This boy scouts' motto applies to interviews as much as anything. Richard Griffiths, director of city and international operations at Hays Inter-Selection says you have to psych yourself up to get that job.
How many people love going to interviews and truly enjoy the experience? Even without doing a survey I think we all, roughly, know the answer – most people can't abide them and a small proportion are actually phobic about them. Why is this and what can we do about it?
Firstly, we all respond to certain situations (stimuli) like Ivan Pavlov's salivating dogs: we learn to respond in certain ways to specific situations. The human race collectively responds to situations such as going to the dentist, making a speech, death and interviews in the same way – with fear.
We have all learned from our parents, siblings and friends to behave in a certain way when confronted by such scenarios. Once we have learned to fear a specific situation we will go into a state of fear when we are confronted with it. The consequences are sweaty palms, a palpitating heart and confused thinking.
Being in such a state prevents you from handling situations effectively. Ultimately, such a failure-orientated frame of mind leads to the self-fulfilling prophecy effect, whereby you get what you expect. If you believe in a positive outcome to a situation it will probably happen, but let the weeds of negativity and failure grow in your mind and guess what?
Those nightmare pictures that flash through your mind turn into reality. Say in your head to yourself “It's going to go wrong” and that's what you get. The more we let such thoughts escalate, the worse the physical response becomes – until we eventually cannot function. Have you ever been asked a question by the interviewer and gone completely blank? I think we all have experienced that at one point in our lives.
How do we control this situation, rather than be at the mercy of our automatic responses? Quite simply, we need to programme ourselves just like we would a computer to get the results we want. A different behaviour and response can be learned.
Death, for example, is dealt with differently around the world. In Western societies we fear death for ourselves and loved ones, yet in Aboriginal tribes death is a joyous event which is celebrated. This shows it is not the situation itself, but how we have been taught to respond to it, that makes the difference.
So what do you have to do to handle interviews more efficiently? Firstly you need to create the picture in your mind of how, in an ideal world, you would like the interview to go: produce a mental movie of a successful interview, imagine a good rapport with the interviewer.
By mentally rehearsing a positive outcome, you are actually programming yourself for success in that situation. After repeated mental images of success, your brain and nervous system wire you up in such a way that when you are confronted with the ‘live' situation you go into a positive frame of mind and act more naturally and resourcefully.
You will perform at your best and more than likely create a favourable impression with the interviewer. So control your thoughts, don't allow yourself the luxury of a negative thought and spend at least ten minutes every day visualising a positive outcome. The most effective times to do this are just before you go off to sleep at night and first thing in the morning.
Just close your eyes, relax, and dream the perfect scenario. If you really want to go the extra mile in terms of preparation then try this technique: stand up straight, puff yourself up and remember a time when you felt great and in control of a situation.
Try to get back inside that memory, relive it and breathe it. At the same time, clench your fist and say a codeword in your head. This combined action and codeword will act as a trigger for the next time you want to feel this way.
Practice this ten times until the trigger is truly anchored to the stimuli (interview). Next time you are interviewed, just before you go into the room, fire your trigger. Give it a try – top athletes do it all the time. What do you think Martina Navratilova's fist clenching was all about in her Wimbledon glory days?
Although this technique can significantly improve your performance in job interviews, you must also not neglect basic preparation. Research into your prospective employer – via the internet or corporate literature – is essential. If you are being put forward by an agency, ensure that they brief you properly.
Remember: the better you've done your homework, the better your results will be in the exam. But unless you manage your frame of mind your nerves will get the better of you.
