Interview Panic: How To Calm Down?

[Deleted member 34424]

How have you coped or calmed yourself down before and during job interviews?

 

[Friday]

I'm a very big fan of routines & rituals.

It's the exact same parenting trick that you do with little kids for goodbyes & bedtimes. You build up a rock solid routine, a series of rituals, and then 90% of the work is done for you. 1,000 other goodbyes (that you always come back from) and bedtimes all talk to the subconscious and say "This is okay. This is right. This is safe. We know what to expect." What happens = relaxed, self assured, confidant, secure. Have those 4 things? 90% of your work is done. Cuts the balls off of separation anxiety, difficult transitions, all the hard stuff surrounding fear/rage anger/arguments anxiety/debates desperation/sadness... all that jazz. It's the rituals and routines that ping! (trigger) those responses.

It's a form of training, patterning. And it's incredibly powerful.

A job interview can be looked as a natural extension of several things; trying something new, a social event, first dates, church on Sunday (or any other best behavior & look pretty religious or work thing), parent teacher conferences, etc.

If you already have a routine for something else ^^^ in place that you can borrow? Something or some series of things that makes you feel relaxed, self assured, confidant, & secure? Go for it. Either snag the whole thing kit & caboodle, or grab out certain rituals that you can slot into place where they make sense.

If you don't have any rituals or routines in place... Either for firsts, transitions, people, and other anxiety prone situations...First off, time to make some! :D For real. Major Life-Hack. Especially with PTSD. Building routines to fall back on when everything starts going sideways, as well as to prevent things from going sideway? Huge.

You probably do at least have a few dozen rituals, both things you're highly cognizant of as well as things that you might not even be aware of (things like brushing your teeth before kissing someone, or buckling your seatbelt before driving, or having a cup of coffee before starting your day)... Even if your routines are shot all to hell with PTSD symptoms running amok.

So even if the interview is tomorrow, and you don't have time to build some rock solid into your life, deliberately peppering as many "Hell yeah, I've got this!" rituals into place to lean on throughout both the day itself & the interview? Helps tons.

 

[Little Badger]

I take 40mg of Propranolol 1 hour before the interview or at any time of stress (public speaking).
Works a treat.

 

[Ellabella44]

wow @FridayJones you are brutal to seperation anxiety. I bet it runs the other way most times lol.

I usually wear something that makes me feel confident.


Dress for what the job requires, remind myself that people like me (from the site here, a game I play online, and when I feel confident and reach out. like today when I saw a baby boy interested in me giggling etc and commented on his dads bug tattoos that it turns out the baby loves)

I think of those moments, Im confident I have the required skills, and I pretend that they are actually interviewing for a position as my employer.

If they want me, they might be the place im looking for, if not, hey they werent a good fit for me.

 

[Deleted member 34424]

It's funny that I don't have any anxiety public speaking but I do with a job interviews.

 

[FauxLiz]

I take 1 mg of xanax (depending on the time of the interview I either delay my mid day or take my bed time early) a hour before the interview. If I don't well lets just say the interview doesn't go well.

 

[EveHarrington]

Why would it be funny?

Public speaking doesn't put your future in peril. Job interviews do.

 

[Little Badger]

I find the main difference between being relaxed or tense at an interview is the interviewers themselves.

If you have an interviewer/s that are friendly and try to put you at ease it really helps.
A nice smile on their face goes a long way to knocking the nerves down.

Sometimes you'll get an unfriendly person interviewing you with the attitude "I'm the boss so you have to impress me".
But I find this also can help with the nerves as I usually think why do I want to work for you anyway?
I then realise I don't want the job with the person which takes the edge of it all.

 

[barefoot]

Like @FridayJones I'm a big believer in the power of rituals/structures. You may not have time to create those and put those in place if you don't already have them, but it may be helpful to think about finding/practising some so that you have them in your toolbox.

Things that help me:

- wearing clothes I feel confident in - this particularly comes down to colour. I also like wearing scarves - they feel protective and can still look very smart.

- having a good night's sleep the night before.

- allowing plenty of time to get there - I often run late for things but aim to get to interviews early then have a cup of tea somewhere beforehand as rushing to an interview/just scraping in on time/arriving late is a stressful start.

- be prepared. Know that you have done your homework and have a few comments/phrases/questions in mind that you want to get across at some point during the interview. But don't over-obsess about the planning or try to learn loads of stuff by heart - it will just create more stress.

- if you need to do a presentation or something, which relies on tech, always have a back up plan in case things don't work on the day.

- try not to feel that this interview is the be all and end all. Try to "hold it lightly" to relieve some pressure on yourself. Even if it's a job you really want, set an intention to do your best but also be aware that you don't ever really know who/what a company is looking for or know who the other candidates aren. Not getting a job doesn't mean you were/are rubbish - not at all!

- if possible, make some time beforehand to practise self-care and relaxation. In other words try to give yourself an easier day before the interview. Listen to music that makes you feel good/relaxed, watch a favourite to show/comedy routine, exercise, meditate, do breathing exercises, meet a friend for a coffee beforehand....whatever works for you.

- try to build some rapport with the interviewers - smile! If you are warm, friendly and smiley at the start, they will likely be the same, which puts all of you more at ease.

- remember that many interviewers get nervous too! And remember that they want to find someone - they are open to it!

- if an interviewer is cold/an arse/deliberately provocative or difficult in a way that really rattles you and doesn't make you feel good about yourself - it's very likely that you won't want to work with them anyway!

- if any of these are your thing - journal or set some intentions for yourself before you go in - to help you to focus and feel in control.

- be yourself! Because if you try to be someone you're not, even if you get the job, it probably won't be the best fit for you.

Good luck! :-)

 

[cat-lady]

I'm also one of those people who gets really nervous in job interviews but not with public speaking. I find I perform best at job interviews where I'm not that interested in the job but I'm just using it for a back up. The more the job could make a big difference for me the more likely I am to get nervous and flub it. I try to have enough good back up plans that I don't feel I need any specific interview to go well. For example, I'll make sure to have a number of application in at various places I'd like to work and have a real chance at before I walk into the interview. That way, when I get nervous I remind myself that statistically I'm bound to hear back from one of those soon.

 

[Little Badger]

I'm also one of those people who gets really nervous in job interviews but not with public speaking. I find I perform best at job interviews where I'm not that interested in the job but I'm just using it for a back up. The more the job could make a big difference for me the more likely I am to get nervous and flub it.

Same here.
I've got another interview on Monday and It's a job I really want. I'm already feeling a bit nervous about it.
I usually find I get nervous when leaving my house, to get to the interview, but once I'm there I feel OK.
It's like I put on an act so the nervous person suddenly isn't me.

 

[Gadgie]

I get nervous and anxious just talking to people in general, so I can't imagine what I would be like at a job interview?

In the old days, before all this crap happened to me, I used to go to interviews and imagine all the people interviewing me were sitting there naked, that used to work for me, every time!