How to deal with pressure

Hi there, 

I love these questions! As a side note, I was in a similar situation because I had a couple of offers but they expired before I had my interviews with McKinsey. So had McKinsey not worked out, I would've had nothing. I know what you mean about pressure. 

Basically, I recommend three exercises:

1. Is a more of a stoic-school exercise - asking yourself ‘what is the worse thing that can happen?’ Ask yourself honestly this question and you will quickly realise that regardless of how bad you imagine things could be, they're not that bad after all. If you get rejected from everywhere, you can then collect the feedback, learn from the experience, practice more, get better, apply again and then you'll get in. You might even get in at a better firm. In short, you won't die, you won't be on the streets, you're not going to be failed forever. If anything, it's an opportunity to get better and train your resilience. 
2. Positive visualisation - Take a deep breath, close your eyes and imagine how the interview will go. Imagine it as the ideal scenario. Play it before your eyes on and on and on again all happening exactly the way you would want it to go. 
3. Meditate or do breathing exercises - You want to be calm and present to perform well in an interview. You don't want your mind to be jumping around and your breathing to be out of synch. Read about short meditation or breathing exercises that you can do before an interview. 

Last but not least, practicing can go a long way with making you feel more confident and reducing stress. So while the tips above can put you in a better mindset, don't underestimate what a few additional hours of prep can also do. 

Hi there,

I'm so sorry to hear this! I'm about to be very blunt, but it's for the purpose of showing you that the only way to "fix" this is to realize that you're seriously overhyping yourself for nothing.

1) Nothing about this interview matters or is a big deal. If you don't get the offer, life will go on. Moreover, you'll honestly probably be happier for it. You are not a failure. You just didn't pass an interview - like everyone else in this world. So, welcome to the club.

2) This is the most important moment of your life....until the next one. There are going to be hundreds of moments like these, and they don't matter once they're done. Think about your college admissions, or a big class presentation, or an interview for an internship, or a first date, etc.. Are you scared of them now? No! They're in the past. This will be too soon.

Get over yourself and this situation. If you get it, it'll be good. If you don't, it'll be fine. There will be other things that come your way.

3) Don't let society/your culture pressure you - their values are arbitrary. Are you in the East Coast US, Japan, Korea, or any other high-achieving "rise the corporate ladder" country/city? Just remember...that's how they define things. It isn't like that everywhere...if you were to live in the countryside, no one could care less about this "brand" or "mark" on your resume.

Here is some prior advice on the matter: https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/choking-during-interview-8580

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/tips-on-interview-anxiety-7095

Good luck :)

Hey,

Rejection is part of the game and almost everyone faces it. Remember, every rejection gets you closer to where you really need to be. Neither are you a great fit for every firm , nor is every firm a great fit for you. 

This pressure is self created, let it go! 

All you can do is focus on giving your best and stick to your game plan. Good things will happen. We all have become conditioned to focus too much on the outcome/end result and not pay enough attention to the process to get there. The process also offers great joy and learning if you approach it with the right mind set.

Be patient, keep a balance lifestyle, celebrate the mini achievements and let things happen. 

Have a look at this article for some additional tips and guidance-preplounge.com/en/articles/job-interview-stress

All the best.

Hello!

Unfortunately, almost everyone playing this game experiences rejection sooner or later!

And the answer is not perfect, but is true, the only way of getting better and calmer is practicing a lot -and consequently, failing a lot. 

Hope it helps!

Cheers, 

Clara