Today I had a job interview. My eyes kept watering. Like I was trying not to cry. Which I was not.
Does that ever happen to you? It happens to me when I am “acting.” Like telling a story to children. I guess I could never be a real actor, I would look like I was crying all the time.
My eyes water-- to the point of me crying quietly–sometimes when I wish they wouldn’t. I’ve cried at job interviews before–not the way to convince them you can do the job. Recently, I cried after my ultimate boss “observed” me, and then critiqued me. (Although, while some of that was stress and a reaction to her, some of it was hunger-- I get emotional, sometimes cranky, sometimes weepy when I get too hungry). And then there are the really embarassing times, when nothing of any importance is going on.
Apparently, I had teachers who didn’t call on me much in elementary school because they were afraid that I would cry.
So, I may or may not entirely understand what you are going through, but I can relate.
I get the dry spot in the throat coughing fits. I used to get them when I was in church during the sermon or during a test in school when everyone was quiet. If I tried to supress them my eyes would start watering.
If it happens again, just tell the interviewer or the boss that it’s a reaction you get sometimes when you feel a little stressed, most people try to be understanding.
Okay I am going to be the bad guy here, but if you are so nervous at an interview that your eyes water, then perhaps you are not well prepared for that interview. You have to go in there with a certain amount of confidence. You know you can do the job and do it better than anyone else. I work at a small college. One of the services offered by my college is free job placement assistance. That starts with help in writing a good resume, and mock interviews, on tape, and then review them. I am actually with IT, so I get to play the bad guy and really hammer perspective IT candidates, (and I have been told I like it way too much) but it does get them up to speed in the process. Perspective mechanics do mock interviews with mechanical instructors. Perhaps a local college in your area has a similar plan. Or if not, the local Job service, ( it used to be called the unemployment agency, but that was too politically uncorrect). Either way, a chance to take mock interviews is a big step toward overcoming the fear of the real thing. And yes I was nervous and palm sweaty kind of not ready too when I took my last interveiw, that is normal, just don’t let it get the better of you, and if you are ready it won’t.
Yeah, my eyes often water up too. It often happens when I’m reading a sentimental story to my daughter. It’s not really crying, more like a precursor (like a smile as opposed to a laugh). It can be annoying at times.
Is it possible that you’re holding back a yawn or two?
My eyes tear when I yawn or try to hold them back. When I read to the kids I often will have the urge to yawn and trying to suppress the it will cause the tears like you describe.
Is it possible that during the interviews and reading or acting that you’re actually suppressing yawns and you don’t realise it?
Whenever I feel overly scrutinized, I start to get that weepy feeling. Like, if I have to defend my decisions to my boss. I’ve never actually cried in front of him, but I have felt my eyes tear up and my throat tighten up. I’ve never had to sit in the witness stand, but if I ever do, I imagine I’ll start bawling after the first question. Even if the first question is something easy and tame.
For some reason, if I’m sad and someone asks what’s wrong, that’s enough to send me into hysterics. I’ll be completely dry-eyed until that moment. I hate it.
i do this too, everytime I sit down and really talk to someone, even’t if it isn’t a sad subject, I tear up. I hate it.
When I sing by myself, tears always well up. Has nothing to do with the sentimentality of the song, it just happens every time. And when I am rehearsing a scene or a monologue alone, invariably my eyes water, again with no relation to the sadness of the scene.
Strangely enough, once I have to perform these things in public, the phenomenon disappears.
I used to get that a lot when telling long jokes, sometimes even while alone and thinking of telling a long joke or a funny story. I told myself that I would never be able to act because my eyes would be streaming while telling the bad guy that I knew about his secret satellite weapon.
I have no idea what the underlying cause of this was, although I suspect it’s something along the lines of struggling with prolonged attention and expectation.
Wow, I get the same thing when I’m reading aloud from a book. This has nothing to do with feeling sad or sentimental; there’s just something about reciting words, as opposed to talking, that makes my eyes water. It’s strange, and I haven’t figured out a way to stop it, and to reiterate, it has absolutely nothing to do with emotion.
I don’t post often, but I had to chime in on this. Happens to me every now and then, mainly when affecting some type of accent or talking to a kid in a “kid’s” voice. I seem to feel like it’s happened to me in the course of heated debate as well. And the last couple of posts are perfect examlpes, telling a joke, reading aloud or singing to myself are all things that could do it for me.
No sadness about it, not fighting back tears. But it’s kind of an intense feeling in and of itself. It seems to happen when the thing I’m doing is going just right, and it feels like the energy of the thing being good or special just manifests itself that way.
Always wondered if other people experienced it. Guess so.
In a recent Galactica thread, it was mentioned that actors who want to look teary-eyed will go without blinking for long periods. Is it possible that when you’re trying to be very earnest, you don’t blink enough?
Interesting that some of you have the same experience. It isn’t at all about feeling sad or like crying. And I also was not nervous. I thought the interview went very well. But I don’t know what she thought. I did say at one point, “I don’t know why my eyes are watering.” And she said, “Oh, that’s okay!” She was really nice and the interview was not scary at all.
She probably thinks I’m an idiot.
Blame it on allergies.