You found the perfect job, submitted your application, and resume, and crossed your fingers. The hard work and wait paid off, and they called you for an interview.
You’re excited, nervous, and, let’s face it, worried about everything that could possibly go wrong. When you let your mind go down that path, it turns into a spiral of negative thinking that follows you into the interview room.
A bit of nervousness is a good thing. It’s called eustress, and it pushes you to take a few extra steps to prepare for something you badly want.
Stress that begins to go beyond this is unhealthy. It can create scenarios where you have self-fulfilling prophecies. You see yourself failing so vividly that you already assume the results before you’ve ever gone for your interview.
The good news is that you can switch your mindset and focus on the positives of your interview. Try one or all of these methods to avoid sabotaging yourself with negative thinking.
1. Recognize Those Negative Thoughts
Before you can get rid of a tailspin of negative thinking, you must recognize your thoughts for what they are. Do you tend to think poorly of yourself, sticking limitations over your head about what you can and can’t do? Are you automatically assuming everyone else who applies will have a better resume than you?
If so, these are self-limiting beliefs that need to be adjusted. Otherwise, these limitations will affect your confidence when you go to the interview, and self-assurance is often the deciding factor between two similar candidates.
Think about all the ways you’ve grown over the past few years. You’re not the same person you were, and all the bumps and obstacles you hit were overcome.
The person you are now is someone your younger self would be proud of, so you should be, too. This readjusted mindset opens you up to other positive thought patterns.
2. Focus on What You Can Control
Have you ever noticed that much of what you stress about is stuff that you can’t do anything about? The weather, politics, the world in general, and whether another applicant has more experience than you do are all out of your control.
Why not use that energy to try to do your best with things you can control? You’re already making a good start by working on adjusting your thoughts and actions.
Pre-Interview Things In Your Control
Here are a few other things to focus on to help prepare you for your interview:
- Eat nutritiously. This will impact your mindset, how your body feels, and how you look when you meet with your interviewer.
- Spend your free time wisely. Avoid listening to and watching negative or high-adrenaline media. Turn on some motivational and inspirational podcasts, and let them guide your energy.
- Consult with a contract reviewer before your interview. If the position is contractual, such as a doctor, discussing what to expect with a company like Physicians Thrive can make you feel better prepared. You’ll take this extra knowledge and confidence into the interview.
In addition to these important ideas, you should also work on goal-setting. This task never ends if you want to continue to grow, even after you’ve met your long-term target.
Right now, think about your goals for this interview and what you’ll do after the interview? (Hint: You shouldn’t sit around waiting to hear if you got the job.) What are your long-term goals, and how can you start action steps to get there?
Taking control where you can is a mindset shifter. You leave the “victim” mentality where everything happens to you and enter the realm of a leader controlling as much as possible.
3. Follow Through With the What-If Thoughts
We all play the “what if” game before something important, like an interview, occurs.
What if they don’t like me? What if I say the wrong thing? What if I don’t get hired?
The problem isn’t the “what if” thinking. It’s that you stop without going all the way to the end of the train of thought.
What will happen if you dismally fail the interview and don’t get the job? Chances are, it won’t mean the end of the world. You’ll get up, start the interview search again, and keep on keeping on. This interview will teach you something; you can take that lesson to the next one and try to do even better.
Whatever happens, you’ll move on. Don’t let the “what if” game stop your positive mindset. Instead, take those thoughts as far as they go and let them reinforce the reminder that you’ll be just fine.
Conclusion
When you’re mentally and physically prepared, you’ll do well at any interview you appear for. These three tips are vital mind shift switchers. Let them become your default strategy for every obstacle you encounter, including this next interview.