Seeing Your Way Past Interview jitters

It is not unusual to experience a mild attack of nerves before a job interview. But there are engineers whose interview jitters are intense enough to be harmful. They have such overwhelming apprehension and fear that they either become tongue-tied or proceed to talk themselves out of the job. Even many capable and articulate (表达力强的) engineers act stiff and awkward in interviews, often fidgeting or sitting on the edge of the chair.

When we're anxious, we frequently become self-conscious spectators of our own behavior. during interviews, observing and judging our every utterance and movement. This not only makes us more anxious and less convincing, but also divides our attention.

Excessive self-consciousness is particularly true among engineers who go to interviews with a do-or-die attitude. Trying too hard to succeed increases tension and reduces effectiveness. "The self-imposed pressure of trying to ace an interview can make some people focus too much on how they look and act," says Steven Berglas, a psychiatry instructor at Harvard Medical School. He feels that those who are overly conscious of their grooming, speech, body language, and other interviewing behavior. frequently "suppress those elements of their personality that won them the interview in the first place."

Perfectionist engineers particularly experience high anxiety during job interviews. Because they have a strong need to do well and have such inflated expectations of their own performance, any real or imaginary deviation from their self-imposed high, and often unrealistic, standards triggers excessive nervousness and self-critical ruminations. From one slight, innocuous mistake they automatically assume the entire interview will turn out badly.

This anticipation often drives them to behaviors and statements that would seem selfsabotage to an innocent bystander.

REDUCING TENSION

Although you may feel your blood pressure rise, palms moisten, and stomach tighten before an important interview, you can control these reactions.

According to H. Anthony Medley, author of Sweaty Palms: The Neglected Art of Being Interviewed, there are four sound reasons why you have nothing to fear but fear itself, and they can help you keep an interview in perspective.

1. The interview centers on the subject you know best: yourself.

2. If you've done your homework, you have a decided advantage: You know more about the interviewer's company than it knows about you.

3. Interviewers expect job candidates to be a bit nervous.

4. You have nothing to lose. You didn't have the job offer before the interview, so if you don't have it afterward, you're no worse off.

Some interview failures may be inevitable. Most engineers have experienced at least one. The important point is to refrain from exaggerating the importance of an interview situation. Also, if possible, generate several interviews; don't pin your hopes on just one. A winning at-all-costs attitude seldom wins a job offer.

It is detrimental to adopt a confrontational stance with the interviewer. If you feel overly tense or belligerent, it is helpful to pretend that the interviewer is a good friend. A little make-believe can go a long way toward calming hostile feelings.

One interesting method of lessening interview stress is suggested by Lawrence Darius, president of Corporate Communication Skills Inc. , New York. He is convinced that one of the more effective ways to overcome interview jitters is to separate yourself from your performance. "Just as an actor or actress creates the character in a script, you must try to create a character for the position you're seeking," he explains. "You probably have an image of the ideal engineer or, better yet, of the perfect can

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