Managing Interview Anxiety with a Coaching Psychologist

• Our response to anxiety results from our cave-dwelling days! Our Bodies react as if we are hunted by a predator. Job interview anxiety is created from our conscious or subconscious thinking that our quality of life will depend on our performance.
• Before attending an interview consider do you need to calm yourself down or 'gee' yourself up.
• During the interview take a deep breath before you begin to answer the question

Today’s workforce is plagued with anxiety, even more so with Covid19 and many find themselves out of work due to the pandemic. Each time you are interviewed you know you are up against hundreds of other people for the job. It is not surprising therefore that 40 million adults in the US are affected with Anxiety disorders. Work-related stressors can be a major trigger and 73% of people consider changing careers to be one of the most stressful life events.   

Stress and anxiety can be severely detrimental to your performance in the job search and the interview. In order to control this anxiety it is important to understand what causes it in order to manage the symptoms. 

Causes of anxiety

We are hard-wired to analyze danger and respond. This is a trait picked up from our cave-dwelling days (think of the Disney movie The Croods). Those that could predict danger and preempt it survived – those that were overly risky didn’t survive. In today’s world, this behavior creates more harm than good, as our brains have a hard time distinguishing between modern distressful thoughts and actual physical danger.

The amygdala, a set of neurons in the brain that processes emotion and the limbic system are telling the body to react to the thought that same way as if it would if someone was in physical danger. That is to say the thought “I am going to an interview” creates the same senses as if you were in physical danger. Interview anxiety essentially stems from the thoughts that someone’s quality of life depends on it.

Recently I a coaching client who was interviewing for a role with sever anxiety. The last time he had gone for an interview it was for a job he had been doing very successfully for a year. already. He ‘failed’ the interview! He viewed this as an indication that he had failed at his role when in fact he had been very successful for almost a year! Upon reflection, we questioned whether an interview was fit for purpose? If he hadn’t deem him successful……when he was already in the role and performing well! Being successful at an interview is a specific skill that doesn’t come naturally to everyone. But it is one you can acquire.

Prior to the Interview

In order to ensure optimal performance its important to understand your own thoughts. Are you too calm and may be perceived as disinterested? Or are you so nervous you can barely speak a word? Perhaps you are somewhere between the two. Do you need to calm yourself or pump yourself up?

To lower arousal levels and calm down reevaluate the nervous thought in your brain and change them. Events are merely our narrative (the story we tell ourselves) of the event. Consider a car accident – one person will be very upset and scared, perhaps crying or angry, while the next person will react thinking ‘thankfully no one was hurt’. The exact same accident happened to both and was a stressful event for both but the narrative they tell themselves is what sets their reaction and levels of emotion. 

In order to successfully manager interview stress or anxiety its important to question your thoughts. You need to argue with yourself to determine which thoughts are valid and justified. Thoughts like “this interview is not a life and death situation” or “my family will still love me if I do not get the job” will counteract negative thoughts and lower anxiety levels. To enhance your confidence thoughts such as “ I am a great fir for this job” or “im prepared for this challenge” will help motivate you. 

Preparation is also key; research the company and try to take in as much information as possible. Find out who you will meet at the interview and look them up on Linkedin understand the type of companies they have worked with before. Read any articles they might have published on Linkedin. See them as human. From, personal experience, I have interviewed thousands of candidates over the years. I promise, I always began an interview hoping to fill the role. Every candidate 'had' the interview before they began and I allowed them talk themselves into or out of the role (if they were unsuccessful). 

Then take time to think through as many of the tough questions as you can. Create your “elevator pitch” (your who are you in 2 minutes). By practicing potential questions you are familiarizing your brain with anticipated scenarios and you will feel more in control of the situation. Figure out what are your unique talents? How will they help you in this particular role?

During the Interview

An increase in heartbeat is one of the first signs of anxiety. In order to slow this down, taking slow deep breaths. This will physically bring your heart rate back down. By slowing down your heart rate, it will help you relax. During an interview no one will notice if you take a discreet deep breath before you answer the question.

One of the biggest anxiety-driven mistakes people make in an interview is to begin answering the question before you have fully decided what you are going to say. And before you have decided if your story fully answers the question being asked. If anxiety prevents you from finding the answer straight away, its ok to take a few seconds before you begin to answer the question. 

The amygdala and limbic system are just as reactive to what you tell yourself, as they are to something physically happening right in front of you. Have those positive and calming statements ready to go while you’re interviewing — “I can do this” or “My strengths will help this company succeed.”

When you can actively replace the anxious thoughts in your head with positive, calming thoughts, your positive thoughts will go beyond just your mind, demonstrating confidence and composure to the interviewers. Positive thinking, coupled with actively addressing the physical symptoms of stress, will make you noticeably calmer.

Best of luck at your next interview, hopefully these tips will help. 

To discuss interview anxiety further call Karen on 087 4567847