Are you afraid of looking stupid during job interview ?
This is never the real problem. In some cases it's just a cover for a poor self-image. In most instances, however, the real problem is the fear of making a mistake in the interview, fear of not having answers to every question.
If it's a cover for a poor self-image then clearly it's a large personal cluster, not a single problem. But if it's just a mask for the fear of making a mistake, it's a single problem. Framed as a personal failing, it's an emotional problem. Nothing you or anyone else can do will change feelings of stupidity.
If you frame it instead as a quest to know all the answers to potential questions, then it's a rational problem. There's one caveat, however. You can go overboard and start worrying about absurd questions, like Richard Nelson Bolles's famous "What color is your parachute?" If that happens you've gone full circle and turned the problem back into an emotional rather than rational issue.
Learn all you can, but don't feel like you're a failure if you haven't learned everything. That's an impossible mission.
Obviously, becoming an expert is the secret to solving this problem. The more you know about the person you're meeting with, the company you're approaching, and the industry it's in, the better you'll be able to field all questions. Besides conducting the typical public and private research, I suggest you also carefully read a good newspaper for the week before the meeting.
Make a note of any recent news events that could impact the business, for instance a change in interest rates. Not only will this insure you're on top of the latest concerns in your industry, but it will also give you something interesting to use as your own conversation starter.
While it's essential to use all the trust-generating tools at your disposal, it's also important not to go too far in demonstrating your exhaustive research. You don't want to intimidate the other party with your knowledge, or come off as a know-it-all. Remember, just because you have the information doesn't mean you have to show it. Let it come out naturally. Even if you don't use it all, it will have helped you by boosting your confidence.
If, after an interview, you realize or learn you made a mistake, you need to correct it immediately. By fax or E-mail, send a note thanking the interviewer for his or her time, but also acknowledging your mistake or lack of knowledge, and demonstrating the new, correct information you've now acquired.
Since you've already made a mistake you've nothing to lose by admitting it after the fact. By doing so you show humility and candor, two very valuable traits in employees and by correcting yourself you show initiative another excellent characteristic. It may not turn a job rejection into an offer, but it can't hurt.
If it's a cover for a poor self-image then clearly it's a large personal cluster, not a single problem. But if it's just a mask for the fear of making a mistake, it's a single problem. Framed as a personal failing, it's an emotional problem. Nothing you or anyone else can do will change feelings of stupidity.
If you frame it instead as a quest to know all the answers to potential questions, then it's a rational problem. There's one caveat, however. You can go overboard and start worrying about absurd questions, like Richard Nelson Bolles's famous "What color is your parachute?" If that happens you've gone full circle and turned the problem back into an emotional rather than rational issue.
Learn all you can, but don't feel like you're a failure if you haven't learned everything. That's an impossible mission.
Obviously, becoming an expert is the secret to solving this problem. The more you know about the person you're meeting with, the company you're approaching, and the industry it's in, the better you'll be able to field all questions. Besides conducting the typical public and private research, I suggest you also carefully read a good newspaper for the week before the meeting.
Make a note of any recent news events that could impact the business, for instance a change in interest rates. Not only will this insure you're on top of the latest concerns in your industry, but it will also give you something interesting to use as your own conversation starter.
While it's essential to use all the trust-generating tools at your disposal, it's also important not to go too far in demonstrating your exhaustive research. You don't want to intimidate the other party with your knowledge, or come off as a know-it-all. Remember, just because you have the information doesn't mean you have to show it. Let it come out naturally. Even if you don't use it all, it will have helped you by boosting your confidence.
If, after an interview, you realize or learn you made a mistake, you need to correct it immediately. By fax or E-mail, send a note thanking the interviewer for his or her time, but also acknowledging your mistake or lack of knowledge, and demonstrating the new, correct information you've now acquired.
Since you've already made a mistake you've nothing to lose by admitting it after the fact. By doing so you show humility and candor, two very valuable traits in employees and by correcting yourself you show initiative another excellent characteristic. It may not turn a job rejection into an offer, but it can't hurt.
[posted by : OFP on Oct. 20, 2009]
TAGS: job