Work Interview Stress

PearlJ

So I have a second interview with a company on Thursday, nice gig, good company, good money and close to home.
I have been studying solidly since last week so I think I've covered everything but still extremely nervous.
The recruitment agent rang today and said to prepare for a tough interview, that it will then be whittled down to 2 and then following a medical and personality tests they will make a decision.
I am completely daunted and overwhelmed by it. I know I can do the job and it would be perfect for me. I have very little interview experience and what I have done hasn't been great. I do great in mock interviews its just the real thing when I freeze up and get brain block.
This whole process of a number of interviews, medicals and personality tests is totally new to me, have had no experience of it before now.
I feel completely daunted which isn't helped by the fact I am out of contract and therefore out of work next week, so this job would be the answer to all my prayers.
I haven't stopped looking for other jobs but I'm finding my choices limited.
How do I stop myself from being my own worst enemy at this stage of the job hunt?

jester77

You seem to be looking at this from a very one-sided perspective. Remember, it is just as much an interview for you as it is for them. After talking with them, it might turn out that they don't fulfil your wants.

Thargor

You just have to relax, I had one yesterday and the week leading up was horrible, didn't eat much, nauseous, stayed in bed until 3pm on Saturday because I couldn't face the folder of study material I printed out for it, this was an internal interview in the place I worked with people Id know from the canteen aswell. But it went well and today Im floating on air and Ill be going for a steak or fish and chips tonight, its the worst thing in the world but its nearly worth it for the sense of relief

Focus on that, also have a story made up for a time where you:

-led a team

and

-called someone to task/confrontation.

Ive done 5 interviews in the past 6 months and these have come up every time.

Diziet

In your preparation, find lots of examples of your work and be prepared to relate them in a concise manner (using Situation, Task, Action, Result format). include examples where things did not go well and what your actions were to mitigate.

if you can, it is worth doing a mock interview with someone. A friend would do. It is not so much a matter of anticipating the questions, it is more getting used to talking about yourself in an interview situation. It takes a lot of the fear out of it.

But basically an interview is not an exam, it is a meeting to establish if you will fit well into the company and team, and for you to establish if you want to fit in there. A 'tough interview' is just a rather unfortunate term used for an in depth interview; it is not like a horrible exam! And in depth interviews can be rather fun, and useful. You get to spend time with the team you will be working with and get a good feel about the job and whether you would like it.
Good luck with it.

Diziet

In your preparation, find lots of examples of your work and be prepared to relate them in a concise manner (using Situation, Task, Action, Result format). include examples where things did not go well and what your actions were to mitigate.

if you can, it is worth doing a mock interview with someone. A friend would do. It is not so much a matter of anticipating the questions, it is more getting used to talking about yourself in an interview situation. It takes a lot of the fear out of it.

But basically an interview is not an exam, it is a meeting to establish if you will fit well into the company and team, and for you to establish if you want to fit in there. A 'tough interview' is just a rather unfortunate term used for an in depth interview; it is not like a horrible exam! And in depth interviews can be rather fun, and useful. You get to spend time with the team you will be working with and get a good feel about the job and whether you would like it.
Good luck with it.

Thargor

Thargor wrote: »

You just have to relax, I had one yesterday and the week leading up was horrible, didn't eat much, nauseous, stayed in bed until 3pm on Saturday because I couldn't face the folder of study material I printed out for it, this was an internal interview in the place I worked with people Id know from the canteen aswell. But it went well and today Im floating on air and Ill be going for a steak or fish and chips tonight, its the worst thing in the world but its nearly worth it for the sense of relief

Focus on that, also have a story made up for a time where you:

-led a team

and

-called someone to task/confrontation.

Ive done 5 interviews in the past 6 months and these have come up every time.

Haha I just got offered the role for one of those! I thought Id made a complete sh1t of them, my voice wasnt even coming out properly