Over the past year, jobs have been in turmoil. Some of us were made redundant, some of us made pivots, some of us realized the jobs we had weren’t fulfilling us in meaningful ways.
Now you’ve got an interview for your dream job, but after being sequestered indoors and void of much human contact—unable to practice social and speaking skills we normally exercise daily—are you prepared?
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 75% of people rank public speaking as their number one fear, whether it’s large groups or just one other person. Imagine the level of anxiety when it feels like your career is on the line?
Separation is in the preparation
Do your homework. Interviews are generally 30 to 60 minutes. If you consider initial pleasantries and time for your own questions, that’s not a lot of time for interviewers to gather information. As a result, many ask similar questions.
Nishioka recommends doing internet searches for “10 most common interview questions,” and then looking for the top interview questions that pertain to your specific industry and position.
“Have full answers prepared,” he continues. “Most candidates have the first two sentences of their answers nailed. They have thought about the question, but they haven’t thought through the entire answer and it shows.”
Always do research before an interview. It’ll help you prepare, avoid nervous tangents, and give you confidence.
Practice leaning into your fears
Interviews are stressful. You’re walking into a meeting where the whole point is to be judged and evaluated. Who isn’t stressed out by that? The only thing worse is going in cold. Once you’ve done your homework, give your interview skills ample time to stretch.
According to Goredema, “Practice really helps, so if you can, ask a friend to help you complete a mock interview. This gives you time to prepare and practice your responses. Focus on the interview questions that scare you the most and ask your friend for honest feedback on how you responded.”
Use your research. The more times you can run through potential interview scenarios, the more prepared and relaxed you’ll be when it’s time for the real thing.
You’re not the only one who’s nervous
It’s easy to get so nervous heading into an interview that you forget even considering the person sitting across from you is nervous. Well, they are. If you make a mistake, don’t get down on yourself.
“Smile, take a breath, and just keep going,” says Goredema. “Remember, the interview process is stressful for the interviewer too. Every interview is a learning opportunity. No one gets called for an interview if they couldn’t do the role. So, if you make a mistake, it’s not the end of the world. Even the worst experiences can yield important learning opportunities. Treat the mistake as a stepping-stone. If you were nervous or couldn’t answer a key question, learn from the experience and you will be better equipped for your next interview. Assess what you can take from the situation and then apply those insights to your next job opportunity.”
Don’t get down on yourself. Perfect interviews are rare. There’s always something we feel we could have done better, something we remember after the fact. It happens. Use your mistake as an opportunity to create an advantage and maintain perspective–turn your mistake into a strength for your next interview.
Remember, they want you to be “The one”
Heading into an interview, do you consider your interviewer an adversary? Although hiring managers may initially view applications in terms of elimination, once they’ve narrowed down their search, they know you’re qualified and are hoping you’re the one.
Also, remember the person who recruited you. Nishioka says, “Ask your recruiter for advice on what the interviewer is looking for. You are representing the recruiter and they are putting their reputation on your name. They can’t afford to send candidates the hiring manager won’t like into an interview room. The recruiter wants you to look good.”
Interviewers don’t bite…usually. Having your guard up works both ways, they may not get to you, but you won’t get to them either. They’ll recognize that immediately. You have resources, use them.