Friday, March 11, 2016

Employment Interview Jitters Part 2-America's Past Time

Interview jitters affect nearly every job seeker in the market.  Here are 10 basic tools to help combat interview jitters using America's Past Time--- Baseball:

1. Plan ahead: Prepare and bring a list of questions that you want to ask at the end of the interview. Bring a notepad and a couple of pens. Dress well. 

2. Get up early. Eat breakfast if you normally do. Every ball player sees himself hitting the ball before the pitch is ever made, and you need to do the same 

3. Practice:  Interview with a friend or coworker. Get into the batting cage and swing at every ball 

4. Arrive early: If something comes up, you won't be late; if it doesn't you can use the extra time to calm yourself. Come up to the plate, set your stance.  

4. Study the company: You want to work there, so you should know something about what they do and how they operate. Check out the pitcher and the catcher ahead of time. Know what their signs are and how to recognize when they're having a good day, a great day or an off day 

5. Examine the company's competition: Every company has some, and by examining them, you can answer the 'what benefit do you bring' question that is certain to come up. Give an answer that shows you bring a strength possessed by a competitor, which will reduce this company's weakness. Other batters have swung against these pitchers. What worked for them? 

6. Examine your own competition: if you can. Listen to what they say about themselves and then try not to repeat any of their strengths during your interview. Present their weaknesses as your strengths.  

7. Rehearse the route: research the route you're going to take to get to the interview, preferably at the same time and on the same day of the week as the interview is scheduled. The dugout is a good place to figure out what you're going to do whether you've hit the ball or not: where do you go from there? from one pitch to the next? 

8. Pep talk: If you have the time (and you should, because you arrived early), go to the bathroom and give yourself a pep talk in the mirror. Focus on how great you are, not on how much you deserve the job. Psych yourself up to hit the homerun! 

9. Power stance: If you have the time (and you should, because you arrived early and just finished your pep talk), put on a power stance. Hold it for 2 minutes. Baseball players know how to stand so that all of their power comes from their hips: right before you go in, get into your homerun stance 

10. Cold water: Splash some cold water on your face. It's simple, it's easy, and it works. Know that you can do this. You can be Babe Ruth. 

Then, head into the interview full of confidence and purpose and knock it out of the park! 

Contact us to let us know how it went, or for more help developing your career. Remember, landing the job is just the first part of a long and lucrative career of advancement that we can help you achieve.

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