Nerves – Yep love them or hate them we all have them and they apply to everything we do
in life – whether it’s a new job, a date, going to the
dentist or being reprimanded. What are nerves? Well they are
your bodies’ way of dealing with stress usually caused by a
fear of the unknown, your body putting up a protective
barrier to help you deal with the unknown. Symptoms
include; dry mouth, shaky hands, sweating, thumping heart,
faintness, feeling like you need to go to the bathroom –
sound familiar! Everyone is nervous when attending a job
interview – after all you are doing all this because you
want to get that new job. Your body is releasing chemical
called adrenalin which assists you in focusing your mind
completely on the situation that you are dealing with. The
secret is being able to manipulate and control your frame of
mind and use that adrenalin to your advantage and not let it
take over completely.
How Can I Control My Nerves?
The secret to controlling your nerves is to convince your brain
that you have little to worry about. The reality is that we all
get ourselves worked up far too much in the first place – we
convince ourselves that we are going to under perform or
embarrass ourselves beyond belief. After all I am sure you will
have been in many situations where you have been a nervous wreck
and once the situation is over (like at the end of an interview
or coming out of the dentists) felt the overwhelming experience
of calmness. Yes this is caused by your body relaxing and the
adrenalin ceasing. So how can you combat this? Well it is really
simple - all you need to do is be prepared and calm yourself and
the nerves, to a degree, will be far less. I am sure you will
have heard of the term “Mind Over Matter” well it is true. The
brain and body are complicated things, you can convince yourself
of anything if you want to and this can have a negative as well
as positive outcome. So to deal with this issue and put your
mind at rest (hence reducing your nervousness) it’s always a
good idea to try and address the areas you need to deal with
where you feel you will be an absolute failure if things go
badly wrong. So lets just look at the major areas:
1.
Drinks - should you or shouldn’t you? As I have mentioned before if
you are offered a drink, be it tea, coffee or water and you
think you are suddenly going to have an explosive fit and chuck
your cup three foot in the air then don’t accept one. The only
exception I can recommend here is Water. The reason being is
that if you have a glass of water no one is going to notice if
you did or didn’t drink it. However if you get stuck for
something to say when asked a difficult question or you find
your mouth is getting irritably dry it’s a good excuse to take a
sip. While it doesn’t buy you a great deal of time it does give
you chance to pause and reflect on the question a few moments
before you give an answer.
2.
Awkward Questions – Well unless you have a crystal ball you are not
going to know what questions you are going to be asked at your
interview. However if you know anything about the job then you
can have a good second guess at what sort of questions are
likely to come up and figure out some answers accordingly. Just
remember how it was when you sat exams at school – you didn’t
know which questions were going to come up so you revised all of
them. Again as previously mentioned if there is a discrepancy in
your CV and you think it may be an issue then try and think of
an appropriate answer – don’t just ignore it and think to
yourself “I hope they don’t mention that” – be prepared it will
take the worry.
3.
Shaky Hands! – Well I have to admit I always get shaky hands (and I
am sure I am not alone on this issue!). There is no real
definitive way of dealing with shaky hands really the only thing
you can do is keep them under control by placing one hand on top
of the other and keeping them on your lap. As you gain
confidence throughout the interview and your mind drifts away
from the issue you will find that the shaking will naturally
ease and it should no longer prove a problem.
4.
Dropping Or Tripping Over Your Briefcase Or Handbag – Come on,
there’s absolutely no need to be clinging onto that briefcase or
handbag. Place them on the floor (under your chair preferably)
that way you aren’t going to drop them or fall over them when
you get up! If you need a pen and paper (and it’s always good to
have one) take them out of your attaché at the start of the
meeting
5.
Fear Of Sneezing or Having a Runny Nose – Again it all comes down
to being prepared, make sure you take a handkerchief or tissue
and have it somewhere accessible. It’s no good locked in your
handbag or briefcase, place it in your pocket so you can get at
it quickly should you need to.
Make Life Easier For Yourself At The Interview:
Now I am not trying to teach my grandmother to suck eggs but the
night before your interview try and get a good nights sleep. Eat
your evening meal earlier than usual and go to bed a bit
earlier. Don’t go out on the lash with your mates until
2.00 am in the morning or for a curry or other meal that gives off
a strong smelling after odour. As you will no doubt be aware
garlic smells dreadful the next day and will ooze out of your
pores for a good 24 hours after eating it so try and steer clear
of meals that include this. Also alcohol stays in the blood
stream for a fair while and you don’t want to be turning up at
your new job interview feeling hung over and tired. If you are
worried about your breath smelling then eat a mint before you go
into the interview or use a menthol spray, you can but little
handy ones from the chemist which will fit in your pocket.
On
the morning of the interview (if the interview is in the
morning) try and have some breakfast, I know it’s difficult to
eat on a stomach that’s turning around faster that a washing
machine on a full cycle spin, but food is for the brain and it
will help you keep your mind on the job. Besides which if you
don’t eat and have an empty stomach it is very likely that you
will experience that intensely dreadful sickly feeling. If you
have an interview during the afternoon see if you can catch an
early lunch or if the interview is early evening try and eat a
decent breakfast and catch a late lunch. Ideally you don’t want
to eat more than two hours before the start of the interview to
give your body the chance to digest your food.
If
you are really strung out and feeling uptight just before your
job interview begins then you can always try some breathing
exercises. Now I am no therapist but I always find that
breathing in deep breaths through your nose, holding it in for a
few seconds and breathing out through your mouth helps. My
doctor told me to try this when I was a bit younger and had
problems dealing with stress and it seems to work for me to help
me relax. Try and think happy thoughts whether they are about
your children, your wife, husband, partner or whatever but try
and think of something that makes you smile. It takes far more
muscles to make you frown than it does to make you smile and
using this technique you will automatically begin to feel the
element of wellbeing. It will also temporarily take your mind
off the situation ahead which will ease your stress and worry.
When you get into the interview and are seated try and relax and
get comfortable, I don’t mean slouch in the chair, but try and
pick a position where you are not all screwed up like the
hunchback of Notre Dame. Being comfortable will help relax all
of your muscles including your legs, abdomen and chest
ultimately making your breathing more relaxed. During your
interview make sure you listen to each question posed to you
properly, don’t try and think of an answer while your
interviewer is still asking the question.
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