HNers, I have attended 2 interviews so far in the past 4 years & I have failed to get the job on both the interviews. I just get very anxious during in person interviews & I am not able to think straight at all. I could only give out answers to questions for which I knew the answers before hand. I am not good at deducing answers logically during interviews. For instance on my last interview, I was given a problem & I fumbled a lot & gave convoluted answers but when the interviewers left, I was able to think straight & arrived at a very simple solution to the problem. My success rate is 0% so far & I am worried that it is going to take some time before I could get a job. As of now, my strategy has been to prepare as well as possible before hand for the interview and for some reason this strategy does not seem to work. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Ask HN: How to defeat interview anxiety?
1–10 of 14 posts
Re: Ask HN: How to defeat interview anxiety?
#2Just do not care. Or start to believe you do not care. It's more about psychology.
Or... Try do not think about how it will go and do not do any preparation for it. You afraid about something COULD happen. So just do not think about what COULD happen. If it will ever happen, then be afraid =)
Re: Ask HN: How to defeat interview anxiety?
#31. Practice interview with others. Even if they don't know what the hell you're talking about, rehearsing in front of live person will help you become more comfortable.
2. Xanax, or some other anti-anxiety med.
Re: Ask HN: How to defeat interview anxiety?
#4Do you have more general problems with anxiety, or just during interviews?
There are a lot of techniques (meditation, cognitive therapy, etc.) that can help with anxiety, but which one is most appropriate is going to depend on the details of your situation.
Re: Ask HN: How to defeat interview anxiety?
#5Do you have more general problems with anxiety, or just during interviews? There are a lot of techniques (meditation, cognitive therapy, etc.) that can help with anxiety, but which one is most appropriate is going to depend on the details of your situation.
Just during interviews
Re: Ask HN: How to defeat interview anxiety?
#61) Practice doing job interviews. Your campus career center probably offers this. In the alternative, find an employed buddy to do it with you.
2) Have five good lines polished and ready to go prior to going into an interview. Attempt to steer the conversation such that you get to use at least three of them. For example, I always made it a point to research the company I was applying for, get one factoid into the interview, and say "I made it my business to know your business." (That line gets better reactions than almost any I've ever delivered.)
Re: Ask HN: How to defeat interview anxiety?
#7Just do not care. Or start to believe you do not care. It's more about psychology. Or... Try do not think about how it will go and do not do any preparation for it. You afraid about something COULD happen. So just do not think about what COULD happen. If it will ever happen, then be afraid =)
I have decided to stop preparation at the least 1-2 days before the interview. However, I have attended only 2 interviews & I cannot say for sure that this did not help. Probably, I might do better in my next interview. Will have to just wait and watch.
Re: Ask HN: How to defeat interview anxiety?
#8If you have real trouble in interviews and you think this is a long-term issue that you can't address, you need to make your paperwork so strong that it is obvious to the interviewers that you are a poor interview performer rather than an ignoramus. I keep harping on about this, but one way of doing this is strengthening your open source or other easily verifiable credentials.
Secondly, try and apply for jobs (if you have this choice) to places that don't do "monkey trick" interviews but screen using other techniques, like code submissions. (This is one of the many reasons I prefer the latter to the former)
The point about power dynamics in the link below might also be helpful:
http://askamanager.blogspot.com/2010/05/how-can-i-stop-being...
[Later edit: Since you said elsewhere that this is a problem only during interviews, make sure your reference letters mention you are a good communicator or problem solver or whatever, to indicate that anything the interviewers see is not typical]
Re: Ask HN: How to defeat interview anxiety?
#9Do you have more general problems with anxiety, or just during interviews? There are a lot of techniques (meditation, cognitive therapy, etc.) that can help with anxiety, but which one is most appropriate is going to depend on the details of your situation.
Just during interviews
If that's the case, some simple relaxation exercises, and a lot of practice (fake interviews with friends, etc.) ought to do the trick.
Re: Ask HN: How to defeat interview anxiety?
#10If you have real trouble in interviews and you think this is a long-term issue that you can't address, you need to make your paperwork so strong that it is obvious to the interviewers that you are a poor interview performer rather than an ignoramus. I keep harping on about this, but one way of doing this is strengthening your open source or other easily verifiable credentials. Secondly, try and apply for jobs (if you…
Thank you for your suggestions. Top companies are always looking to see how well potential employees perform under crunch situations. My gut feeling is that they expect to see employees perform calmly even under pressure. They would like to see employee solve problems logically, quickly and deliver the solution in a more coherent manner. I would expect the same if I am at the other end of the table. I would like to be able to be that kind of a performer.