Dealing with Nervousness

Hey, 

You are not alone. Most people go through this. Important thing is to learn to deal with this. Here's some snippets from a detailed article that am about to publish. All the best and take it easy.

Feel free to message if you want to discuss further.

How do I manage my stress, anxiety, or nerves during the interviews?

We manage our finances, our home or our life

I personally don’t like the term “stress management”. We manage things that are dear to us or matter to us. We manage our finances, our home or our life. There is nothing good about stress that needs to be managed. It’s not a nice thing to have and must be kept at a distance as much as possible.

Why do we feel stressed?

It’s important to understand why one feels stressed, anxious or nervous during an interview. The simple answer is this- you are doing it to yourself. The situation itself is not causing the stress or anxiety. It’s the way you are reacting to it. You are unable to deal with your own thoughts and related emotions. One thing leads to another and you feel stressed out.  You create a lot of performance pressure on yourself.

The way you think is the way you feel. And the way you feel is the way you think. This is a loop in which too many people get stuck without knowing it. It’s like an autopilot system running you.

Exaggerated focus on thoughts and the mind

Do you consciously listen to your heart or liver or spleen or stomach? No! You just leave them alone to do their job. So, why the exaggerated focus on thoughts and mind? Use them when you want, otherwise ignore them. This requires a lot of practice and won’t happen overnight. If you notice your mind drifting and creating negative thoughts, catch it and ignore it. Come back to what you were doing in the present moment. Be relentless with this.

So, what can you do before and during the interviews to deal with this?

Before the interview

1. Prepare well! Don’t leave any gaps in your preparation as these can trigger anxiety. Enjoy the preparation phase as there is so much to learn
2. Remove peer pressure. Your life is your making
3. Remind yourself that you chose to be in that interview. No one has put a gun to your head & forced you to attend the interview (I hope not). So, isn’t it ridiculous to feel anxious about something that you genuinely want to do?
4. Feel grateful for the opportunity. Remind yourself that so many people around you and in the world don’t get the opportunities that you have
5. Remember that the interviewing company is giving you an opportunity. So, they deserve to see your best
6. Eat something light and not a big meal
7. Listen to some soothing music or watch something funny
8. Go for a short walk or meditate (30-45mins before the interview) if you can

During the interview

1. Remind yourself to take it one interview at a time
2. Focus on giving your best and don’t worry about the outcome
3. Sit (or stand) straight with an erect spine
4. Keep a glass of water next to you and sip as required. Don’t overdo it. Sometimes, this can buy you a few extra seconds and help relax in the moment
5. Breathe slowly and deeply if you notice your pulse racing
6. Smile and be relaxed as much as you can. Focus on enjoying yourself, truly open to learning something new from this experience
7. Learn from your performance and work on things you can improve, no matter how small. Do better next time

Closing thought

Life is short and before you know it, time passes. Be grateful for all the good things and learn to deal with the undesirable things. Dealing with stress, anxiety, or nerves in an interview setting has a lot to do with mindset shift in addition to a holistic interview preparation.

Hi there,

A few thoughts:

1. You might be experiencing burnout. Were you nervous when you first started, or did you enjoy it more? If you used to be better (i.e. more focused on the interesting aspect of the case etc.), then you need a break. Forcing this won't help. Stopping for a week or so in between interviews may actually let your body/mind recharge and get out of the fight-or-flight mode you might be in. 
2. Realize the interview is not a big deal. You might completely fail the interview. Totally bomb it. No job offer from McK. Ok...so what? Is your life over? Not even close! You have plenty of opportunities ahead of you and lots of great things on the horizon. It doesn't matter if it's McK or anyother company. Play the worst-case-scenario game. Life goes on.
3. Realize your little case mistakes are not a big deal. Ok...you forgot to ask something....so what? I've never ever seen a perfect case. I've seen plenty of exceptional candidates. If you miss an item or two, but you're generally personable, drive towards to solution, communicate in a structured way, etc. it really doesn't matter...they've already decided they like you! Don't sweat the little things.

Other experts have given some psychological answers so I'll give you a physiological answer.

Right before the interview, clear your mind and do the Navy Seal breathing technique.

Breathe in for 4 seconds. Hold 4 seconds. Breathe out for 4 seconds. Repeat this for at least a minute.

This will slow down your heartbeat and relax you a bit. I recommend you give this a try as it could help. 

Just remember that: this interview isn’t your whole life after all, its just a part of it. 
Stop practicing that much, probably it only bothers you - not help you. Or imagine you are with your friend, the friend you were practicing this interview just recently. 
After all when you come in that office, just take a big breathe and with a smile start your speech, remember every experience is experience, enjoy it!