I should probably preface this post by saying two things: 1) it is a privilege to even get interviews, 2) I have very bad anxiety.
I have been fortunate enough to be given a first and second interview from the school that I am student teaching at. The school is in my home school district and only about 15 minutes from my home. It sounds like a dream come true and it is honestly that. However, there is no job without the interviews.
Interviews are my biggest fear. When I say biggest fear, I mean nightmares after nightmares of what could go wrong. My anxiety kicks in in hyper drive when I start thinking about interviews. Knowing this, I push myself to prepare as much as humanly possible for them; however, I have to be careful because if I think about it too much, my health is truly at risk.
I am writing this post not an hour after walking out of my second interview. My Fitbit currently says my heart rate is at 121 bpm. If you are not aware of what that means, the average resting heart beat for my age is between 60-80. That means that I am practically double what it should be from the anxiety ensued during my interview.
While I am not the majority when it comes to interviews, I still have some advice for both my future self when this experience comes about again and those who have not yet gotten there:
- SMILE – you will feel like a fool but it truly makes a difference, and it elicits smiles back at you which takes away some nerves
- Answer with as many situations as you possibly can – we all know the cliche answers, they want to see that we know how to apply those answers
- Be honest – it is okay to say that you do not have experience with something but make sure you tell them what you think you would do with those situations.
- Ask for help – reach out to as many resources as you have to practice before your interview, it helps more than you could imagine.
Now its time for me to take my own advice – here’s to hoping there are no more interviews!