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Don’t Let Negative Thoughts Sabotage Your Interview

Glassdoor Team

Glassdoor Team | Author & Career Expert at Glassdoor | 17 Jun 2018

Everyone gets a little nervous before an interview; it’s perfectly normal. For some people nerves can run away with them, negative thoughts start springing into their heads and before they know it they’ve failed the interview before it even starts. Does that sound like you? Typical negative thoughts are:

I’m too old
I’m too young
I don't have enough experience
I have no confidence
They’ll hate me
I won’t fit in
I don’t know why I’m even bothering
I know I won’t get the job

and more! All these types of negative thoughts will make you want to give up before you leave the starting line. Negativity will show in your face and your body language, thoughts change the way you hold yourself and conduct yourself. For example, if you think you’re too young, you have no confidence, and they’re not going to like you, do you think you’ll greet them with a firm handshake, eye contact and a welcoming smile? Probably not. You have to change your thoughts, it takes commitment, but it can be done. It’s a numbers game You might have negative thoughts because you’ve been to a few interviews and you’ve still not got a job. It happens, many people apply for the same position, in fact, hundreds can apply, but you’re one of the lucky ones, you got an interview. So you still haven’t got a job but getting an interview is excellent, it’s a valuable experience, it’s an opportunity to perfect your interview answers and questions. Remember, it’s a numbers game, don’t beat yourself up, be grateful for the experience, learn from the feedback and keep trying. Eventually, you will be matched to your ideal job, and it will be the right job for you. Think about who’s interviewing you The person who interviews you might have a flutter of nerves too, it could be their first interview, you don’t know. Think about how you can make it easy for them to interview you; sometimes when you take the focus off yourself and put yourself in someone else’s shoes you can forget about your nerves, the chatter in your head then goes quiet. Breathe Adrenaline can send your thoughts haywire, so learn to breathe and control your thoughts. Be aware of your heart beating faster, followed by sweaty hands, that’s usually a cue for negative thoughts “they look bored, they think I’m boring” As your heart beat starts to get fast you need to breathe to slow it down again before everything spirals out of control. Don’t analyse You’ve done the research; you have the answers so don’t start panicking because you think the interviewer might have wanted a longer explanation or an answer with some fancy words thrown in. Analysing everything the interviewer says will make you fumble and stumble over your words, it will do you more damage than good. Visualise Learn to visualise to drown the negative thoughts in your head. Before an interview, imagine yourself shaking the hand of the person interviewing you, them greeting you with a smile and visualise them offering you the job. Sports stars visualise themselves winning before an event; it keeps them focussed and helps them maintain confidence, you can visualise too. Visualise on the lead up to the interview and keep visualising while you’re waiting in reception before being interviewed. Good luck! Apply for jobs on Glassdoor:

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Glassdoor Team

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Tags:Interview Advice

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Don’t Let Negative Thoughts Sabotage Your Interview

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