Performance Anxiety

[phatlipps1]

If you are the type of person that gets extremely nervous before interviews, what do you do to get over it?

[Hamira]

Vodka.

[phatlipps1]

Originally posted by Delushious@Apr 11 2004, 06:27 PM
Vodka.
Are you kiddin me? LOL!

I will have walked into the interview and said something crazy.

[Papillion]

Interviewing is *never* easy, but I think that if you are prepared, you can alleviate *some* anxiety.

Try to think up some annoying "interview" questions: What are your strengths/ weaknesses? Tell me about a difficult situation at your last job and how you resolved it? Blah blah blah. Check online to see if there are any standard interview questions out there.

Bullet-point your answers to the questions and then sit in front of a mirror and conduct your interview. If you have most of the usual questions covered with good replies, you'll feel less stressed. Although you won't have your paper in front of you, you will remember your answers and not sound rehearsed.

Also, pamper yourself before the interview: nice bath, candles, etc. to try to relax. And try not to schedule the interview too early in the am, if you can help it. Give yourself enough time to get get where you need to be without too much stress.

HTH & Good Luck!

ETA: spelling

[satriela]

I get nervous before interviews. To combat this, I prepare my azz off. I had to present a sample lesson for my teaching interview. I practiced over 30 times....it may sound excessive but I was able to quiet my nerves (at least a little bit) and I got the job 8)

[phatlipps1]

GREAT SUGGESTIONS! I am going to try all of them. :razz

[alma2254]

Originally posted by Delushious@Apr 12 2004, 02:27 AM
Vodka.
lol- didn't work for me the one time I tried that ages ago.

A few things I do now when I go:

~Write all the questions I can think of that they might ask -prepare answers
~If I get stuck, I ask someone else to write all the questions down for me
~Deep breathing helps me relax
~I use affirmations that help me calm down.
~Keep my answers as true to me as possible so I'm not feeling like I have to act
~Arrive early

[divaemeritus]

I thought about this thread today - as I rambled my way through an interview. Actually, I was only supposed to do PC proficiency testing - but since I got done with it so quickly, the HR rep gave me the HR level interview (1st of 3 levels). All of my answers were marked as Satisfactory/Very Satisfactory (I was reading upside down as she wrote). I hope I did well. This job means a lot to me.

[Lagina]

What do you do when you are prepare to interview with like 2 ot 3 people. And then you get in the room and there are 2 males (white) and 5 females(white) all old too. I was shaking in my panties!! There were 2 behind me (observing) and the others around me I felt like a test animal. I hope I never have to go through that again, but in case I do what have you done or what do you do???

[skn]

What do you do when you are prepare to interview with like 2 ot 3 people. And then you get in the room and there are 2 males (white) and 5 females(white) all old too. I was shaking in my panties!! There were 2 behind me (observing) and the others around me I felt like a test animal. I hope I never have to go through that again, but in case I do what have you done or what do you do???

Good grief! I hope they told you in advance who you would be seeing. I don't think I've ever been in a situation where they didn't tell me in advance who I was seeing -- and how many ppl I would be seeing.

In any case...even if you didn't know...do the usuals: look the questioner in the eye. As you finish the question, try to make some contact with the others who didn't ask. Ignore the observers unless they become part of the interview. If their race and/or age makes you uncomfortable, revert back to that old adage: picture them in their underwear.

Sorry if that sounds flippant, but if you were in that situation it was close to a public speaking event. That's how I handle press conferences situations and it worked every time.

[nikki25]

A few yrs ago I had a panel interview that went very well. There were 6 people total. 4 older men and 2 women (all White). Good thing I was feeling confident that day. I was nervous at first but calmed down and kept eye contact. I could think pretty quickly at that time because I would prepare by reviewing sample questions.