Mindset For Interview Success
Champagne or prosecco?
Tea or coffee?
Pepsi or cola?
Whatever your tipple, is your glass half full or half empty?
On the day of your interview you may be feeling nervous, perhaps a little excited. This is natural.
What can influence your performance during the interview is your mindset.
What is mindset?
How do you view yourself and what you have to offer?
Do you have a glass half full or a glass half empty mindset?
How does mindset influence my performance?
As an example, as you prepare for the interview you may be aware that you lack experience in a particular area.
Someone with a glass half full mindset, by which I mean a positive mindset, is more likely to be thinking about the learning and development they can do to bridge the experience gap. They will also be rehearsing how to present those ideas during the interview.
A glass half empty person, someone with a negative mindset, is more likely to be worrying that the interview will focus on the gap and this will be the negative deciding factor.
Before the interview
Feeling nervous is perfectly natural before an interview. Your feelings are also influenced by your thoughts. So a negative mindset, for example thoughts of failure, is likely to cause your nerves to escalate as the day progresses.
If you have a positive mindset prior to the interview, for example ‘I am the right person for this job’, you are likely to feel calmer, well prepared and confident in your abilities.
During the interview
How you feel influences how you behave. During the interview, if you are feeling overly anxious you are more likely to forget the question you were just asked. You may struggle to find a succinct answer.
With a positive mindset your body language will be open, you are more likely to smile and make eye contact. Your positive thoughts and calm feelings will enable you to present yourself in a confident way. Handling challenging questions will be easier and you will be able to demonstrate your willingness to perform, grow and learn.
After the interview
Constructive reflection after an interview is a good learning opportunity. A short review helps you to summarise what went well, note any challenges and gives you the opportunity to consider the job as a fit for you. There can be a time delay before you receive the interview decision. Rather than spending this time focusing on the things you think went badly, remind yourself of what went well to maintain your positive self-belief.
How do I get a positive mindset for interview success?
Our brains have a built-in negativity bias, which means that we are instinctively more likely focus on the negatives in a situation. Once you realise this there are things you can do to override this bias and shift to a positive mindset.
Before the interview
1. Take deep breaths to ground yourself.
2. Remember your successes and strengths.
3. Practise using positive language to describe yourself.
During the interview
4. Be aware of your body language, smile and make eye contact.
5. Pause and breathe before you answer a question.
6. Maintain your focus and return to your breath to reframe negative self-talk.
After the interview
7. Reflect on what went well.
8. Avoid making assumptions.
9. Consider whether the job is the right fit for you.
10. Use the experience to learn and grow.
What support is available?
Career Coaching supports you to present yourself in a positive way. Click here to read my short article to get the job you want
Online articles can be helpful. Click here to read interview preparation tips – bigissue.com