If you are someone who frequently struggles with pre-interview nerves , I am going share four effective tools that I have used to calm my interview nervousness and anxiety.
1. Visualisation
Mental imagery or visualisation is a technique that involves focusing on positive mental images to achieve a particular goal. High performing athletes use this powerful technique. During an interview with the Dana Foundation, Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast, Shannon Miller pointed out that the “physical aspect of the sport can only take you so far "The mental aspect has to kick in, especially when you’re talking about the best of the best. In the Olympic games, everyone is talented. Everyone trains hard. Everyone does the work. What separates the gold medallists from the silver medallists is simply the mental game.”
Visualisation has helped me to focus on my performance and subsequently helped to reduce my nerves. During my interview preparation, I would visualise myself performing at a high level in the job interview. I would begin by visualising myself getting ready for the interview at home, travelling to the employers building, walking in interview room and sitting confidently in front of the interview panel. I would imagine every detail of the interview: what I would be wearing and how self-assured I would feel while answering each interview question.
Shakti Gawain, author of Creative Visualization described creative visualization as a technique where you use your imagination to create what you want in your life. We all use mental imagery every day whether it is positive or negative. Imagination is the ability to create an idea or a mental picture in your mind and continuing to focus on the image regularly with positive energy until it become a reality.
According to Albert Einstein "imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”
My takeaway gems from Shakti’s book is that our imagination is a powerful tool in achieving our goals. By using our imagination, we can go beyond our current understanding and expand our reality.
2. Emotional Freedom Technique
I was introduced to the emotional freedom technique (EFT) by an amazing behavioral expert Maureen Fearon when I attended one of her workshops. Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is a method to reduce anxiety, stress. It involves tapping specific points on your body: tapping the fingertips on acupressure points while you are stating positive affirmations to clear emotional blocks. I found this to be an effective tool to dissolve my nervous energy before I delivered important presentations. The EFT technique has been practiced for over 5,000 years
3. Music
Music can change your mood. I have a motivational music playlist that I listen to while I prepare for important business events. According to Professor Heshmat from the University of Illinois, listening to music is an easy way to reduce stress and calm our moods.
I would recommend that you try listening to motivational music on your earphones as you travel to your job interview. Interestingly, music is frequently played in supermarkets to influence consumer behaviour.
4. Meditation
Meditation as part of my mindfulness practice – it has had an extremely calming effect on my concentration and wellbeing. There are a range of meditation apps that you can a try, such as Headspace. Many elite professional athletes use meditation to improve their performance, for example, Tiger Woods, LeBron James and Kerry Walsh.
What methods do you use to calm your nerves before job interviews? There are many YouTube videos with inspirational music that can help you dissolve nerves before an interview. Going for a short walk near the interview location is another way to calm your nerves before a job interview. It might be worth trying out some of the tools that I have covered today. Let me know your thoughts or comments on this topic. Drop me an email sandra@purpletransitionspersonalgrowth.co.uk. The best of luck in your next job interview and have a great week!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Security is handling thing not having things - “what if fears. Affirm you to yourself that you can handle it – eliminate the fear.” - Susan Jeffers – author of "Feel the Feel and Do It Anyway."
If you have been searching for a job for a while and have not had any success or you would like some support, book a free consultation, email sandra@purpletransitionspersonalgrowth.co.uk
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