Agony Uncle Gav: Straight talking advice.

Scared of job interviews?

Posted on 29. Jun, 2008 by Uncle Gav in Personal Problems, Work Problems

Everyone I know is scared or a little afraid of a job interview. I’ve had all manner of interviews throughout my life. I’ve had interviews with a full board of 6 people, I’ve had a joint job interview with 26 other people in the room, I have had casual interviews, formal interviews and the down-right “is this really an interview” interview.

Being nervous is more than likely the thing that gets most people. I’ve seen people have full blown panic attacks because nerves have got the better of them. I wrote an article on how to get better at talking in public which seems to have gone down well with my readers. It explains various ways to build up your confidence as soon as you enter the room, however with an interview there are a few things that you can prepare for before you even get there.

At the end of the day you’re going to an interview to hopefully get a job from a prospective employer, it doesn’t matter if it’s on a farm, a coffee shop or a centre of the city law firm there is one MAJOR thing you should do… RESEARCH. Research in to the company to find out as many little facts as possible, facts that normal people wouldn’t pick up on however if you can ask a question about them or mention it in your interview it looks like you have taken the time out to find the information. If you know who is going to be your interviewer by all means do some research on them. They’ll like the initiative, believe me!

What’s next? Dress Smart and dress clever. There is no point in your dressing in your shiniest shoes to be heading off in to a farm for an interview, and there is definitely no point in you heading off in to an office block with boots on. You’re there to impress and dressing smart is just the start!

Before you head off in to the job interview, relax yourself. Listen to some music. You have no reason to be nervous, it’s just a bunch of people, or even one person asking you a could of questions. They’re not difficult questions and you should almost certainly be able to answer all of them. If you don’t know, tell them you can find out for them, even tell them you’ll google it when you get back home! If it doesn’t raise a smile to one of the person’s faces in the room I’d be genuinally shocked.

If the interview is one where you would need to take a test, don’t worry about that either. You know what type of job you’re going for so the test shouldn’t be a problem. Just chill out and enjoy it.

If you don’t get the job, think of it as practice but whatever you do, do not think negatively about it. Everything has a positive side to it, find the positives and use them. If you were given feedback, follow that up and find out what you can change about the interview to make it better for next time.

I have went for two very random interviews before, I didn’t want the job I just went for the experience. Believe me it does get easier.

At the beginning of the interview, walk in and introduce yourself, don’t sound smug or smarmy just be you. It will break the ice and relax you a little.

Keep that chin held high, throw a little bit of confidence in to the mix with a well prep’d and thought out plan and you will be fine and in to a job in no time at all.

As always, Uncle Gav is looking for his readers to contact him directly with questions or queries where you may need advice. If you would like some advice, headover to the “Contact” page and use the information provided.

Tags: confidence building, job interview help, planning