Handling Stress

What causes you the most concern? Do you feel that you will stumble and trip as you are introduced? Burp instead of giving a succinct answer? Or is your greatest fear "clamming up" and being ramrod-straight and un­responsive?

Take a cue from performers and visualize yourself being successful in the interview. Paint a mental picture of yourself calm, confident, and with all your wits about you as you are interviewed. Remember all the time you spent doing research and rehearsing. Call to mind your achievements and prior successes.

If stress is your continual companion in your interviews, try getting more exercise—particularly on the day before your interview. This will help to tire you out and enable you to get a good night's sleep. Do a light workout—a brisk walk perhaps—the morning of the interview, and you will feel physically great. You are a great candidate for this position—you just need to let the interviewer know it!

Unique Problems

Beyond those situations that can happen to us all, there are circumstances that are unique to many candidates—and some may fall into more than one category. These circumstances are revealed in their professional or educational histories.

□   Changing from temp work to full-time or part-time work or vice versa

□   Foreign-educated

□   Fired or terminated after probation period

□   Prison or felony record

□   Ran your own business; bankruptcy

□   Serial absences due to work-related illness

□   Filed harassment claim(s) (or other legal issues pending) against former employer

□   Special working arrangement needed (hours or days)

□   Foreign worker or returning expatriate

Keep in mind that you are not the first (or the last) to be in this situa­tion; interviewers have heard it all before and worse. The only element that you can control is how you deal with it. Make it a big problem, and this is how it will be perceived. Remember that you have the right to control disclosure. (Remember all those threats in school about what is in your permanent record?)

Stress the positives. Acknowledge the problem if it comes up and es­tablish your past successes as well as your plans for future achievements.