Hi.. I am Rajesh. I’ve been working for three years and I suffer from stage fright, which causes me to panic whenever I’m asked to present something. This problem is faced by a lot of people and this has a very serious impact on various parts of life. One such is interviews.
I haven’t had many interviews. I basically accepted the first job offer I received, which was also a mass recruiting, so the only real question the interviewer asked was “Do you want a job?” and I said yes. That is all there is to it. But now, after three years, when I was looking for a new job, the interview was terrifying to me. In fact, I cancelled a few interviews solely due to fear. People nowadays will do anything to get a phone call for an interview, but here I was. rejecting and not showing up for the interview.
So, in this very brief personal blog, I will explain why we experience Interview anxiety and how we can overcome it. Now everyone may have a different degree of this interview fear and some of these tips may or may not work for you, but for the majority of people, this should be fine.
What is the cause?
First, we need to understand why exactly are we scared? What is the root cause? As per my understanding, below are the exact reasons why this happens.
Introvert
Being an introvert is not bad and I know it has its own benefits and at times I am an introvert myself and have exploited this a lot for my benefit. But there is one major issue with this in the corporate world. I so much wish that getting a job would be as simple as ordering a pizza with no direct human communication needed. Unfortunately, the technology is not there yet and getting a job still involves a manual step of having an interview. Hence, being an introvert is the biggest disadvantage.
Childhood
Basically, you had bad experiences when you were a child. You never raised your hand to answer in class, or if you did, you answered incorrectly and were insulted. You were never supported by your friends and family, and you were constantly bombarded with doubts, which conditioned your brain to be anxious not only for interviews, but for the rest of your life.
Lack of preparation
I think lack of preparation is the main cause of your interview anxiety and now there are two things.
- You are not prepared for the interview.
- You have prepared but you feel you have not prepared enough.
Lack of confidence
You are prepared, but you lack confidence and are concerned that things will go wrong. Now, this is a good thing because thinking negatively can help you avoid some of the mistakes that you can make. But this becomes a problem when it gets out of hand.
Sometimes you think so little of yourself that you don’t feel worthy and believe you don’t deserve or won’t get this job in comparison to so many other qualified people applying for the same interview.
How did I overcame interview anxiety?
Prepare for your interviews – Set aside enough time every day to prepare for interviews. Read common interview questions. There are already lots of materials available on the important concepts for your job role. Prepare for those. The most important thing is that you need to be consistent. Just preparing a day before is not enough. 1 hour everyday is a good start.
Talk to people and friends – For my introverted friends, I suggest you make friends (good ones). They will be your best supporters. You will be relaxed and not feel the pressure. They can help you with how they cracked their interviews and what their best strategy was. Also, you can use your friends to take mock interviews and practice sessions.
Read books – Interviews are just a part of your career, and there are many self-help books on the subject that will help you build your confidence and stay motivated. The advantages of reading books include not only getting the best job offers, but also coming up with more creative ideas, and who knows, maybe you’ll find something with which to launch your own startup. I have a separate post on benefits of reading that you can read here.
Practice confident body postures – Certain body postures can fool your mind into thinking you’re confident, and you can practice them. Essentially, the idea is to act in the same manner as you would when you are confident. You will fool your mind into thinking you are confident because your body is positioned in this manner.
Finally, give it your all, and if you are not chosen, don’t be discouraged; the world is a big place, and you will find plenty of other opportunities.š
