Brain freeze in Job Interviews
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I've got a problem here... hope to get some help from you guys.
I have no problem talking about myself most of the time, but in job interviews, I kinda 'freeze up' & my brain goes dead!!
Has anyone else had this problem, and if so, how did you deal with it? -
not just that. i feel extremely nervous.
sometimes to the extent of wanting to end the interview prematurely.
i think i have low confidence level. -
I think maybe you should get someone to role-play with you an interview
Sometimes it is because you are not prepared and unsure what they are going to ask that is why you freeze up
Just relax. You'll do fine
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just relax and think carefully.if u kan chiong u jialat liao.
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find out the root cause that make u "freeze". for me, i will make myself think that the interviewers are someone i dunno. need not fear abt him or she. since is strangers, i will give my best shot. facing someone u dunno fear what? just share all your experiences n be yourself. if is unsucessful, then y worry? u don't hv 2c the interviewers again. if u successful then .....
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jus b urself. try to relax b4 the interview.
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yeah.. what elindra said
run the thing through your head over and again...
think of it as some kinda conversation... and hopefully, you'll be okay -
you can really do that?Originally posted by augleo:find out the root cause that make u "freeze". for me, i will make myself think that the interviewers are someone i dunno. need not fear abt him or she. since is strangers, i will give my best shot. facing someone u dunno fear what? just share all your experiences n be yourself. if is unsucessful, then y worry? u don't hv 2c the interviewers again. if u successful then .....
i know the theory too. but the anxiety just surface from nowhere. -
There, you've got a few handy tips and advice already!
Try out elindra's suggestion of role-playing. It's very helpful. Doing a visualisation of yourself walking into the room confidently, fielding all questions well and having the interview process proceed smoothly also helps. I often do that visualisation thing the night before any big events.
I guess you could think of the possible questions the interviewers would ask you and then think of your answers to those. I'll talk to myself in the shower or as I walk around the house, pretending that I'm answering interview questions and before you know it, voila, you're good at it!
Be well-prepared. Then, be confident and relax!! Tell yourself that you will be a valuable member of any organisation that hires you, so they will want to hire you, therefore there's no need to worry because if this one doesn't employ you for whatever reasons, there are always others!
Good luck! -
SL : good advices in here already, so nothing else to add other than, yes, relax and of course GOOD LUCK!!! Is it the job at the council library?
p.s. remember, you ARE assessing them too, so don't put too much pressure on yourself. Cheers. -
beside role playing, being well prepared,etc... i find doing networking helps.... u noe just meet up with strangers in a casual environment and introduce urself, talk abt the kinda work u do.... tis is kinda like a practice session.... and it builds ur confidence too
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One other thing: try to get your hands on some of the questions they're likely to ask and prepare for them. One eternal favourite is "what do you think your greatest weakness is?".
It's been years since I've had to do interviewing, and I hate asking questions like that - I'm more from the structured-interviewing sort - but let me see if i can compile a list of such questions. -
i used to be very nervous in interviews, esp when i was still young and fresh out of school - can feel my face heating up n heart pumping furiously.
but like everything else, practice makes, well, not perfect, but better?
and a switch of mentality too, perhaps.
now, i look on interviews as ME interviewing THEM as much as they interviewing me. the interview's also a chance for me to ascertain whether the job's right for me, whether the scope is what i'm looking for, what development opportunities / career prospects there are, whether i feel comfortable with the hiring manager etc. if any of the above are not compatible with my expectations, then i've as much a right to reject them as they do me.
i guess in that sense, the pressure's off.
i always do enjoy a good interview, even if nothing comes out of it as i'd most likely have learnt something from it. in fact, i prefer being interviewed than doing the interviewing... the latter of which i find to be such a bore!
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I think the best way to approach job interviews is to be yourself completely.
There's really no point in memorizing standard answers to standard questions like what's your greatest weakness. I mean, almost every other candidate has their own textbook model answer, so might as well just answer what you like to answer.
A sense of humour should help... If macaroni and cheese is your greatest weakness, so be it and say so... Of course, do it in a natural way such that the interviewer knows you're making a joke... Hahahaa, ok, not funny.
Anyway, at the end of the day, even if you manage to bluff your way through the interview, either they will find out that you're not what you make yourself to be, or you will find out the job is not what you make it out to be...
Of course, anyone going for an interview has to first do some basic homework about the company's background and what they are doing... Being well prepared with information is the best you can do to avoid major brain breakdown during interviews.
Lastly, have confidence in yourself that you're the best candidate for the job. -
I'm always curious about one thing during interviews, is there a standard list of questions that the interviewers must ask?
cos when i go for interviews, without fail, the first qn will be "Tell me abt yourself".
Anyway, to prevent brain freeze during interviews, I always prepare answers for the standard questions. The first few questions are usually standard questions, once u get it out of the way, then it will be like chit-chatting with the interviewer.
EXCEPT for 1 interview which i went, where the interviewer actually took out a paper and ask me to do a mini electronics test on the spot.!! (cos it was a technical position).. stress sia!
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oops.. i just saw eric's post. 2 contrasting views!
of course, when you memorise answers, you have to act act abit that you are not regurgitating from a script.
But i've met quite a few ppl who have really mastered the technique of interviews tho. They presented themselves so well, and say till they can do everything, but when they start working, you realise that either they were bluffing during the interviews or that their attitudes towards the job is plain bad. -
Originally posted by k4korny:
Wah, k4korny, you "graduated" from Mediacorp Star Search ah?
of course, [b]when you memorise answers, you have to act act abit that you are not regurgitating from a script. b] But you are right.
I don't know about other firms but at the Bank, we do have standard Qs. Actually, there is the behavioural part and then the "technical" competency part. Technical as in skill sets for the job. In fact, one buddy told me they intentionally have tons of pre-requisites so that it is easy to decline/reject unsuccessful candidates. -
Let me clarify one thing, Eric. When I was talking about preparing for certain questions, I was talking about coming up with one's own answer for the questions, not memorising some fabricated answer. Of course the answer had better be an accurate reflection of the candidate. You don't need to hire them to find out if they're lying - an experienced interviewer will look at their track record and do a proper reference check, and pick a liar out from a mile away.
If an interviewer's got 20 candidates to interview in the space of an afternoon, he's not going to have time for someone who's going to um and ah, plain and simple.
SL's complaint is that she freezes up in interviews, and for that specific situation it's best to have some SOPs to fall back on. The very fact that she walks in there knowing she possesses those SOPs will provide her with some confidence. It's easy enough to tell somebody to have confidence in themselves, but unless you've got some way for them to do that, it's hardly more than empty cheerleading - if you're going to mention the what, it's your responsibility to back it up with the why and how.
Even more importantly, the level of a candidate's preparedness for an interview is something the interviewer would take as an indicator of the candidate's future performance. Put bluntly, if you're showing me that you're the sort to wing your way through an interview, you're telling me that you're going to wing you way through the job as well, so why should I hire somebody who's too sloppy to get his act together? Over the years I've lost count of the number of candidates I've turned down for this one reason - if they're not prepared to put in the work and get themselves ready for the interview, they obviously don't want the job badly enough for me to justify recommending them for the position. Skills can be acquired along the way, but if the person's attitude is wrong right at the start, it's a no-go. -
No lah.. graduated from Gao Xiao Xing Dong academy.. Hui Ge was my mentor!Originally posted by littlestream:Wah, k4korny, you "graduated" from Mediacorp Star Search ah? But you are right.
I don't know about other firms but at the Bank, we do have standard Qs. Actually, there is the behavioural part and then the "technical" competency part. Technical as in skill sets for the job. In fact, one buddy told me they intentionally have tons of pre-requisites so that it is easy to decline/reject unsuccessful candidates.
I read that some qn are asked with these purposes in mind.. and there's sorta like a checklist of things that they want to hear..
eg. "What did you apply for this job?"
= What do you know about this job
+ What qualties do you have which will make you suitable
+ Give me a good reason why i should hire u and not somebody else outside. -
Originally posted by k4korny:
No lah.. graduated from Gao Xiao Xing Dong academy.. [b]Hui Ge was my mentor! [/b]
So, is "sun now xing" your favourite phrase? Oh, sorry, should be Jack Neo's signature. Pai seh. -
no lah.. hui ge always go "ALAMAK!"
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I went interviewing for last two months. I just found out that I talk too much. Sian la. Maybe, We can change place.
Just relax, Talk what you think. Dun care lo, if you dun know the question just say you dun know la.
I m looking for job, but no one wanted me. Over qualified for even Manager.
Sound Stupid, right?? You should keep trying like me Loh. -
Wah.... thanks everyone, for your valuable advice!
k4korny... I always get asked those 2 qns that you mentioned in your post:
- What qualties do you have which will make you suitable
- Give me a good reason why i should hire u and not somebody else outside.
I'll go "Errr...." and then start racking my brain for things to say. Perhaps I should prepare my list of qns and answers for my next interview! Oh, and did I mention I get really nervous when they ask me behavioural-type qns? I must practice err... blowing my trumpet a lil' more!
One disadvantage I find is that us Asians aren't used to blowing our trumpet much, whereas the angmohs here don't give a 2nd thought about doing so! And they can talk on any topic, anywhere, it seems to come so naturally to them. And I can't do that! -
Okay, for the question: "What qualties do you have which will make you suitable?", the answer should be a rehash of your cover letter when you applied for the job. Stick to the requirements listed in the job ad, and describe how your habits, characteristics and work experiences match those requirements. If you get the chance to find out more about the job during the interview, but before you're asked the question, address the new points in the same way.Originally posted by SydneyLibrarian:Wah.... thanks everyone, for your valuable advice!
k4korny... I always get asked those 2 qns that you mentioned in your post:
- What qualties do you have which will make you suitable
- Give me a good reason why i should hire u and not somebody else outside.
I'll go "Errr...." and then start racking my brain for things to say. Perhaps I should prepare my list of qns and answers for my next interview! Oh, and did I mention I get really nervous when they ask me behavioural-type qns? I must practice err... blowing my trumpet a lil' more!
One disadvantage I find is that us Asians aren't used to blowing our trumpet much, whereas the angmohs here don't give a 2nd thought about doing so! And they can talk on any topic, anywhere, it seems to come so naturally to them. And I can't do that!
Essentially, the second question is asking for the same thing. Essentially, your answer has to be, "Well, you're looking for somebody to do X, and I've got skill Y, which is exactly what you're looking for". Whatever you do, don't go into talking about "somebody else" - you don't want to get into the minefield of mentioning anybody else's weaknesses.
A properly-constructed behavioural question will require an answer with a STAR structure - if the interviewer hasn't described the STAR structure to you at the beginning of the interview, he's screwed up. The STAR structure, originally developed by PDI, is:
Situation - where were you working and what was your role?
Task - the specific situation that you are describing to illustrate your point. In particular, what issue(s) were you supposed to address?
Action - what did you do to address those issues and solve the problem?
Review - did your solution work? Describe HOW the solution worked to solve the problem.
It's not a case of blowing your trumpet - it's a matter of logically making your case about why you're ideal for the job requirements. -
Gee, thanks, Ged, for all those tips!
And I've never heard of the STAR structure before... what's PDI by the way?
I'll certainly keep what you said in mind! Thanks!