Got my first job interview today after having my babies
I’m absolutely terrified as I’m worried I’ll look like an idiot
Last thing on my resume was from 4 years ago
Any tips on how to
Calm my nerves?
Nerves and interviews
Nerves and interviews
Posted in:
Mental Health
5 Replies
Well done, fingers crossed for you!!
It's hard to calm nerves, but confidence is definitely key. Remember, they're wanting to know what you are like as a worker so start where you left off 4 years ago. Talk about how you were reliable, respectful, worked well in a team or on your own etc.. you can even mention how having your kids has helped you to grow and you've learnt the true meaning of time management (make it a bit of a joke, break the ice kinda thing).
Don't focus too much on your kids and how you haven't worked in 4 years. Really try and talk about what kind of worker you were and will be :)
The last job on my resume is from 2006 😂
You just have to go in and fake it til you make it - be confident, friendly and prepared (consider questions they may ask you and get a friend to help you practice).
Well done and good luck!
I'm ashamed to say that for my last and successful interview I washed one phenergan down with a shot of scotch. Not recommended but relaxed me enough to answer the questions properly without nerves leading the way. I have said some really stupid shit in interviews. I was desperate and I just could never get past that stage. Good luck hopefully you go well.
I hope all went well for you!
Don’t stress about any of it! The last thing on my resume was from 11 1/2 years ago. I’ve been at home with my youngest who has additional needs plus studying. About 5-6 weeks ago I went on about 6 interviews/phone interviews. From that I was offered 3 jobs despite my lack of recent experience in the child care industry (and there has been some pretty big changes in the time I’ve been out). I was quite honest about why I haven’t worked in so long, and where I see possible issues arising surrounding care of my son. I ended up going with casual relief work as it will allow me to fit my work hours around my son’s appointments and upcoming surgeries. Eventually I will look at accepting a permanent position.
Best way to calm your nerves is to be prepared. It gives you good confidence. Prepare answers to all of the standard questions like why are you interested in the role? or what do you think you would bring to the position? or tell us a bit about yourself. If there is a key selection criteria prepare possible questions for each of these. Make sure you have one example for each criteria about how you have done this is the part successfully. There are often questions about your ability to work in a team or deal with conflict so prepare answers to those sort of questions. Then you need to practice answering real questions in an interview like situation so grab a friend or a family member and get them to ask you the questions you think you might be asked. This helped me so much last time I went for interview I was very calm when they ask the questions. Then every time you think of the interview see yourself there smiling, nodding and feeling confident. Just keep going back to this image. You can also look up 'power stance' to get your body confident. Good luck!