Overcoming job interview stage fright
29 June 2010
Read by 1740 persons
At last, the job you need is just around the corner... But first you've got to get through the job interview! What are the best ways to overcome recruiter stage fright? How can you avoid being paralyzed by the recruiter's questions? Doctissimo gives you the keys to lowering the pressure and getting the job!
Not the least of life's major stressors is the prospect of a job interview. The stakes are often high, sometimes even momentous, but we can still avoid letting our nerves get the better of us. But before we lose our nerve, it's possible to reduce the "pressure" considerably! There are three stages to this: a time to observe ourselves, a time to recharge with positive energy, and a time to act.
Observing how we "turn up the heat"
We have no shortage of resources to keep us on "hot coals" and maintain the fire that fuels them! Each of us has his or her own preferred methods in this area, and by first identifying them, we can then find the appropriate countermeasures...
Identify the ways in which you devalue your abilities and keep yourself under pressure :
• You say critical, disparaging things to yourself: "I'm no good in this kind of situation", "I'm going to fail", "I don't have the stature", etc...
• You refer to a previous bad situation, with the belief that the same thing will happen again.
• You mistreat your body: your back and shoulders tense up, your breathing is blocked, your feet and hands are restless... and how, by "tetanizing" yourself, you lose contact with present reality;
• Your thoughts lead you to "over-dramatize" what's at stake: "it's vital", "I can't fail", "if I miss, I'll drop everything", etc...
• You give excessive power to the person who is going to interview you, as if he were the only "all-powerful" actor in the situation.
This initial period of observation allows you to get to grips with the mechanisms that generate and maintain your anxiety. The next step is to reduce their harmful effects as much as possible, by replacing them with a resolutely positive way of being and thinking!
To recharge with positive energy
To recharge your batteries, you need to make a list of the resources, skills and qualities that will help you succeed in your interview. Here are a few tips to help you identify your strengths and boost your self-confidence :
• Look for a memory of relaxation, well-being or success and immerse yourself in it. • Give yourself stimulating, motivating, calming words: "I might as well be a winner"; "I've got a lot of assets to make this work"; "If I've been called in, it's because they're interested in me"; etc...
Overcoming stage fright at a job interview
• Relax your body: stretch, yawn, breathe gently and deeply, while taking an interest in your surroundings (looking, listening, being there);
• Play down what's at stake and the difficulty of the situation: "no matter what, my life's not at stake"; "I'll do my best, but some of it's not mine"; etc...
• Give your future partner his rightful place: he too is in a delicate position, he's going to have to make a choice and avoid making a mistake; he's not a superman.
By taking the time needed to "treat" each of your anxiety-generating mechanisms, using the "antidote" that best suits them, you can relieve the pressure and regain your composure. You'll probably have to come back to this a few times, even just before the interview! But if you add serious, practical preparation to this work on yourself, your stage fright will eventually give way.
Preparing for your interview, for a better experience and greater efficiency
The main objectives of this time devoted to practical preparation are, on the one hand, to avoid arriving in "terra incognita" with no point of reference and, on the other, to give yourself the means to take your rightful place during the interview. By gathering as much information as possible about the company in question, you'll be able to ask skilful questions, revealing your interest in it; preparing these questions will enable you to establish a genuine dialogue with your interviewer and adopt an active stance that will reassure him (don't lose sight of the fact that he needs this). Whatever the importance of what's at stake, it's important that you have everything you need to present yourself not as a job seeker, but as a competent professional coming to offer his or her services. Your interviewer needs you to solve his problem just as much as you need his job; all he needs is to be convinced. *** Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version) ***
By staying as close to yourself as possible, by being aware of your inner mechanisms, by taking the time you need to relax as soon as the "pressure mounts", and by seriously preparing for your future interview, stage fright won't be able to trap you!
Published February 10, 2009
Posted on June 29, 2010
doctissimo
Not the least of life's major stressors is the prospect of a job interview. The stakes are often high, sometimes even momentous, but we can still avoid letting our nerves get the better of us. But before we lose our nerve, it's possible to reduce the "pressure" considerably! There are three stages to this: a time to observe ourselves, a time to recharge with positive energy, and a time to act.
Observing how we "turn up the heat"
We have no shortage of resources to keep us on "hot coals" and maintain the fire that fuels them! Each of us has his or her own preferred methods in this area, and by first identifying them, we can then find the appropriate countermeasures...
Identify the ways in which you devalue your abilities and keep yourself under pressure :
• You say critical, disparaging things to yourself: "I'm no good in this kind of situation", "I'm going to fail", "I don't have the stature", etc...
• You refer to a previous bad situation, with the belief that the same thing will happen again.
• You mistreat your body: your back and shoulders tense up, your breathing is blocked, your feet and hands are restless... and how, by "tetanizing" yourself, you lose contact with present reality;
• Your thoughts lead you to "over-dramatize" what's at stake: "it's vital", "I can't fail", "if I miss, I'll drop everything", etc...
• You give excessive power to the person who is going to interview you, as if he were the only "all-powerful" actor in the situation.
This initial period of observation allows you to get to grips with the mechanisms that generate and maintain your anxiety. The next step is to reduce their harmful effects as much as possible, by replacing them with a resolutely positive way of being and thinking!
To recharge with positive energy
To recharge your batteries, you need to make a list of the resources, skills and qualities that will help you succeed in your interview. Here are a few tips to help you identify your strengths and boost your self-confidence :
• Look for a memory of relaxation, well-being or success and immerse yourself in it. • Give yourself stimulating, motivating, calming words: "I might as well be a winner"; "I've got a lot of assets to make this work"; "If I've been called in, it's because they're interested in me"; etc...
Overcoming stage fright at a job interview
• Relax your body: stretch, yawn, breathe gently and deeply, while taking an interest in your surroundings (looking, listening, being there);
• Play down what's at stake and the difficulty of the situation: "no matter what, my life's not at stake"; "I'll do my best, but some of it's not mine"; etc...
• Give your future partner his rightful place: he too is in a delicate position, he's going to have to make a choice and avoid making a mistake; he's not a superman.
By taking the time needed to "treat" each of your anxiety-generating mechanisms, using the "antidote" that best suits them, you can relieve the pressure and regain your composure. You'll probably have to come back to this a few times, even just before the interview! But if you add serious, practical preparation to this work on yourself, your stage fright will eventually give way.
Preparing for your interview, for a better experience and greater efficiency
The main objectives of this time devoted to practical preparation are, on the one hand, to avoid arriving in "terra incognita" with no point of reference and, on the other, to give yourself the means to take your rightful place during the interview. By gathering as much information as possible about the company in question, you'll be able to ask skilful questions, revealing your interest in it; preparing these questions will enable you to establish a genuine dialogue with your interviewer and adopt an active stance that will reassure him (don't lose sight of the fact that he needs this). Whatever the importance of what's at stake, it's important that you have everything you need to present yourself not as a job seeker, but as a competent professional coming to offer his or her services. Your interviewer needs you to solve his problem just as much as you need his job; all he needs is to be convinced. *** Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version) ***
By staying as close to yourself as possible, by being aware of your inner mechanisms, by taking the time you need to relax as soon as the "pressure mounts", and by seriously preparing for your future interview, stage fright won't be able to trap you!
Published February 10, 2009
Posted on June 29, 2010
doctissimo
