I just had the worst interview..

[emerald86]

I don't know why this is, but every time I have an interview I clam up and fail miserably. I find that I can't even answer the most basic questions. I've had several interviews recently, and all of them have been horrible...all because of my nervousness.

 

Today was particularly horrible. I stammered on pretty much every question and completely blanked on what was possibly the easiest question. When I couldn't come up with anything to say, the interviewer sighed loudly and said "Okay then next question..." Immediately after the interview was over, I came up with a large list of possible answers to that question.

 

He also asked me to solve some basic algebra problems. I'll admit that math is not my favorite subject, and I haven't done any algebra in several years. But all throughout high school and college, I took advanced math classes and done well in them. On standardized tests, I never had a problem with the math section---I was always happy with my scores. And here I was at the interview, completely unable to do even basic algebra.

 

At this point, I don't even care that I'm not going to get the job. I'm just terribly embarrassed. I have no idea what the interviewer thinks of me. In my entire life, I maybe only had one good interview, and that's for the job that I currently have. And the only reason it went so well was because the interviewer was extremely nice. As soon as we sat down, she said to me, "Don't think of this as an interview. Just think of this as a friendly conversation." Those words immediately put me at ease, because that's exactly what it was--a friendly conversation. Everybody else who has interviewed me was very stern and stiff. Not mean, but not friendly either. This has made me extremely nervous--it was once so bad that the interviewer sighed and glanced at his watch multiple times, because my interview was going so horribly.

 

I know that not everyone I interview with is going to be friendly, and I have to find a way to cope with that. Is there anything I can do to relax?

Edited November 23, 2015 by emerald86

[d0nnivain]

Alas bad interviews happen. I have bombed a few myself.

 

Try not to beat yourself up too much & simply prep more for the next one, including some calming breathing exercises before it starts.

[KatZee]

Happens to the best of us. When I was fresh out of college I actually landed an interview with a pretty big TV news channel. To say that I was nervous is a bit of an understatement. I BOMBED the interview. Literally bombed.

 

During the interview I actually flubbed and called the news channel by a different name.

 

During the written part I blanked completely. On one question I actually drew a picture because I couldn't think of the word. Why I decided to play Pictionary during an interview, I'll never know.

 

Not shocking that I didn't get a call back.

 

It's been 9 years since then. I've gone on plenty more interviews. They get easier when you gain more experience with them. It took many interviews but I'm very good at them now.

 

The way I deal with interviews is to flip the script. I don't view it as THEM interviewing ME. I go in with the mentality that I'M interviewing THEM. Why do I want to work at this company?

 

I go in with a notepad with an entire list of questions, my current boss even commented during my interview that I had really great questions.

[RecentChange]

Yes! There are certainly tools you can use to improve your performance under pressure in situations like interviews.

 

Like you, I can struggle with "blanking out" and anxiety during pressure situations like an interview. I will always remember feeling like I was going to pass out, and just blanking while taking my drivers license test as a teen, I had been driving for years, had a fair bit of track time under my belt, it was silly!!! But I had a tendency to freeze up in situations like that.

 

Any way, what helped ME was my sports coach at the time who specialized in sports psychology. She taught me breathing and visualization exercises which allowed me to have a better hand on my emotions under pressure.

 

There are a ton of books out there on the subject, and while an interview might not be a "sport" I think there are many correlations regarding performing under pressure / in front of an audience / calling upon your skills while stressed.

[dispatch3d]

I also bombed tons of interviews before I got to where I am today with them (I wouldn't say i'm great at them but I'm definitely good - and don't **** up like I used to). For me it was almost a confidence thing.

 

Anyhow reviewing answers to interview questions will definitely get you better - and more prepared, as well as understanding the general format of answering questions in a professional manner. Practice with other people, have a few stories that fit STAR - situation task action result. Once you can do the STAR questions (at least the majority of them) without thinking about them long the name your 3 greatest strengths, 3 greatest weaknesses, etc. becomes easier.

 

You should also be prepared for common questions to your resume - like why did you not work for a year - come up with a professional response for that as well (In my case I was looking for a fulltime professional job for a year without luck - in actual fact I didn't have to work because I made enough from poker, and was waiting to get a good fulltime job....).

 

What are some of the common questions that have stumped you so far, excluding the math test.

[Bobbi7]

I've blown a few interviews-especially when there were 3 people interviewing me at the same time!

[newt]

don't worry about it, we all have experienced this at some point. Just keep in mind for the future to maintain a conversational tone during a job interview which makes you more likable during the process.

 

Don't beat yourself up

[emerald86]

I also bombed tons of interviews before I got to where I am today with them (I wouldn't say i'm great at them but I'm definitely good - and don't **** up like I used to). For me it was almost a confidence thing.

 

Anyhow reviewing answers to interview questions will definitely get you better - and more prepared, as well as understanding the general format of answering questions in a professional manner. Practice with other people, have a few stories that fit STAR - situation task action result. Once you can do the STAR questions (at least the majority of them) without thinking about them long the name your 3 greatest strengths, 3 greatest weaknesses, etc. becomes easier.

 

You should also be prepared for common questions to your resume - like why did you not work for a year - come up with a professional response for that as well (In my case I was looking for a fulltime professional job for a year without luck - in actual fact I didn't have to work because I made enough from poker, and was waiting to get a good fulltime job....).

 

What are some of the common questions that have stumped you so far, excluding the math test.

 

Thanks for the answers so far! They definitely helped me out.

 

I messed up on some pretty basic questions such as "why do you want to work at X company" and "what are your strengths?" I completely blanked out due to nerves, but I've had a couple more interviews since then, and did a lot better on those. I guess practice does make things better.

[newt]

Thanks for the answers so far! They definitely helped me out.

 

I messed up on some pretty basic questions such as "why do you want to work at X company" and "what are your strengths?" I completely blanked out due to nerves, but I've had a couple more interviews since then, and did a lot better on those. I guess practice does make things better.

 

I can't believe I struggled when asked the question, "so tell me about yourself"

 

No interviewer had asked me the questions

up until that point and since the question was so loaded I had no idea how to answer the question.

[emerald86]

I can't believe I struggled when asked the question, "so tell me about yourself"

 

No interviewer had asked me the questions

up until that point and since the question was so loaded I had no idea how to answer the question.

 

Haha yes, this one's difficult. Especially since there are so many different things you could say. I'm pretty sure I blanked on this before too.

[avintagegirl]

I absoulutely cannot recommend this enough- mock interviews. Find a local career services center - one at a community college or your alma mater - and set up mock interviews.

 

I started doing them with a career services in a univeristy that I was working at the time. I had previously been on a handful of job interviews, most of them super casual. My interviewer was amazing. She navigated me around all the pitfalls and it gave me a lot of practice. After that I earned a degree and in doing so, part of the curriculum was the interview process - another mock interview. I went to the career services deptartment of that school and did a couple more mock interviews. By the time I had to do the one for school - I did very very well. Was it perfect? No, but interviews rarely are. I didn't stutter and I was able to be very professional despite major nerves. In fact to this day, if someone were to throw the question of what my greatest weakness is at me, I could handle it no problem. The key is to end on a positive.

 

(My greatest weakness is in taking on new challenges. I love to help others and at times that can result in a full priority list. I am working on how to say no and to delegate to others when possible, but I find the best way to deal with a priority list is to sort out what is on fire right now, what is smoldering, and what has yet to be lit. I then deal with my top priorities first.)

 

Now that I am a few years out, if I were to have to do another interview. I would definitely find a place to do a mock interview first. Times change and so do the standards of what employers want.

 

 

Best of luck to you!

[avintagegirl]

Haha yes, this one's difficult. Especially since there are so many different things you could say. I'm pretty sure I blanked on this before too.

 

When an employer wants to know about you, just remember they don't care about the books you want to read. I made this mistake on my very first interview.

 

What I try to remember is what do employers want to know about me that will help them. I would say something like:

 

"I am a person who cares about really good customer service. As a consumer, I value when a company treats me well. I want the customers of company that I work for to have the experience I would want to have as a consumer. When a consumer feels valued they are likely to come back and to tell others about how they were able to get what they wanted from a company - versus what a company took from them. It is creating that kind of goodwill that motivates me into doing the best job that I can every day."

 

Or, you know, something like that.

[newt]

Haha yes, this one's difficult. Especially since there are so many different things you could say. I'm pretty sure I blanked on this before too.

 

Yes but now I realize the way to answer that question is to discuss how your personality makes you a good fit for the position and the work environment.