By Patricia Maloney, Career Coach, Sli Nua Careers (Galway)
Patricia Maloney, Career Coach, Galway
A peculiarity I have noticed when coaching clients for job interviews is that the more able people are often the most nervous.
It’s as if they know that they have to do very well in the interview to get the job or to get called back to the second interview. They have a sense of what ‘very well’ might look like, and they recognise when they fall short of that level.
The nervous tension may also come from that never-ending desire to prove themselves that characterises many successful people.
So, they tend to place heavy demands on themselves and that can create nervous tension.
Having high standards is no bad thing: my job is to get them to use that commitment to excellence in such a way that it works for them, not against them.
I encourage them to make the interview a meaningful conversation between the employer and themselves. Try to get beyond the superficial and into the actual meat of the job itself. By going into more detail, and really engaging with the specifics of the new role, they can show their intelligence and ability – and therefore enhance their prospects of getting the job.
Nervous tension is no harm, but only if the client uses it to prepare better beforehand and to go further during the interview itself.
Patricia Maloney is a Career Coach with Sli Nua Careers and works out of Galway. You can read more abouther, and make a booking HERE for CV Preparation and Interview Training.
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