INTERVIEW PARANOIA.
Everyone has recurring nightmares. I still remember a series of nightmares I had when I was a child. It would start off with one of my friends telling me that we were out of soda and it was my turn to go to the store. I would be pushed out of an apartment door to face a long flight of stairs leading to the street. All of a sudden I was surrounded by darkness. Only a few low watt light fixtures led the way from the stairs to the street. As I faced the stairs and started my descent, a face materialized at the bottom of the steps. The bodiless figure’s head appeared to be similar to that of Medusa. It took a second to open its mouth and flash its teeth, which made JAWS look tame by comparison. Like the mythological victims of Medusa, I found myself frozen in fear as the figure started floating slowly up the stairs, flashing its stiletto like teeth as it ascended. It was drawing closer to me and I could not get away…Try as I might I could not move. It kept moving closer and closer until I woke up in a cold sweat screaming for my parents….
Fast forward to the present. The company I worked for announced that they were closing their New York facility. As with previous places I have worked for, there were several individuals who had never conducted a recent job search, and were fearful of long term unemployment. I had long since come to terms with my floating, bodiless demon. It would seem that many of my friends and former co-workers would face that demon in a different, albeit equally scary manner.
Many individuals, especially those who have not been interviewed for a position in the last decade, are extremely fearful of the experience. To that end I would like to recommend 2 excellent articles I read last week by Karl Rozemeyer and Mathew Rothenberg, both on the topic of overcoming interview stage fright.
I firmly believe in approaching a job interview from an actor’s point of view. The good news for most of us is that once we land a position, we can put these articles on the back burner and focus at our respective professions.
In addition to the excellent points raised by these articles, I would like to add a few of my own:
-The best actors really get to know the characters they portray. The better I embrace the role as Accountant, Senior Buyer, or Supply Chain Professional, the more likely I am to convince my perspective employers that I am the right candidate for the position. Also, if you truly believe in the role you are playing, it will instill confidence in your perspective employers. I firmly believe that if you are really focused on your “role”, it will help dissolve any interview jitters.
-If you view your interactions with potential employers as performances, and critique of your performance afterwards, you will get a better idea of what worked and what needs improvement for the next performance. If you were not the candidate of choice, try to find out from your interviewers, what your weak points were. Treat the critique as a theatrical review. If you keep working at something, you will get better at it.
Finally, here are some additional points that may be helpful when you land an interview:
1) If at all possible try to get an employment application in advance of the interview. Fill it out the night before the interview so that you can concentrate on your presentation to your interviewers
2) In the event you are unable to get an application in advance, see if you have an earlier application in your records, and bring it along. You will find that it helps you to fill out the application faster.
Good hunting!
-By Howard K. Young, Contributing Writer & Member of The 405 Club.
View all of Howard’s posts here.
