Psychological hack that will help you nail your next interview
“Champions keep playing until they get it right.”
Remember that email I sent you about my JEE Mains result day?
Let me jog your memory...
I was sitting on the staircase of my house, heart pounding, palms sweaty.
The JEE Mains result was about to be announced.
My mind raced with terrifying thoughts:
"What if I don't make the cut-off?"
"Will I end up in a mediocre college?"
"Is this the end of my dreams?"
I could see my future crumbling before my eyes - a domino effect of failure leading to a life I never wanted.
The fear was so real, so vivid, that I can still feel that sinking feeling today.
I left you hanging there, didn't I? 😉
Well, here's what actually happened:
I cleared the JEE Exam.
Phew! I know.
In my opinion, the #1 factor that led me to clear the exam was having no pressure from anyone nor putting it on myself.
Engineering wasn’t my passion but what just made sense.
I didn’t put pressure on myself because I knew that I would still have plenty of options:
Doing BSc in Chemistry (I even got a seat at DU-SGTB - that’s a story for another time!)
Taking up Arts and preparing for the Civil Services
Doing Engineering at GNDU in my city
Having options + no pressure allowed me to take the exam with a clear calm mind.
This taught me an important life lesson:
If you keep the pressure under check and tackle seemingly high pressure situations with a calm demeanour, you will perform better.
It’s easy to say don’t take pressure but what makes it actually work is having options.
Imagine you’ve 5 dates lined up. You won’t feel terrible if one of them rejects you.
Why? Options.
Here’s how you can apply this to your job-hunt:
Don’t put all your hope into just 1 job application.
The more jobs you apply, the more options and less pressure will you have.
Let’s take 2 scenarios:
A) You are applying to 1 job daily. In 3 months, you applied to 90 jobs and finally got an interview call.
Here’s how your mind will react…
“I have gotten an interview after 3 long months. I better not f*ck it up. If I don’t clear this, I don’t know for how long I will have to wait for the next one. I NEED this.”
Obviously, the pressure would be a lot in this situation.
B) You are applying to 30 jobs daily. In 1 month, you applied to 900 jobs. You have 3 interviews lined up.
Here’s how your mind will react…
“I just need to focus on my interview skills as I’ve multiple interviews lined up. I will give it my best but even if tomorrow’s interview doesn’t go well, I still have 2 more to go.”
See the difference?
In both scenarios, the situation is the same: Appearing for an interview.
But how you feel, the level of pressure and anxiety would be way different.
So, would be your performance.
P.S. Our mentees rave about our techniques that help them calm their nerves before an upcoming interview and help them perform way better!
Keep Blooming,
Bani Singh