Interview Anxiety??? This will help.

Do you have an interview coming up and you are really looking forward to it. Maybe this is the dream organization you want to be part of. Or maybe this is the role that perfectly suits you or Maybe this job is the perfect combination of your skills and interest you would not want to miss the opportunity. ?

And it often happens that something you really want, more nervous you get about it and end up messing it.?

You might have prepared so much for that interview, but when you are in front of the interviewer, you would have gone blank or the other way, you would start to blabber so many things which are not part of the question at all and end up talking so many things which made no real sense, you are now embarrassed and want to come out that interview room as soon as possible. ?

?And once you are out of that meeting room or the conversation, you beat yourself up for messing it up and feel pathetic about it. ?

Well, I understand that feeling, because this has happened to me so many times and I have watched so many candidates getting nervous and out of control and end up performing poorly in the interview.?

Now is there a way, we can fix this problem of anxiety before the interview??

We don’t have a magic button to fix this at once, but certainly, there are ways where you can control your thoughts, energy, and confidence to make it work in your favor, and here is what you would want to consider.?

1.????Treat this as a catch-up meeting rather than an interview.

?Start telling yourself that this is just a meeting with my future employer and we are catching up to discuss and determine my work agreement. You need to consider this as an important meeting though, this will help you to calm down and have all your aggressive energy channelized and your thought process will be more clear and distinguished, which will help you to answer the question to the point more effectively. However, you cannot be very casual about it either. Remember this is an important meeting and Not a friendly catch-up, you would want to perform to your full potential, so you need to balance it out.?

2.????Study the Organisation.?

You need to carry out thorough research about the organization. Spend a good time to know the organization, what are its values, mission, and vision. Learn what history the organization holds, all organizations have inspiring history. Try how the organization is engaging itself on Social media platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook.

Now once you study these things you can start using this information while answering the interview question. You can talk about how the Values or vision are in sync with your personality and you can resonate with it.?

You can talk about how you feel the history of the organization inspires you and makes you want to be part of the organization.?

You can use social media feeds to your advantage and say that you follow the organization and take time to read about the feeds they post. You can in fact take the liberty to talk about one of the recent posts they have posted on Social media and tell them what you feel about it.?

What happens here is that when you conduct a study about the organization, you have gathered so much content which you can use in the conversation which will boost your confidence. This will make the interviewers feel that you are serious about the job opportunity and you have done your homework. ?

80% of the candidates in my experience do not do good research about the organization before the interview because they feel that they have domain knowledge and that is enough for them to secure that position. Well, guess what, your homework talks about your motivation and that is a very important decision-making factor for most of the interviewers.?

3.????Know your Interviewer?

Let’s say you have a date coming up and you really wanted to impress that girl or boy, won’t you try and stalk the person on social media trying to know his or her interest, what does he or she like doing, what are their hobbies, whom do they follow, etc. so that you cut an interesting conversation??

Why shouldn’t you have the same level of curiosity with your potential employer, matter of fact you will spend more time with this person than the one you are trying to date, Isn’t it?

I am not asking you to stalk the person, but try and get to know the person, social media gives you a lot of information about someone, and you can use this information to drive the conversation in your favor. You learn about what they like doing, has your interviewer published any articles or books, and have they been part of any social events, etc. Once you know them you can talk to them about it if you have a chance. You can tell them how interesting you find their articles or how someday you would want to be part of the social charity event they are part of.

?But remember this is not the primary motto of this interview, you are still here to sell your skills and procure the job. You have to be honest about your feelings, about their feeds on LinkedIn or Facebook, and give them your honest appreciation. Because the interview is a 2-way conversation activity and you should have information to talk about and get social.?

4.????Study the Job Description. ?

It is very essential you spend enough time on studying and the Job description. This is part of the core preparation of your interview. Figure out the key skill sets required to perform the job. Understand what the employer is looking for in a candidate for this Job.

Determine what are your intrinsic and extrinsic skills, the skills you are naturally good at, and the skills which need a little tuning. Studying a JD thoroughly will help you to sell your key strengths, by coming up with relevant examples and showcasing how you were able to solve the problem, and how your skills can help the organization in the future. It can be so happy that you are not good at a few skills required to do a job, you can be honest about, however, talk about what you are doing to get better in that particular area, for example, you have taken up a course, you are reading books, freelancing, etc.?

5.????Impactful introduction?

Having a grand opening can really work in your favor, I have covered this briefly in my previous articles about the 180-sec rule. This is one particular area you would be most creative and generous in advertising yourself honestly to the interviewer. Most often the interviewer?makes his judgment about you in the first 3 mins of the conversation, so script your introduction and practice. Do not repeat what is there in the CV, the interviewer read that himself. Tell him something which is not there in the CV. Talk about the problems you have solved, the learnings you have had, how you have helped people, and talk about all those traits which are required in a good candidate. Talk about your values and principles.?

I love this particular line from the book “How to Handle the Toughest Job Interview Questions you’ll Ever Get” by “David R Portney” – He says that most of the interviewers are tuned to only one radio channel??- WIIFM – “What is in it for me”. This means you have to talk about what value benefit you bring to the table which is going the benefit the origination by hiring you.

You would want to script your introduction and practice it with your friend or family members. You would want to use the SEAT technique while drafting your script, it is abbreviated as :?

S – Skills

E – Experience

A – achievements

T – Type of Person ?

Talk about the skills you possess which are required for you to do the job best?

Come up with the best and worst experiences you have had and talk about what you learned from those experiences.??

It is also a platform to highlight your achievements, talk about a process improvement you implemented, an idea you suggested any of those things for which you were praised or appreciated. Anything where you stood out, it can be the highest numbers of sales, targets achieved, etc. Talk about what you did differently to stand out from the crowd. ?

6.????Every Question is Important?

You have to treat every question as if that question determines the decision if you will get that job or not. You need to have the same level of energy, enthusiasm, creativity, and flow of thoughts for each question, whether you are talking about your achievements in your previous job or about your hobbies. Try to be as creative and precise as you can while answering the question and divert your answer to the benefits the employer will have by hiring you.

?7.????Importance of Stories and examples?

Think about this, what would draw your attention, a monotonous, boring,?and tedious documentary OR a story that has a character, great storyline, difficulties and challenges, and ultimately a great climax to victory. You have the answer, don’t you??

We all are social beings and we tend to connect better when we can visualize something. We tend to connect better when the listener can place himself in that story, and hence it is so important that you have stories and examples to talk about, when asked questions, come up with relevant examples and stores to describe the situation, all your situations needs to have a conclusion, it can either be a good achievement or a great leaning.?

8.????Practice! Practice! Practice!?

If you have read my articles, then I have covered most of the questions asked in the interviews, write down each question and draft an answer in your mind, even better on paper.

Once you have your draft ready, you need to practice those answers by conducting a mock interview for yourself. Take help from your friends or family members and ask them to be your interviewer and ask you those questions. And when you answer it, you will be surprised to see how beneficial this can be, if you have nobody to support, take the help of a mirror and start practicing, look at yourself at how you express yourself on that particular question.

This exercise will give you all the feedback you need. ?

The reason practice is so important is because by doing this exercise you are gathering your thoughts, ideas, and example and channelizing them in a direction where it is most suited.

This means you have the right example to quote to the right question.

During an interview, your thoughts, ideas, and examples are like a fully ripped volcano crater waiting to outburst.?

Let's say you go to an interview without practicing, you might end up talking more than necessary or answering irrelevant. This is the reason why practice is important because by practice you tend to control your thought and you have compartmentalized your ideas and example and you pick them appropriately when posed a question. ?

9.????Dress appropriately?

While we learned so much about your first impression, how you look is part of your first impression too. You need to dress appropriately for the interview and make sure you look your best. Looking good is important because, if you look good, you feel good -?you feel good - you are more confident?- When you are confident - you participate better and your participation in the interview will determine the outcome. So make sure you have decided what you want to wear for the interview in advance and don’t leave this decision to the last moment. Make sure you are groomed well and you have appropriate makeup. How you are dressed shows your seriousness and interest in the job you have applied for.?

10.?Wear a smile throughout your interview process.?

A smile can create wonders, the smile has the power to defuse a tense situation, a smile can change the energy around you, and beyond anything smile is contagious. Imagine yourself as an interviewer, your first glance at a candidate who is grumpy, sad, and extremely serious against a candidate who is smiling and looks very positive and approaching. Again you have made your first impression.

So next time when you are in an interview you remember to smile. Smiling enhances your performance, it helps you to prove your point. Smiling shows how comfortable and confident you are about yourself.?

11.?Get a good night's Sleep:

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The day of your interview is an important day, and it is very important to have rested?well and have?a?good night's sleep.

A good night's sleep ensures focus and alertness and enhances creativity. This keeps you in a good state of mind to gather all your thoughts and ideas. It is ideal to have at least 7-8 hrs sleep to keep yourself completely engaged during the interview.??

If possible, take a day off before the day of the interview. A day off before the interview helps you eliminate the stress of the upcoming interview by giving you time to prepare well for the conversation. ?

?Let me know your thoughts on the above article?

?Hope this Help, Thank you!