Why Are We So Afraid Of That Interview?

Why are we so afraid or nervous of that interview? What’s at play here and how do you better stack the odds in your favour? You can you know?

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So What’s At Play In The Interview?

Well, because like a performance review, it’s (usually) face to face and most people worry about having to subject yourself to other people’s judgement of whether you’re good enough to “cut it”. Often it’s about the fear of rejection. True?

How Can We Turn This Interview Fear Around?

My clients have learned that, like the due diligence in a business acquisition, this is a 2 way street, where both parties want to satisfy themselves that there is the right “fit” to want to proceed.

Granted, the HR people and often the recruiting managers are more professionally resourced and experienced in conducting interviews than we are, but I have found that many candidates allow this perceived chasm to unnecessarily widen because of the worry you create in your head. Of course you need the right qualifications and relevant experience to meet the expectations, but this is mainly about your mindset, right?

Confidence, Certainty and Doubt in the Interview

This is where a good coach will guide you through building your ability in Embracing Uncertainty, and that you learn better to think on your feet and with more confidence than (self) doubt.

In my blog “Hitting The ground Running“, I cover the areas we are best advised to assure before we start a new job, many of which are relevant to the interview preparation. This includes “doing your homework” on the company, its culture, its reputation and the real stories behind all the media and other marketing spin. How? By networking yourself into contact with current or past employees (even customers, partners or vendors). This helps build confidence to help overcome uncertainty and doubt.

How Dependent Are You On Getting This Job?

In my blog “It’s Not What You Make, It’s What You Keep“, we speak about creating multiple sources of (preferably passive) income that give you choices, thereby removing most of the dependency (even desperation) we seem to have to “get this job”. You need to be “cool” and confident, but not complacently so nor arrogantly so.

You know your stuff. Your proud track record speaks for itself. All you don’t know is necessarily how relevant it is to what they are looking for. How will you know? Ask good questions. How? Good preparation around what is really important to you.

Please remember that if you are currently still dependent on this job, that’s only the short term reality. What my clients in such situations have learned is that we have a choice to change that for the long term and how to do that.

Is This Interview a Part of Your Plan?

In Do You Have A Plan? I suggest that most people spend more time planning an annual holiday than they ever spend planning their life or career. How can you know whether this role or company is the right one for you without such a plan? My experience is that with a plan, you will “interview them” just as much as they do you. Don’t cede control. Don’t try to hog control. But certainly share control, OK?

A good coach will help you start the planning process and then hold you accountable to doing what it takes to get you there. With confidence. So that you never have this desperate feeling of being dependent again. Period.

So What?

So if this has struck a chord with you, what are you going to do about it? Acknowledge this is real for you and then simply keep worrying?

Or are you going to engage with it positively and constructively and plan and implement the required changes? How are you going to do that successfully?

Everybody can.

Most don’t.

But some will.

And do you know what most of those that will, do in this case? They’ll seek a good coach that will help them get there.

So why not you?

Questions? Email me at or Contact Me for a free one hour exploratory chat.