The #1 reason why interviewing can be such a stressful event...

“So tell me about yourself.”

“So why should I hire you?”

“Talk to me about your achievements.”

If this was just a normal conversation, these questions and statements wouldn’t be so charged and wouldn’t normally carry a whole lot of concern. But all sorts of anxieties can arise when faced with needing to share our value in a contrived and somewhat superficial manner. For many people, the overriding stress factor (that #1 reason) in an interview is…the feeling of being judged or the feeling of inadequacy.

Unfortunately, judgment within our society begins at an incredibly young age…

“Oh…what a cute baby.”

“What’s wrong with your child?”

“How could you fail that test?”

“I don’t want to be your friend.”

“Why didn’t you graduate”?

That self-doubt begins to turn into confidence as you become proficient in certain areas of our life. This self-confidence feeds your happiness and life feels good. You enter the workforce and are now a ‘contributing member of society’. You make a steady paycheck; you complete projects on time. You find success. All is going well!

But then a layoff occurs, or you’re overlooked for a promotion. Suddenly that happiness and self-confidence can turn into questioning and self-doubt.  Now you are in the job market and must show how you are the best solution to a company’s needs.

As you begin to prepare for interviews, the fear of judgment may return. You may begin to question your value, especially if the job search has been prolonged! 

Please understand this is not an uncommon feeling. You are not alone!  There is very often some feeling of nervousness, anxiety or unease. The interview process is not a ‘normal’ encounter. It is a place where you are selling yourself in a contrived setting.

The question now is…how to lessen this feeling of nervousness and anxiety? How can we enter the interview process in a calm and collected manner?

There is one overarching answer: PREPARATION

First and foremost, you MUST know, to YOUR core, your intrinsic value (the gift you bring to the world). We ALL have it! You must be able to understand the beauty of YOU, which no one else can take away…EVER!!!

Next, you must know your specific and unique value to that specific company. You must know how to position yourself as the best solution to that company’s needs. They need to see you as a problem solver that can come in and fix their problems. Remember, there is a reason why the company is needing to hire for this role. It’s because something isn’t getting done!

You must be confident in sharing your value when you walk in the door. So, you better be practicing it with someone or at least in the mirror.  (I will discuss ways to position yourself in a later segment.)

If you don’t know your value going into the interview, old feelings of inadequacy can resurface quickly. An interviewer’s ‘look of doubt’ or ‘line of questioning’ can throw us into a spiraling wave of panic.

A wonderful first step is to practice the ‘Why You?’ question a few times before going into the interview. Do this in the car as you are driving to the interview or in front of a mirror if the interview is a phone call or Skype session. 

What I always suggest is to start off your answer with an energized statement of your passion for what you do in general. Follow this with a more targeted focus of your strengths in sub-sectors of your functional role that address some of the needs that are expressed in the Job Description. Energy and conviction of what you say is as important (if not more so) as the words that you speak. You have to be believable!

Here is an example:

“First and foremost, Joe, I have a passion for Product Marketing! Nothing thrills me more than the seeing my hard work, in a team environment, ultimately help increase adoption and improve revenue. At ABC company, I led cross-functional teams to improve revenue by an average of 14% year-over-year between 2015-2018 within my segment." 

"I love both the downstream components to marketing where we are focused on revenue drive and the upstream components where we are focused on product improvement due to KOL interaction and market feedback. I look forward to taking this energy and collaborative nature and bringing it to your team!”

The energy that you TRULY show will get you through those jitters and set the course for a very productive interview. When you are passionate in your words, your body and mind naturally follow suit!

Try this in the mirror or mouth the words out at your desk. The more passionately you believe in your words, the less anxious you become.

Believe in your value! Believe in your Value!! Believe in your VALUE!!! Know that you are good at what you do.  Don’t let the interview throw you off your game. At the end of the day, remember that the interviewer wants to like you; so s(he) can hire you and get back to the important work at hand!

Good luck!