First of all… Sorry if this is in the wrong place. Feel free to move it if needed.
Secondly… I’m stuck in a dead end job and I’ll never be able to get any higher up in the company (Muchos important to me)
So this job… a junior position in a bank, I’m easily qualified for it and will turn up on time and actually work…
My problem is that everytime I have an interview I get very shy and nervous, blush a lot, stutter, go “erm…”, give rubbish answers to any questions that they ask and generally say really stupid things. I mean really stupid too.
I try and prepare myself by reading up about the company and other stuff but as soon as I walk in that room - mind goes empty.
I have an interview tomorrow - any tips or brilliant answers would be wonderful.
Find a favorite song of yours. Play it very loudly in the car, and sing along as loudly and as goofily as you possibly can. It’ll loosen your vocal chords and put you in a downright spiffy mood.
Get someone to help you. prepare answers to all the questions you think you’ll get. Don’t memorize them, instead remember the key points you want to get across, and fill them out on the fly. Get your friend to ask the questions, and you practice giving the answers. repeat a couple times.
This is what I did back when I was interviewing:
(1) I decided that I would have fun at the interview.
(2) I had a goal to learn something interesting about the person interviewing me.
Focusing on just those two things, my interviews usually went very well, and (duh) I had fun and learned interesting things about people. I’ve also had some very good jobs.
I 2nd this strategy. Mrs. D and I do this for each other before hand whenever we have had interviews and each time we have landed the jobs in question.
That’s really great advice! And that never would’ve occurred to me. It keeps you from being on the defensive the whole time, it makes you more sociable, and it gives you a goal better than just “getting this job which I desperately want/need.” Plus, people generally enjoy it when other people seem interested in them personally, so it helps loosen up the interviewer. And, it keeps the conversation balanced; I know when I get nervous I tend to ramble on and on about myself. If you’re letting the interviewer talk, then you’re getting a chance to organize your thoughts.
I’m definitely going to try this on my next interview (soon, hopefully). Good luck, Furry Mongoose, and listen to laina_f!
One way to learn something about your interviewer is to look around his/her office and ask about some object or photo you see. This works particularly well if you see something that might indicate a common interest – like a photo of the interviewer skiing or fishing, and you like to ski or fish.
