The 2 step method to reduce your interview nerves by 75%

I recently coached a really exceptional project manager through a very difficult patch in his life. Despite his track record, how much his executives loved him, and how exceptional he was at his job, this guy (let's call him Bob) could not land his interviews. As a result, he was mid-restructure and by this point it was looking like he'd end up empty-handed and have to leave.

A horrible way to start 2024 hey?

So what was in his way?

It wasn't his communication style (he's a project manager, his communication is fine), or his interpersonal style (everyone loved him - they told me so), or his ability to answer interview questions in the STAR method (yawn, but yes, ok it's still a thing).

It was fear.

He got so tangled up that he froze, or he talked in the detail too much, or he went and got lost down random rabbit holes. This was nothing like his normal conversation style - this was purely down to fear.

His fear of missing out meant:

• He had brain fog - when we are scared, our pre frontal cortex pretty much shuts down at the exact moment that we need to use it most - an interview.
• He was nervous - interviewers can smell your fear, and it infects them. If you're a jittery mess, they instantly doubt your professional capability - EVEN IF THEY KNOW YOU because gut instinct is stronger than logic.
• He felt desperate - so he played small, with meticulously prepared answers that made him come across as too junior for the role that he had been acing for some time.
• He overprepared - and this resulted in a brain so full of things to remember that he was lost before he stepped into the room and was second-guessing their questions instead of just answering what he was asked.

Yes, I know it's frustrating that an interview process can count for more than proven performance, but in an equitable environment such as a restructure, that's the playing field and we all have to play. If your interviewers know you, they'll be biased towards you, but you still have to perform at interview.

So what do you do if this is you?

Taking the fear out of the process will fix quite a few of these issues overnight, but that's not always easy.

Try this simple 2-step technique:

1. Plan for the worst case. This is called catastrophising, which is anxiety inducing unless you do it deliberately with a solution orientation. What's the worst that will happen if you don't get this job, and what will you do about it if it does. Having a clear plan for every bad scenario you can think of stops you fearing an unknown future. Yes, the picture ain't pretty, but you have a plan if that happens.
2. Find out the most likely case. If you don't get the gig, how long before you need to leave? Will they keep you on as a contractor / on project funding to clean up a few things or is there a fixed deadline to this process? How many other people are interviewing for the same gig?

Bob told me that just doing this exercise took his fear from 100% to 25% in 48 hours.

Our next task was to streamline his message board so he only has 9 things to remember and can empty his brain of everything else. I can share how to do that if you're interested - but you do need to tackle the fear factor first.

Bob got the job, of course.