Are you scared of being interviewed? Did you ever miss out on a great opportunity because your job interview anxiety kept you from showcasing your skills in a convincing manner to a prospective employer? Psychologists report that fear of job interviews is one of the most common causes for heavy emotional stress.
The Difference Between Being Nervous and Feeling Anxious
Yet, to a certain extend being nervous about a job interview is perfectly normal. In fact, it’s very similar to stage fright. Even professional actors experience stage fright. But both professional actors and good job hunters are able to manage their fear in a way that energizes them, and actually helps them to present themselves in a convincing manner.
The problem is when the fear spins out of control and mentally paralyzes you. Remember that fear is actually an important survival mechanism evolution installed in us: it mobilized our energy resources and strength when our distant ancestors needed to escape a menacing sable-tooth tiger or fight another kind of predator. Unfortunately, our physiology hasn’t yet adapted to 21st century modern living challenges, and thus we respond with inappropriate fight-or-flight patterns in non-life-threatening situations too.
Why Sometimes Preparing Yourself For The Job Interview Isn’t Enough
It doesn’t matter how much you prepare yourself for a job interview, how much you data you research about the prospective employer, how often you practiced possible interview questions – if you don’t have the nerves when it’s showtime, if you falter when the money is on, you won’t land that job.
Job interviews are not the perfect way to find the right prospects. In fact, they are unfair and inadequate in many ways. Because it takes a different set of skills to get a job than it takes to do a job. There are people who are excellent job hunters, but lousy at doing a job once they got it. And there are people who are excellent at getting the job done, but they are incapable of landing the job.
Reasons and Symptoms of Job Interview Anxiety
Maybe it’s because they feel uncomfortable showcasing their talents and achievements. Maybe because they are so afraid that a tough question might “knock them out” during the interview. Whatever the reason, there are many ways in which job interview anxiety manifests itself. Your voice may shake when you speak. You might have cold and sweaty palms, a pounding heartbeat in your chest, irrational and racing thoughts and difficulty to concentrate and respond to questions in a coherent and convincing manner.
Many people suggest visualization exercises – to picture yourself in your mind successfully doing an interview, talking confident and persuasive, connecting with the interviewer. But there’s a lot more to “the mental game” than that, and if you don’t visualize the right way, it can actually do more harm than good.
With the use of hypnosis, you can quickly and easily become a confident job interviewee. Because by involving the help of your subconscious mind you will form now behavior patterns that replace the old “panic routine” you went through when faced with a job interview.
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