Interview Excitement vs Anxiety

“Calm down. Try to relax and focus going into this interview.” That’s pretty common advice given to many job seekers.

Turns out, that may not be good advice. Anyone who has spent any time in athletics knows that the sensations experienced by anxiety and excitement are almost identical. This is why I’ve always coached my candidates to realize this and turn their anxiety into excitement. Go into the interview excited!

When people feel anxious and try to calm down they imagine all the things that could go wrong. Conversely, when they feel excited, they look forward to the experience and imagine all the things that could go right according to Alison Wood Brooks PhD of Harvard Business School. Turns out her studies back this theory up.

In one (of a few) experiment, 140 participants (63 men and 77 women) were told to prepare a persuasive public speech on why they would be good work partners. To increase anxiety, a researcher videotaped the speeches and said they would be judged by a committee. Before delivering the speech, participants were instructed to say “I am excited” or “I am calm.” The subjects who said they were excited gave longer speeches and were more persuasive, competent and relaxed than those who said they were calm, according to ratings by independent evaluators.

I’m not surprised at all.

So if you’re headed into an interview, turn that anxiety into excitement and think about how well you will do and how much you will enjoy the experience. Think about how excited you are to meet new people, learn about a new company, the team and where it’s headed. Think about the excitement of your new future. Your excitement will manifest itself in the interview and come across to your interviewer counterparts.

Need prepping before your next big interview? Give me a shout. Working with an experienced recruiter in interview prep can make all the difference.

#interviewing #interviewprep #career