. You can suggest that you are confident in responding with the right answers to technical problems/questions posed by them. Perhaps you would be given the benefit of a written question paper or some technical queries for them to validate your claims.

I know of a brilliant content editor who suffers from terrible stammering but has a good job because his editing skill sets are invaluable. A classmate of mine who suffered from acute stammering when in school is today a well-known film director, and wonder of wonders, he has overcome his stammering too.

Please work on improving your written communication skills, hone your technical skills, take an innovative approach when going for interviews, and most of all, don't let your stammering become an excuse for not succeeding in interviews. Good talent will be recognized sooner or later.

Best Wishes.

Managing Stammering in Job Interviews

With a quick Google search, I found the following resources. There are many more, so please do a search, and you may find some useful information to assist you with your job interviews and land a suitable position.

I think it is important not to stress about your stammering; a job interview, in itself, is stressful enough. You mentioned you have strong technical aptitude and skills, so use that to mitigate the other. Nerves may play a part with your stammering, so try to remain as calm as possible. It is not easy, but you know your stuff, so take it slowly, think about what you want to say, and provide your answers. In a technical interview, you can anticipate, to some degree, what questions will be asked. Write down salient points and an outline of potential questions and answers. Refer to your notes during the interview to refresh your memory. There is no shame in using notes; I have done it often. It also shows the interviewer that you have made an effort to prepare properly for the interview.

[The dreaded job interview: secret tips from an employer for people who stammer! | British Stammering Association](http://www.stammering.org/speaking-out/articles/dreaded-job-interview-secret-tips-employer-people-who-stammer)

Tips for Interviews

Here is my Google search:

Stammering in Job Interviews

Best wishes for your future.

Strategies to Manage Interview Anxiety

Here's what you can do:

a) Learn techniques to minimize your anxiety before the interview, such as breathing techniques, visualization, and affirmations.

b) Use self-disclosure: When you start talking, inform the interviewer about your stammering and request them to focus on your content.

c) If you feel too anxious during the interview, tell the interviewer that you need some water and a 30-second break. Sharing your anxiety is perfectly okay, and you will feel much better once you release it.

d) When the interview is over, ask for specific feedback. Request the interviewer to rate you on your skill set and knowledge.

e) Work on your speech. I am sure you would have consulted a good speech therapist. I have seen dramatic changes in some of my clients after speech therapy. Call me or write to me, and I shall be able to guide you more.

All the best!

Managing Stammering in Job Searches

Stammering can be corrected and controlled to a great extent. Anxiety often increases the chances of stammering in crucial situations. While you can take steps to reduce your stammering, it's also important to look for job opportunities or develop skills where stammering does not become a hindrance in your search for a good job.

You have mentioned your qualifications and skill areas. Focus on skills that require less human interaction on a daily or hourly basis, as my professional colleagues have suggested. There are plenty of opportunities available, and you can select roles that are suitable for you.

Best wishes

Overcoming Stammering in the Workplace

As far as jobs are concerned, if you are technically qualified for the position and it does not involve direct dealings with customers, then your chances of being selected are quite bright. I have a friend who stammers a lot, but he is well-employed in a software company developing codes, etc. Be confident and do not let stammering stop you.

Is There a Cure for Stammering?

Sometimes psychological problems cause stammering, and addressing these issues can lead to a cure. I read somewhere that the famous and talented star Hrithik Roshan had a stammer, but see how successful he is.

15 Ways to Get Rid of Stammering: Exercises, Treatment, Home Cures

Focus on your aptitude and technical skills, and they will take you ahead. As a bonus, you may find that the confidence which develops will cure stammering as well.

Regards

You have found experts and resources to correct. Here's a live account: I used to badly stammer and fumble when I started my career. Yes, I still do, but not as badly as I did earlier. Age and familiarity have built my confidence. One magic ingredient that worked for me is soliloquy. I speak to myself a lot and hear how I sound. To share a little more, I am a recipient of the Best Young Speaker of the Cambridge English in Asia Competition 2011, as declared by the University of Cambridge, ESOL.

Hence, a request: keep trying, you have many laurels to win! Wish you all the best!

Dear Prabaceh,

From your problem, it is not clear if you stammer regularly. Do you also stammer when you communicate with your family and friends? Please do let me know so that I can suggest appropriate exercises.

Regards, Roland Rapose NLP - MP

Although stammering should not be a hurdle to your selection if you have sound technical aptitude, as public interaction can be minimal in your case, still in MNCs, the authorities would prefer to have employees with unfettered clarity of voice and conversation.

However, stammering can be controlled by self-practice. Initially, try to practice speaking with your relatives and friends in a slow-paced conversation so that you can recollect the appropriate words to be spoken without any stress. You may practice the same even single-handedly by standing before a mirror, treating it as if you are speaking to someone else standing before you. You may also try to speak patiently and evenly with your colleagues and seniors. If you try to converse with them with full confidence and without showing any eagerness or anxiety to speak hastily, this practice may help you recover from your stammering. However, regular practice is a must, at least for some months.

Regards

You have been given very useful tips by the learned members of Cite HR. I am sure you are already working on some of them for improvement. I have reproduced your post and have a few questions for you.

Your Situation

Hi, I had a stammering problem in childhood. I have attended more than 10 MNC companies in the last 4 months, but none of them selected me. However, I am strong in aptitude and technical skills. What should I do now?

Your message is very short and lacks details. Please make sure that you provide the details that have been asked for. After seeing so many replies, it would have been appropriate for you to have thankfully acknowledged all those who have taken the time for you and come out with the right suggestions. Have a positive attitude and respond with your views and convey your thanks.

Interview Preparation

Please bear in mind that during an interview, the interviewing members look for various positives as well as shortcomings. In my view, you have to work on other areas too, in addition to tackling the stammering problem. According to me, stammering is not the only problem. Your written communication skills also need to be fine-tuned. You have to develop a strong positive attitude with readiness to learn and change. Please read what you have posted and see the number of mistakes you have committed—even though the message itself is very short.

Regards,
V. Raghunathan