Preparing for a job interview in itself is already stressful. Engineers who want to get hired have to ask themselves possible questions that might be thrown by the hiring manager, and practice answering as confident as they can.
But it’s not all the time that the preparation will be enough. Some parts of the job interview are almost always unpredictable – something unexpected, like unrehearsed answers to questions requiring deep thinking or an intimidating interviewer, is bound to happen.
This is why the job interview itself can be more stressful. Working as an engineer might be as traumatic as applying for an engineering position. Stress all the way.
So it is just right to say that you should think of the worst before the job interview so you could prepare for them.
But the odds are, there will come a point in the job interview that you will be sweating everywhere, and it will seem like the results of the interview will be to your disadvantage. Somewhere along the way, your mind can be blank or you flub until the end of the interview. Those are only a few possible scenarios.
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If by any case you have regained your senses before you leave the room, make sure to say that you would like to correct or add something with whatever you had said wrong. Or if you have already left, you can send an e-mail about how you should have answered. Some hiring managers actually appreciate this gesture.
But what happens if you are stuck in such a stressful job interview? What actions should you make to get that engineering job?
Here are two tips:
Give it a moment
That is by taking a breath, drinking water, or composing yourself for a second. It is okay to say, “Ah, let me think about that for a moment,” or “Do you mean…” as you think. This is better than letting the stress accumulate you in the entire job interview because you did not give it a moment right when you realized you are feeling stressed.
Regain confidence
You can do this by remembering that you are interviewing the company just as much as it is interviewing you. You also have control, remember that. This is how you build your confidence during the interview where you seem lost. After doing that, you will see yourself calmer than before; eventually you will be able to ace all the questions given.
It could not be emphasized enough that practice really helps. Or if you can get help from a career coach or a counselor to prepare you for the job interview emotionally, do it. You cannot prepare for a hundred percent of what will transpire in the interview, but to do your best in the preparation will minimize the worst things that could happen.
Source: Harvard Business Review
