If you’ve been going on a lot of job interviews, but not getting many actual offers, it’s possible that you’re psyching yourself out — in which case, Laura Donovan at Hello Giggles might have the answer to your problems.
(Photo Credits: Viktor Hanacek/Picjumbo)
In short: don’t call it an interview. Call it a meeting. That one little tweak takes the pressure off in several ways:
1. It saves you from having to explain to others what happened, if you don’t get the job.
“On too many occasions, I’ve gotten way too amped about a first or second interview and told friends and relatives just how badly I wanted to work with the interviewees,” Donovan writes. “But when days and weeks of silence followed and my standing with the prospective employers remained unknown, I had no idea what to say when everyone I’d told about the interview asked for an update. It got really depressing to explain over and over again that I didn’t get the job or hadn’t even been told ‘no’ by the people who’d met with me.”
2. It rescues you from your own nerves.
If you’re like most of us, your interview persona is totally different from your demeanor at work, in which case, you’re not communicating honestly with the person who’s representing the company you hope to join. No wonder, then, that we sometimes wind up getting hired for jobs that are a bad fit.
3. It prepares you to learn something.
Thinking of job interviews as meetings allows you to be more genuine, which makes room for a real connection and an exchange of ideas and priorities, which is exactly what you need, if you’re going to recognize the job of your dreams and earn the hiring manager’s trust.
Best of all, it prepares you to get something out of the exchange, no matter what — whether it’s a job, a new connection, or just information about the industry. Plus, if you feel positive about the experience, you’re more likely to go into your next interview with your head held high and your self-esteem intact.
Tell Us What You Think
What are your best tricks for acing an interview? We want to hear from you! Leave a comment or join the discussion on Twitter.
Body posture can also change your attitude and give you confidence, and this can also be applied in other situations, different from waiting for a job interview. For example, simply by walking straight, hands behind back, and a nice smile on your face, can cut a lot of the stress for an upcoming situation / meeting / interview etc. Also, there’s body language you don’t wanna put up during a job interview. Here are a few ideas on what not… Read more »