Does the stutter hinder you from getting jobs?

buzybeee

I have a stutter, and I have often been a bit paranoid that this hindered me at interviews. I would be more likely to get a job if I did an interview after a holiday/when I was relaxed. Even though my stutter would be noticeable, it would not take me ages to say something.

When I am looking for a job I find that I have to do loads of interviews before I get a job. Whereas other people would just do one or two interviews and would get the job.

Also I found that people from school who had less qualifications than me (I have a degree) would often be earning more money and in more senior roles than I am (We are all in our late 30s)

I know that there are some non stammerers who are 'unlucky' in work and find themselves working at a more junior level and earning less money than others with the same qualifications/experience.

Don't know if it is the stammer but I have always felt that I had to have loads of qualifications, had to explain myself upside down and interviews, and had to go to enormous efforts to get a job (i.e. doing lots of interviews, taking a job with low pay/bad conditions)

Does anyone else feel like this, or are there some stammerers who have sailed into jobs and had some lucky breaks.:D

Paul4As

I stammered on purpose in the interview I did for my present job...using a little tool called voluntary stammering!
Instead of going in to the interview aiming to be fluent...I decided to not aim to be 100% fluent!
Best interview I did...I also was confident I had all the attributes needed for the job such as the ability to work in a team etc.!
I stammer...I am a stammerer...so what! I say what I want to say when I want to say it (whether I stammer or not)...that is what employers want you to do!
Stammering will never hold you back in life...thinking that it will will!
Buzybeee...from what you have wrote you seem to be selling yourself short before you even do the interview...thinking that the employer is going to take a disliking to you because of your stammer...thinking that you may have to sit 5 or 6 interviews before you get offered a job which has poor pay!
You need to tell yourself that every job you go in for you have just as much ability if not more than fellow applicants! You need to believe you are a very good candidate!
If you don't have faith in your ability because you have a stammer then this will show to interviewers!

Stephen P

I've never had a problem with interviews. I do be more worried about what questions I will be asked than if I stammer. In my last interview for promotion I didn't get it, it was down to lack of experience. In the interview before that the job was for a call centre agent within the same organisation (a promotion really), I went in without a care if I got the job, to be honest I wasn't bothered if I got the job due to the nature of the job, a stammerer on the phone all day?? It's a stammerer's worse nightmare. Anyway I got 1st place out of about 40, I was chuffed and boosted my confidence.
When applying for a position apart from working on the questions that may come up you also need to work on your speech. You may need to learn off an answer that you're comfortable saying. Interviewer's will nearly always ask "tell me about yourself" or "why should we hire you over someone else?". Would you be more comfortable telling the interviewer's at the start that you stammer? They may be willing to give you more time or have more patience? If they see you struggling and if you don't tell them you stammer it may come across as something else. I've never told an interviewer I stammer but I have heard of other's doing it and they've felt more confident in the interview.

Anyway good luck and keep us posted.

Paul4As

One thing that I did on applying for my present job...in the job application form I mentioned how I ran the Belfast Stammering Self-Help Group!!!
If anyone attends and participates in a self-help group they should include it in their job application form or CV!!!
It lets the company you are applying to know who have a stammer and you haven't anything to hide! It is not as if you murdered anyone...you have a stammer...but you get on with life...and socialise with fellow stammerers!

Mitt055

All good advice. However,I do believe that because you have a stammer, you need to take extra care to reduce your own stress at the interview.

I know a number of people who could sell ice to the Eskimos and who don't know the feeling of stress at an interview. These people look forward to the challenge and will never be put off if they don't succeed at getting the job. They just move on to the next interview.

You can acquire a big advantage over those people. It will take a lot of preparation and this is something that will give you the edge. As mentioned above, make out answers to the most likely questions to be asked, do your research on the company and show you are really keen to get the job. Ensure that your CV preparation is above average. Ensure that you have done everything possible to put yourself in as a strong contender.

Prepare yourself to be open about your stammer. This will reduce your fear and show to the interviewers that you are an open and honest person. Explain briefly what you have done to develop your communication skills, how you have grown as a person as a result of the actions you have taken. Prepare a response to a follow up question - perhaps include the names of some well known business people who had a stammer. In other words, use your stammer to your advantage. It gives you an opportunity to build yourself up at a very personal level. This is something which the other interviewees probably won't have. Use it to give yourself the edge.

I know its not easy - but that makes it all the more satisfying when you succeed. The best of luck with future interviews.