[losthawk]

Anyone got any tips for not wimping out of interviews and not turning up in the end? i'm looking for a job at the moment, i have emailed 47 places 2 got back to me wanting an interview... I didn't turn up to the interview in the end, i convinced myself i didnt want the job and the Interview would be the death of me.

Last interview i had to do was my college one and It made me puke i couldnt eat and I was a mess of nerves the whole day, that was 4 years ago.

I cant actually seem to get interviews easy cause i dont have much experiance and since we moved I dont have anything on my CV other than a few little things because we live in middle of know where and i just got my liscense to drive so i can finally get to a place to work, so explaining a 3 year gap of nothing is hard.

But any tips for not backing out of interviews and how to keep myself to going to them would be great.

[Skeezyks]

Hello losthawk: I don't know of any particular tips for not backing out of interviews. Maybe take someone along who will not let you back out. (They can wait in the car, at a nearby coffee shop or café, etc.) Perhaps also plan a reward for yourself for going. If you go to your interview... you get "X".

It's good to go to as many interviews as possible. It's by practicing your interviewing skills in real interview situations that you'll become more comfortable with the process. Most interviewers will ask the same questions. And so, over time, you can practice answering these common questions & develop effective answers. If, by some chance, someone offers you a job you just don't want, you can always turn it down.

[Yzen]

Think of the interview as just a friendly conversation with another person. Try not to think about the outcome. I tell myself before every interview that I don't care if I get the job and I am only there to have a good talk about working there possibly some day. For me, having that attitude takes pressure off myself and I can be myself.

I also realized that many times the people interviewing you are uncomfortable doing interviews and are a little nervous too. I had to interview people as part of my last job so I know that from experience.

[Finniky]

I used to be terrible at interviews! So nervous. I failed at a lot of them because my discomfort was obvious. I've done so many now that with experience, it has gotten better.

What I ultimately did was act like I wasn't going to an interview. I don't think ahead unreasonably. I would prepare what I needed right away upon being asked for an interview and drop it out of my mind. Rehashing/rehearsing possibilities and things to say in your head over and over just makes the paranoia and fear of messing up worse. I also pretend like it's not a big deal. It's hard to explain how I do that. I know an interview is important, but I don't let it define or control how I will act in regard to it.

I just learned that maybe I will never come off as an amazing super-employee waiting to improve their business... fine. But even if I come off as silly, imperfect, but nice... that will always look better than nervous, scared and unsure.. every time.

I make myself comfortable by showing up 15 minutes early so I can 1) not worry about being late and feeling any sense of rush and 2) scope out the surroundings and familiarize myself with the environment so I am more at ease in it.

I also look at my interviewer and try to make them my focus, not myself. I note their hair, clothes, way of talking and I look in there eyes, and how they sit, and just the whole 9 yards. I used to avoid too much eye-contact and not really 'inspect' my interviewer because I was so focused on being the one inspected and how I would come off. I learned that reading their behavior and focusing on what they are doing is a lot less stressful that trying to monitor myself how I am being read.. and it also improves my ability to form a basic connection with them because I'm not focusing on my own thoughts and feelings too much.

[Lost_in_the_woods]

(((Hugs)))) I'm no good at job stuff either.

[losthawk]

thanks guys for the help, I have a job interview on friday! Im nervous beyond belief and i am not going to back out, I've told my friends to if i start saying anything about not going that they are allowed to bully me into going, i need this job badly so im going to do my best to appear to the interview. Its at a Building supplies shop, i have no idea what im meant to wear i dont own any smart clothes really.

[Nammu]

Good luck

Just a few tips.
Make eye contact
Keep your hands insight, no pockets, if you're at a table put them on the table
Before you walk in take a few deep breaths
Tell yourself just doing the interview is a positive step forward