Are You a Waffler? The Silent Habit That Could Be Hurting Your Job Search

Are you a waffler?

And more importantly, could it be affecting your job search without you even realising it?

Here’s the part most people don’t see.

Waffling often goes unnoticed.

Not because it’s rare…

but because no one gives you the feedback.

I remember interviewing a candidate years ago.

I asked a simple question:

“Tell me about yourself.”

He started answering.

5 minutes passed…

10 minutes…

20 minutes…

He was still going.

At around the 30-minute mark, he stopped.

We sat there in silence for a moment.

I thought he was done.

Then he took a breath…

and continued for another 15 minutes.

A 45-minute answer to one question.

Here’s what’s important.

He wasn’t a bad candidate.

He wasn’t lacking experience.

He wasn’t unprepared in the way people might assume.

But in that moment, it was hard to follow his story…

and even harder to understand where he best fit.

And this is more common than people think.

 - 90% aren’t confident delivering an elevator pitch

 - 85% find it hard to explain what they do

 - 80% feel nervous before interviews

 - 75% admit they sometimes waffle

It usually comes from:

 - nerves

 - lack of preparation

 - trying to cover everything

 - not being sure what to leave out

The challenge is this:

There’s no signal to tell you it’s happening.

No one says:

“Hey, you lost me there.”

or

“Hey, are you nervous? Take a minute, it’s ok.”

Instead:

 - the interviewer listens politely

 - the recruiter keeps the conversation moving

But parts of your message don’t land the way you intended.

In today’s market, that matters.

You don’t need to say everything.

You just need to say enough… in a way that people can follow and remember.

If this feels familiar, you’re not alone.

It’s something we see all the time, and once you become aware of it, it’s very fixable with a bit of structure and practice.

Need some help? DM me - it’s ok, I get it. There are ways to help you. Or come along to one of Talentology’s free events - you’re not alone in being a job seeker - never!