If,
like me, you suffer badly from nerves, it really can be debilitating
in any walk of life, work, sport and exams.
You
could be highly accomplished at any skill or activity, but be redued
to the level of a beginner simply because you can't control your
nerves. So if you are facing graduate recruitment processes and are
an excellent candidate but incredibly nervous, what can you do?
Firslty
you need to understand the root of nerves. Most forms of stress and
anxiety are caused by uncertainty, if you can minimise or remove the
uncertainty, you will effectively deal with the stress or nerves.
Lets look at a few things that will be your nerves in the graduate
recruitment process.
Do the journey to your interview venue in advance. There's nothing
more stressful than setting off to your interview and starting to
think along the way you might not make it! There's no need for this
source of nerves. Do the journey in advance and time it, then add
20% onto the time and leave yourself this much time to allow for
traffic Jams and such like. If you have a long an unpredictable
journey, go the night before and stay in a Travellodge, it may be
the best investment you've ever made.
Reseacrh your company thoroughly. In graduate recruitment it's a
near certainty you will be asked what you know about the company.
Here's another uncertainty that can easily be removed. Invest time
on the internet to learn all you can about the company. If
necessary ring up their marketing department, or speak to a sales
representative. Go over board on you research and you will not be
worrying about not being able to answer their questions on this
subject.
Research your interviewer in advance. Not knowing who you're going
to meet and what they're like is always stressful, but agin
unnecessary. If you have used a graduate recruitment agency, speak
with your consultant to learn what the recruiting manager is like.
If, as part of your research you can get hold of a representative,
this can also be another opportunity to learn about your
interviewer. do this well and you'll not only be less nervous, but
also you'll be better placed to deliver an effective interview.
Exercise before the interview. Your body is full of wonderful
hormones called endorphins which are released upon exercise around
your body. These hormones delver an incredibly relaxing feeling.
If you've ever worked out in a Gym, then showered afterwards, that
feeling of relaxation is created by endorphins. It's almost
impossible to feel nervous when you're drowning in endorphins. If
you're interview is in a hotel, turn up 2 hours early and use their
gym, it'll cost you around £5, an excellent investment!
Play the numbers game. For all sorts of invisible reasons the
graduate recruitment game will always be a numbers game, you may not
get jobs for reasons you will never know that are nothing to do with
your abilities. So apply to jobs in numbers and increase your
chances this way. You will always feel less nervous when you know
today's opportunity is only one of many you have to go at.
Given
the root cause of stress is uncertainty, it's easy to how graduate
recruitment is so stressful. The whole of the rest of your life
depnds on it, and that's quite a big uncertainty. Follow these tips
and you'll give yourself a much better chance of landing a graduate
job.
