Stuttering in Job Interviews

BigPhil

Has anybody here felt that their speech impediment has caused them to be overlooked for a job?

(Btw, I posted a thread a few months ago in the Work & Jobs forum about my stutter and my inability to get a permanent job because of it. Unfortunately I searched for this thread but it has seemed to have vanished into thin air )

AlmightyCushion

Is this the thread? If it is, it looks like a mod moved it to PI.

BigPhil

Yeah that's the thread alright. Thanks AlmightyCushion

(It never showed up in the search feature or when I checked for threads that I started).

Stephen P

I voted no. Even though my stammer is a big part of my life for some unknown reason I never let it stop me applying for a certain job. If I didn't get the job I would never blame my stammer, I put it down to lack of experience or just a bad interview. I always make sure I go into interviews well prepared and have anwers set out to questions that are guaranteed to come up. I'm a public servant so the questions are more or less the same in every interview. My advice is try not to dwell too much on your speech before an interview as it will make you more anxious, interviews are stressful enough without a stammer.

ParkRunner

I voted yes, I do feel that by stammer has negatively affected my job prospects. Im in the public service now, partly because it isnt as stressful as the private sector and therefore I can cope better with my stammer. However I do feel at job interviews for example I can never perform very well because I could be half a minute trying to say one short sentence and inevitably I wouldnt be able to sell myself as well as somebody fluent.

Mr. CooL ICE

I voted no. Most of my job interviews were IT related, so the nervous nerdy stereotype associated with this type of work would usually prevent the interviewers from thinking my stammer was from nerves. That, and I always do my utmost best to be well prepared for any questions thrown my way help me.

The only time my stammer has let me down was for a phone interview. It was my first (and only) one and it ruined me. Any question I answered was always met with silence, but that was probably due to the interviewers on the other side writing down notes. This silence made me panic and start rambling on and they had to interrupt me to shut me up a few times. I was a staccato'd wreck for the rest of it, and didn't get the job

bohsboy

I feel it has held me back big time. I'm in the civil service and constantly see opportunities to move up the ladder and I know I'd easily get the positions but I'm absolutely terified of the prospect of a four person interview board and therefore I've stayed in my comfort zone for so long now that my fear has turned into a huge issue now.

BigPhil

I voted yes.

LordChessington wrote:

I voted no. Most of my job interviews were IT related, so the nervous nerdy stereotype associated with this type of work would usually prevent the interviewers from thinking my stammer was from nerves. That, and I always do my utmost best to be well prepared for any questions thrown my way help me.

Most of my job interviews have been IT related also. I never apply for roles that are beyond me, infact I nearly always get into the second round of interviews but that's where it ends. I have been looking for a job for nearly 12 months now and I've been to around 16 interviews (not counting second rounds) but I cannot seem to get my foot in the door somewhere. I am currently doing some freelance PC repair and network installations to keep myself ticking over, but I'm not exactly flooded with work. I've even done some more IT certs to give myself abit of an edge over other candidates, but no luck so far.

I understand that every jobs nowadays requires excellent communication skills but I feel my communication skills are good. Okay, I'm alittle slower verbally then other people but I can still get my message across and IMO that’s what counts. I know for some employers that this is not enough but if they could only look past my stammer they would see that I more dedicated & determined then most people (ironically because of my stammer) and the bottom line is that I can do the job, stammer or no stammer.

At one interview for an Investment bank in London I did think that the stammer went against me. The interview didn't quite know how to handle it and thought that it was me reacting badly to pressure.

However I had a series of inteviews with that bank that day and all of the people were fine, usually I settled down after a few minutes and it went away.

BigPhil

Does anybody start the interview by telling your interviewer(s) that you stammer? I did it a couple of times but I felt that it wasn't the right thing to do because I felt that it made the interviewers uncomfortable and invited them to make snap judgements about me. It also made me stutter more for some reason, which is never a good thing. Strangely enough though, the interviews that I reviled my stammer straight away were always the ones that I never heard from again. Whereas in other interviews where I didn't mention my stammer, I at least got call backs or they would let me know if my application was unsuccessful.

Other thing that I've nothiced is that the few interviews that I totally fallen to pieces in were mainly second round interviews with more senior staff and/or the MD, so maybe the added pressure made me block much more then I usually do with 'regular' staff?

I would tell them if I started.. that was the advice given me.

Crumble Froo

at this stage, my speech is usually only particularly noticable when im under stress, so i do make a point of saying this at the beginning of the interview, that though im stuttering now, once i have settled down, it would be barely noticeable.

twould be an issue for me, as every job i've had involves mostly communicating verbally with people, so it's important that they know that i am capable of doing that still.

BigPhil

Each to his own.

I am under the impression that by revelling your stammer from the offset in a job interview it is basically letting the interviewer know that your speech is a major problem to you. IMO If you don't mention it but they hear you stammer then they will most likely think that you don't have a problem with it and you may look more confident. Only a really unprofessional interviewer would mistaken a person with a stammer from a person that is just nervous.

I could be wrong of course.

I checked this on the BSA website and they (like most stammer related sites/speech therapists) encourage people to be more open about their stammers. They even went so far as to advise people of what to say:

"Hello, my name is ....... As you can tell, I'm a person who stutters. I like to mention this for several reasons. First, this will help explain why I may have some repetitions, blocks and hesitations. It's only due to the stuttering, nothing else."

I don't know about you, but that would take me around one minute to say and the first impression that I make on the interviewers would be disastrous. Btw I seriously doubt that was written by a person with a stammer.

Stephen P

I've never actually mentioned I have a stammer, although I did mention in my last interview a few months back that I was involved in the Irish Stammering Association. I didn't get the promotion but didn't expect to as I didn't prepare enough. I wouldn't be too keen on telling them. Don't give them too much information. Keep good eye contact when you stammer and they will know you stammer and not just waffling or nervous. Be open about it, don't be afraid to stammer, they will think more of you and will see the real you. I know that won't go for all interviewer's but the majority should understand.

BigPhil

I found this article online and thought it might be of interest to some of you:

Click Here For Link

ParkRunner

Anyone know what an anti stuttering telephone is?? Read about it in the above article

BigPhil

An anti-stuttering telephone is a device that plugs into a regular telephone and uses altered audio feedback (your voice is delayed by a millisecond so it seems that you are talking in unison instead of alone). It is similar to the SpeechEasy and other DAF/FAF devices.

More information can be found here.

ParkRunner

Bit off topic here but has anyone tried those in ear devices?

lotsainterests

Hi everyone really I glad I've found this forum. I'm a 29 year old woman. I was in speech therapy for about 6 years from the age of 5. I remember sleepy-speech and relaxation exercises. I remember having to stop strangers on the street to ask the time and direction, I remember hearing myself back on a tape, I remember telling friends that I was going to a dancing lesson instead of telling them where I was really going. What I don't remember was if it did any good. I went to secondary school I remember not being able to say my name, speak in class, speak to adults, boys, make phone calls, order from a menu. I remember crying for hours begging my parents to do something to tell the teachers to stop asking me to read, begging them to excuse me from oral exams. They never did, at one point they reckoned it was a crutch that I leaned on. I remember begging them to understand. But something happened when I left school. I don't remember stuttering for years. I've since gotten a great job, I'm engaged and talk to people all the time. However, I'd be lying if I said that I never stutter. There have been very infequent occasions where I know that I am uptight and worried and this anxiety has translated into a very slight, barely if even, noticable stutter when trying to say a very limited number of particular words. However, I've just recently gone through a very tough interview process. I had weeks to prepare - a presentation and then an intensive interview. As soon as I found out about it something happened, I started to stutter again. It started when I had to pick up my work phone - I work in a shared area - and I suddenly couldn't get my name out loud, then I couldn't get anyone else's name out. It was like I was 12 again. I took a few days off work to prepare and avoid answering the phone. I didn't sleep for at least a week leading up to the interview as I played through the interview in my head and the almost definte humiliation. I played with the idea of mentioning it at the start of the interview but something happened when I walked into the room - I became someone else, a person that didn't have a stutter. The interview went very, very well. There were a small number of moments where I heard my voice and remember thinking that I was about to stutter, I took a short breath but it didn't happen. Infact last week I heard that I got the very lurative promotion. But I still can't say my name, I still can't use the phone four weeks on. I don't understand. I'm so devestated. I'm faced with the prospect of starting a wonderful new job - where I imagine at least once I will have to introduce myself! So what do I do? I'm toying with speech therapy but reflecting on my experience as a child, I don't think humiliation is the answer. I'm totally terrified. I can't see a way around this. Irrationally I've been thinking about turning the job down - all 25k extra of it. What happens if this is the begining of a rapid decline. What happens if I revert to the tense, contorted, deeply unhappy 10 year old?

Any advice anyone has would be so appreciated. My fiancee has never really heard it at its worst, most of my adult friends are the same and certainly my parents, underestimate just how severely it affected my life.:o

ParkRunner

Hi Lotsa,

sorry to hear you are having a few difficulties with your speech. It's pretty remarkable that your stutter just disappeared after you left school. The experiences you had are very similar to mine and I expected too that my stutter might at least ease after I left school after what I went through, but it didnt happen..

Congrats on being offered the promotion! €25k isnt a bad increase at all )
For what it's worth I think you are letting the stutter get to you too much. If you have to introduce yourself and get blocked so be it. Worst thing you can do I reckon is try and hide it. Just walk in and accept whatever happens. You could try a few techniques which you mentioned to help you through maybe? It's fairly natural for a stutter to get worse if you are going through a tough interview process, so once you get settled into the new position I wouldn't be surprised if your stutter settled down again.
Best of luck with it anyway!

BigPhil

I haven't checked this post in a while but I have to say that I am quite surprised at how close the poll is, I thought the 'yes' vote would completely dominate, but from all of the posters that voted only slighty over half them voted 'yes'. Interesting.

Btw good article by Bill Parry on this topic here.

funky_monkey

Lotsainterests I'm kinda in the same boat as you!

I am 23 year old female and also have a stammer. I've had a full time job in the civil serive for almost 3 years now and starting off my job my stammer was awful because I didn't know what I was doing etc. After a year or so my stammer pratically disappeared and I was never so happy with myself. Then I applied for promotion and did not get an interview and it kinda went downhill from there. The phone, which I had become to love answering in work became my worst enemy. I still cannot get the word "hello" out when answering it and it is so frustrating. I really have been trying to build up my confidence again but nothing seems to be working. I think I have improved slightly after Christmas.

Lotsainterest I'm sure it is much more frustrating for you as you say your stammer disappeared for years but just letting you know my story so you don't feel like you're the only one!

BigPhil

@ Lotsainterests & funky_monkey.

I don't mean to be rude but I started this thread to hear about peoples experiences in trying to find work and if they think that their stutter had a negative impact on their potential employers decisions to hire them or not. As you two girls have clearly already got full-time jobs I don't see how your posts are really relevant to this thread.

Again, I really don't mean to be rude, I suppose I am just really pissed off with going to loads of interviews but not getting anywhere then ending up resenting interviews even more then ever before

funky_monkey

BigPhil wrote: »

@ Lotsainterests & funky_monkey.

I don't mean to be rude but I started this thread to hear about peoples experiences in trying to find work and if they think that their stutter had a negative impact on their potential employers decisions to hire them or not. As you two girls have clearly already got full-time jobs I don't see how your posts are really relevant to this thread.

Again, I really don't mean to be rude, I suppose I am just really pissed off with going to loads of interviews but not getting anywhere then ending up resenting interviews even more then ever before

I'm very sorry BigPhil, didn't realise I was being insensitive. sorry about that.

ParkRunner

Not meaning to be rude here either but I believe this thread is just as relevant for people who have a job. I went for an interview for a promotion last week and stammered pretty badly at it. Won't know for a while if I got it but I couldn't say everything I wanted to say so that will surely go against me.

BigPhil

EF wrote: »

Not meaning to be rude here either but I believe this thread is just as relevant for people who have a job. I went for an interview for a promotion last week and stammered pretty badly at it. Won't know for a while if I got it but I couldn't say everything I wanted to say so that will surely go against me.

Yeah you are right, anything that is work related should be allowed on this thread & I apologise if I came across as rude. I'm just having a bad time at the moment, I shouldn't have taken it out on anybody here. It's just frustrating to be unemployed and get knock back after knock back. Hopefully I'll get a break in the near future.

ParkRunner

Sorry to hear that phil, there are decent people out there though who will see past your stammer and see what you are capable of doing..it is hard though, hang in there. I went through a long period of being unemployed too even though i do have a lot of qualifications and Im sure you are sick of the usual cliches by this stage..best of luck anyway, hope u get something soon!

little monster

Hi BigPhil, this is just a suggestion, I do not know if you are comfortable with this, but have you tried to talk to the recruitment agencies and also FAS about your difficulties and see if they can help you in finding a more understanding employer?

BigPhil

Cheers for the support guys! It is much appreciated

I actually had 2 rounds of interviews last week for a job that I really liked. I thought that I did okay in the first round but I totally bombed in the second round and subsequently I wasn't offered the job (yet again!).

The first round was with an IT guy about the same age as myself and a senior HR lady. They made me feel really relaxed and I tried to stay as calm as possible and took deep breaths etc and even though I did block a few times I think I did decent enough overall. They must have though so too because I was short listed for a second round interview a few days later.

Unfortunately the second round was a nightmare. It was with the HR Director and he seemed to deal with my stammer quite badly. When I blocked whilst answering his questions he seemed very distracted and constantly looked over my shoulder to the window behind me or quickly glance at his computer screen.......anything to avoid eye contact with me. The whole situation was very uncomfortable and I stammered pretty badly because of it.

As for your suggestions, I work in IT and over the years I have seen how IT recruiters work, they are in it solely for personal profit so sending a person with a stammer to a job interview to them is a huge gamble and could possibly harm their reputation (in their eyes anyway). I don't mean to generalizes but that is the impression that I got from them, I could be totally wrong about them of course. As for FAS, I had a mock interview with them a few years ago and it didn't go very well. I explained that I have a stammer and that was why I wanted to practice my interview technique but while trying to answer questions I was constantly told to 'slowdown' and 'take my time' which I found frustration and rather patronizing to be honest. In the end they said that I came across as very nervous and that wasn't a trait that potential employers were looking for. It felt like I was talking to a wall :rolleyes: