Anxiety and Stress : Job search (1)

Hello !

Is there anyone who lived through a strange fear? Fear of speaking publicly for example or fear of change… In this post, I want to speak about different fears related to professional experiences. If anyone would like to share their experience in comments, I would feel less alone (^_^’). The first post will focus on fear or anxiety during interviews.

Little Disclaimer : these are my thoughts on the subject, nothing more.

Fear/Anxiety during Interviews :

From personal experience, even before sitting in front of the interviewer, I am usually feeling like I am going to the block. However, I have no idea why but there is one question that makes it feel like it is Judgment Day. It is usually what sets the tone of the interview : “Can you introduce yourself, please?“.

Generally, people prepare their introduction in advance and I am the same. However, as soon as I hear the question (even if I know it is coming) : I freeze most of the time, or I fumble with my speech.

I prepare for hours, I research the company, I print a copy of my resume… Nothing. I fall apart at the first question. This is especially true when the interviewer is in no mood to interview you or is visibly not interested in working with you at first glance or is trying to make it difficult for you.

So I asked myself many times :  How do I get past it?

Should I prepare more or practice with someone? I must confess that I am not comfortable enough to do that with someone but I did it in a class (coaching class) and I did not help much with the anxiety that I felt during the interview. The problem is not because I am facing someone, it is the same with phone or Skype interviews.

I know a lot of blogs wrote about this problem and usually gave some sound advice : networking, accentuate the positive, be prepared, practice with someone, relaxation, exercise before the interview (AN : I am incapable of doing that by the way)…

These solutions do not answer my specific question : I freeze at the question, not the whole interview. So I am going to tell you what has worked for me once and what might work again (I really want to change jobs).

First : visit the location of the office before the day of the interview.

Two : Research the company. Ask yourself some questions that might be asked by the interviewer and write down the answers. Learn it by heart.

Three : Research the position that you apply to within the company. Look through the Linkedin profiles of ex-employees to see if you can connect with them to ask some questions or just look at the tasks to have an idea of the job required.

Four : Write down your presentation speech (must be 2 minutes max) based on what they are looking for (trying to speak about the relevant information only).

Five :  The day of the interview, drink and eat light (dates, fruit, water). Wear comfortable shoes (important, do not wear new shoes, even if you want to wear new heels for the occasion). And as soon as you seen the interviewer, SMILE AND take the initiative to do the handshake. That puts me/you and him/her in a good mood right away.

Six : As soon as you start to hear “can you intro…”, Give yourself a mental shake and start enthusiastically with something like “Absolutely” and just push through the speech like a robot! ;p

Ok, so there are two outcomes to that :

One : You obsessed so much about that answer that you forgot the others when he/she starts again with the questions… (that’s bad)

Two : it goes on well, the interviewer listens well, you are reassured and relieved so you breeze through the next questions.

(……….)

I would love to read your experiences and your thoughts about this quite common problem.

 

Faimyest