Wednesday 19 May 2010

Interview preparation and the emotional mastery

Cairns may be the tourism powerhouse of Australia, but with unemployment peaking at over 14%, the highest in the country, there's little to feel positive about for a lot of locals.

Vlasta Eriksson from Signature Staff, who I first connected with over ten years ago before I moved to Cairns, says there is much to be done in light of the local economic situation.

Last Friday Vlasta attended the business forum with David Koch and says things need to change. "There is a clear voice within the Cairns business community that we are not happy with the leadership we have in place and that we need to work together," she says.

Vlasta Eriksson says in times like this, interview preparation is ever more vital.


Lets face it, failing to prepare for an interview is a crucial and unforgiving mistake. The paraphernalia available on this subject is phenomenal however most it covers the processes of the preparation but not many touch on the how to prepare emotionally for the interview.

You might have blown great jobs because you were not confident or too confident, perhaps too enthusiastic and eager or just too nervous and did not answer the questions how you could have. Are you one of those people who go from one interview to another and always just miss out?

Preparing for interview consists of number of things: researching the company; researching the position criteria; researching the culture of the company; rehearsing for the interview; and presentation. So you have done all that homework and should feel comfortable but you don’t why is that?

I will ask you a simple question. How are you feeling? Are you afraid that you will not get that job? Are you angry because you have gone for so many interviews and here is another one what’s the use? Are you sad because you can’t see a way out if you don’t get that job? Are you feeling this job is just too below you and you can do better than the manager who is interviewing you?

There are six emotions. Love, sadness, joy, anger, peace and fear.

Understanding these emotions and dealing with them is a key success your success of your interview turning out exactly as you want. Usually love, peace and joy are positive emotions to have, however if over emphasized these could cause you to come across as over confident, not being serious about the position or just too complacent. By tuning into these emotions and accepting them into your mind set in natural way you will benefit immensely.

Sadness, anger and fear are emotions usually associated with interviews and they need to be addressed prior to the interview.

Identify that emotion: What is the emotion I am feeling? Is it fear, sadness or anger? Once you have pin pointed that emotion: Why am I feeling this way?

Once you have identified and targeted the source of that feeling it’s time to replace it with a positive outlook. This job is my true calling. In this job I will succeed my goal of career advancement. In this job I will be able to help others. In this job people will benefit from my knowledge. In this job I will be a great support to my family.

Okay, you have replaced the emotion and now you need to believe in the outcome. There are number of ways you may choose to do this. It is totally personal and needs to feel comfortable with you. You may wish to write it down and stick it on a wall that you walk pass a number of times through the day. You may wish to write it down over and over again. Or perhaps you wish to visualise the outcome.

There is no right or wrong way as long as it fits and you feel comfortable. Power of positive mind set is what you deserve.

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