Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Ways To Not Fidget During An Interview

I would be a lot happier if this were called "How To Do Well In An Interview" but tragically I do not have a job yet, so I'm not sure that title would be qualified. I do, however, have a little practice with interviews. My biggest problem is that 1. I get nervous and then I sound nervous and then I get flustered. Not fun. I also (2.) tend to fidget when I get nervous. Here are my ways of stopping issue #2 and, by stopping, helping issue #1:

-->Wear rings on adjoining fingers. I find it really annoying when my rings touch, or at least unusual. Since I'm not used to metal on metal on my fingers, I am more aware of it and because I am aware of my rings, I am aware of my hands. I crack my knuckles (sorry mom, trying to stop) and play with my rings which I would imagine looks rather unprofessional. When I wear rings that touch, I try not to move my hands so they don't touch, and then, ta dah!, I am not fidgeting with my hands. Same goes for my hair--I don't touch it if I'm not moving my hands.

-->Put on makeup (or pay more attention/put more time into it than usual). You are then less likely to touch your face which is definitely something to avoid. I include lip gloss or lipstick into this category because then you won't lick your lips and be distracted by chapped lips, etc.

-->Wear a watch. This way you aren't looking at your cell phone (my usual watch) and you also can easily keep a eye on time to make sure you don't spend too much time rambling.

-->Bring a notepad and take notes. This gives you something non-fidgety to do with your hands and is likely to be useful.
*Personally I like to write down the position qualifications and what I've done to apply before the interview, as well as a few questions. I've always been one of those people who makes study guides because the act of writing stuff down helps me remember it better. Plus I'm horrible at coming up with questions on the fly.

-->Wear layers and look nice. Obviously you want to avoid sweating (and smelling) or shivering constantly, so layers come in handy. Additionally, I think most people feel more confident and happy when they know they look great (ahem, What Not To Wear...), and I am definately one of those people. I tend to dress according to my moods, but weaning something really nice can definately improve my mood. For example, last week I was feeling rather sick (I think I ate bad turkey the night before) but I had an interview to go to. I alllllmost didn't go, but then I sucked it up and got dressed. I wore a really cute navy blue skirt with a loose pale gold top tucked in and low-heeled shoes. It was a flattering outfit, and one that I could wear downtown wandering around or to an interview (not over-dressed, not under-dressed--always my goal) but it was also really comfortable. I tragically didn't get the job, but I definately felt the need to pull myself together and at least pretend I felt as good as those clothes looked. So, although I didn't get the interview, I also didn't vomit all over the table. Thus, I think it's a worthwhile trick.

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