How to be successful in your next job interview

Speaker: 00:00:05

Welcome to Unstuck and Unstoppable,

the podcast for ambitious female

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leaders who want to create more impact,

income, and influence in their careers.

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feel connected to their passion

and purpose, but without

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selling out or burning out.

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I'm Sarah Archer, a leadership coach

and career strategist, helping women

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like you thrive in leadership roles

while staying true to your values.

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I'm the founder of CareerTree

Coaching and have over 15 years of

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coaching experience and significant HR

leadership experience to share with you.

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I know as a female leader it can

be hard to find time to focus

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on your career aspirations.

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The day job can be all consuming.

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Plus, no matter how senior you are,

there are always going to be times

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when you feel stuck, when you have

self doubt, or feel like an imposter.

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And that's where unstuck

and unstoppable comes in.

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Each week I'll be sharing practical

strategies, insightful interviews and

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inspiring stories to help you boost

your confidence, lead with purpose

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and achieve sustainable success.

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If you're ready to stop playing

small and unlock the incredible

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potential you have within you and feel

unstoppable, you're in the right place.

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Let's get started.

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Welcome to today's episode, which is all

about having more success interviews.

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And the reason I wanted to talk

about this topic is because as

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a leader, the interview process

can be very time-consuming.

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my previous background was in

HR and , , I've run selection

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processes up to chief exec level.

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But I think now they seem to be much

more protracted and require a . huge

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commitment from the candidate in

terms of time and preparation and,

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content that they've got to prepare.

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, in fact, I was coaching a client last year

who was going for a senior role and he

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had eight stages to the selection process.

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, he did get the job in the end, but, , that

requires a huge amount of commitment.

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, and you're meeting a whole

variety of different people in

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those interview stages as well.

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, so the commitment is large.

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I wanted to talk a little bit

about, , prepping for success because

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obviously you do want to, , maximize

your chances of success because you

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don't want to have to be putting

that energy and commitments into lots

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of different selection processes.

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You want to be , , successful in the one

that you want to be, offered the job for.

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, , but today I wanted to focus on mindset

because you can have the best technique

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in the world, but if your mindset is not

where it needs to be, that's going to

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make it harder for you to be successful.

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I wanted to focus a on mindset today.

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, to help you think about how

you can prepare now, even if you

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haven't got an interview looming

to increase your positivity,

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your mindset around interviews.

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You could ask yourself the question, how

do you feel about having an interview?

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Do you love them?

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Do you hate them?

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I've run a lot of interview workshops

and, often there might be one person in

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the room who actually likes interviews,

but the majority of people find them, , a

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challenging experience, shall we say.

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, and often when you think about having

an interview, you can feel that same

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sense of dread that goes alongside

having an exam, or, a driving test,

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or, , something where you're going to be

examined, and found potentially wanting.

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Or you might feel like there's going

to be some kind of interrogation.

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And it just feels like a very

uncomfortable experience.

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, and I had another client last year

and he was a very senior individual.

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He'd worked in some incredibly high

pressured situations, but when it came

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to interviews, he just felt like it

all fell apart or certainly in the

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last year or so, it just fell apart.

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And so he wasn't getting the

results that he was hoping for.

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He'd been for a lot of interviews and

it became a bit of a vicious cycle.

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in that he believed that he wasn't

able to perform well at interviews.

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And so therefore that led him to

perform less well at interviews.

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And so he wasn't offered the job,

which then affected his confidence.

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And, it just became that

self fulfilling prophecy.

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We definitely have to believe

that we're going to be successful

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and have the positive mindset

around going into the interview.

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Because, we can mask those feelings,

but often there is something called

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unconscious seepage where, , There are

just ways that , you're not able to

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generate the same level of enthusiasm or

be as convincing because in the back of

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your mind, you're dreading the experience.

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You're not looking forward to it.

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You're feeling unconfident about it.

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So it's very important to do this work

as well as, , doing the interview

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technique stuff around prepping for.

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the examples that you're going

to share with the interviewer.

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So I've got some, , some tips to help

you do that, which we'll run through

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.

What we want to think about, , is, , first of all, remembering the positive

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experiences that we've had in interview

situation, because often when we

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think about our interview experiences.

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, we will focus on the ones that we

think didn't go well, and we'll

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remember them, , and then that will

colour our feeling about how we're

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going to perform at the interview.

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So taking ourselves back to interviews

where we've been successful, where we've

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performed well, we've been offered the

job, but it doesn't have to be that,

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it can be just ones where you felt you

performed well but maybe you decided not

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to take the job, whatever the outcome

is, but Knowing that you actually did

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well in the interview and remembering

those times and thinking back to how

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you performed, how you felt, what you

did that made those interviews go well

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and focusing on them, not on that one

interview that didn't go to plan for

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whatever reason it might have been.

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That's the first thing, is to

get back in touch with interviews

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where you have been successful.

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Then the second thing is to think

about repositioning and reframing

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how you feel about interviews.

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Often when we're thinking about

the interview, so say we've got

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an interview next week, we'll

get that sensation in our bodies.

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. I'm rubbing my stomach here.

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So we'll probably feel that kind

of butterflies in our stomach, that

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spike of adrenaline, that buzz of, Oh

God, I've got an interview next week.

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And that sense of dread

that comes with it.

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And I know when I used to have an

interview coming up, , I'd often

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have that feeling of, Oh my God,

I've got that interview next week.

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I really hope there's a train

strike and I can't make it, or I

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get the flu and I just can't go.

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I'd want something to intervene

to make the interview go away.

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And I would not want to think about

it because it would just make me feel

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really uncomfortable and nervous.

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And obviously we don't want that.

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We want to be able to reposition it.

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So two things to think about here.

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First of all is that the feelings that

you get, the butterflies in your stomach,

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that sort of anxiety about the interview.

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sits right next to feelings

of excitement , in our body.

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, often it's the same feeling we

get when we're thinking about

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something that's going to be a bit

exciting and we'll get that buzzer.

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Oh, I've got that thing coming up next

week and I'm really looking forward to it.

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what we want to do is move that feeling

of anxiety into feeling excited about it.

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If you can feel excited about an

interview and we're going to work on that.

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What we want to be thinking in our

head is actually not, I'm dreading

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that interview and I wish something

would happen to make me be able

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to not go, but actually be telling

ourselves, actually, I'm really looking

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forward to this interview next week.

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It's the chance for me to meet some

new people, to be curious about

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the job, to find out if it's the

And to share the experience I've

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had in this area of, , expertise

or whatever words, work for you.

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But just to be telling yourself, actually,

it's a good opportunity to, , test my

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interview skills, to meet new people,

to find out more about the organisation.

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And just by positioning it into

a more positive, experience

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will help us with that.

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feeling of dread because we're not going

to be dreading it, we're going to be

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looking forward to it because it's going

to give us an opportunity to be curious.

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So that's the second thing to do is to

reposition it and reframe it as something

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that's going to be a good experience.

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Now we can acknowledge that we're going

to feel nervous because you're still

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going to feel nervous even if you're

repositioning it because you're going

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to be going into performance mode.

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So you can acknowledge that

when you're reframing it.

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You can say, look, I know I'm going to

feel nervous, but I'm going to use those

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nerves positively to help me perform well.

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Again, it's acknowledging it

and using it in a positive way.

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Then the third thing you can do is get

some perspective about the interview,

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because sometimes we can focus on

it so much we think, if I don't get

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this job, that's it, my career is

ruined, or I'm never going to get this

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opportunity again, or, , we put so

much pressure on this one interview

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to deliver that actually increases

the pressure on ourselves to perform.

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If we can position it, okay, this

interview isn't the be all and

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end all, there will be other jobs.

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is my chance to find out if it's

the right job for me and it might

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not be the right job for me.

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And so getting that perspective

and what can be helpful is to look

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back on interviews where perhaps you

weren't successful and think about

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actually was it the right time for me.

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I know when I was an HR manager, I

was going for an HR director role.

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I'd got an interview to the first

stage and I remember thinking,

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yeah, I'm ready for this job.

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, I'm, can do it.

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I can, I'll show them I can do it.

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And got into the interview and The

questions they were asking me really

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threw me and I came out of it thinking,

Oh gosh, that didn't really go very well.

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And I didn't get invited

back to second interview.

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But when I look back on it now, I can

see that actually I wasn't ready for

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that role and that if they'd offered

me the job, if I'd been successful, I

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would have been out of my depth and I

would have really struggled in that role.

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And actually, I probably needed

to have another six to 12 months

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of experience under my belt before

I went for an HR director role.

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So looking back it was actually a

useful thing that I didn't get the job.

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I think being able to get that

perspective of there will be other jobs,

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there'll be other organizations I can

apply to, can really help you take the

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pressure off and help you feel more

positive about the interview as well.

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And then in that perspective piece

is also thinking about seeing

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the interviewers as colleagues.

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So not interrogators, but actually as your

future colleagues and that you're going

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in to have a professional conversation

with those people about the job.

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And it's a two way conversation

because you're also assessing them.

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Do you want to work with them?

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Is it the right job for you?

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Is it the right organization for you?

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So thinking about them in

terms of colleagues can help

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take the pressure off as well.

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And you can research them.

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You can look on LinkedIn to

find out a bit more about them.

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You can , See the synergy in terms of

your career and their career, and that

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can help you relax into the interview

and if you're feeling more relaxed in

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the interview, you're going to perform

much better and more confidently.

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And while we're thinking about the

interviewers, , because often we can

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think about the interview, they're

going to be trying to find fault.

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They're going to be trying to

find a reason not to appoint me.

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And actually the converse is true.

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The interviewers want you to do

well, because they want at the

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end of the day to be able to offer

the job to the best candidate.

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And they're giving up a whole day of

their time to interview six people.

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, so they , really want to

appoint at the end of the day.

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They don't want to have to do

another round of , interviewing

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because they didn't appoint.

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They want you to do well.

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They're not trying to catch

you out or to find your flaws.

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They want to have a

good evaluation of you.

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And if you think they're looking

for kind of three things, they're

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looking for, can you do the job?

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So do you have the skills and

capability and experience?

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Then they're going to be

looking at, will you do the job?

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Do you have the right level of motivation

and the enthusiasm for the role?

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And the more positive you're feeling

about, the interview, the more

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genuinely you'll be able to convey your

enthusiasm and interest in the job.

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Again, the kind of mindset

work is really important there.

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And then they're looking

at, will you fit in?

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Do you have similar values?

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Are you going to be a

good fit in the team?

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And also, can I work with you?

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The more relaxed and confident

you can feel in the interview, the

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more you're going to give off the

vibe that's going to be around.

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Yes, this person is going to be a good

person to work with and is going to

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make a good contribution to the team.

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, my next tip is around, , affirmations

because these can be really,

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helpful when you're trying to

create a more positive mindset.

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So these are about changing our

thought patterns in the brain.

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So our thought pattern in the brain around

the interview might be, , I'm dreading it.

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I don't know if I'm going to

be successful or whatever you

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might be saying to yourself.

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And we want to change it around.

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We want to have an affirmation.

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So that's one or two sentences, statements

that might be something around, , I'm

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really qualified for this job.

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I've got X skills and etc.

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X experience that's going to be

really useful for them in this role.

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They will be lucky to appoint me.

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So something that's really positive.

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And, also, , saying something

about, , your level of confidence in a

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job, , they'll be lucky to, to have me.

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Repeating those affirmations can make

a real difference because the brain

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likes repetition, and the more you

can repeat that statement, the more

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the brain , will value tag it, will

understand that it's important to you,

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will, go to that as a default, rather

than going to that negative statement

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you have about, , the interview.

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You might be a little bit sceptical

about affirmations, , but they do work.

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, I had a client, she was going for a

senior job in a big tech firm, and was

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feeling a lack of career confidence

because she had a bit of a . bruising

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experience in her current job, which

is partly why she wanted to leave.

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And so we were looking at interview

technique for the interview that she'd

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got coming up, , but also doing some

mindset work around her career confidence.

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And I gave her the affirmation idea.

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She was really skeptical.

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She was a bit like,

Oh, it feels a bit woo.

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I'm not sure it's going to work

for me, but I'll give it a go.

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She texted me to say, a few days

later, to say she was walking around

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the house repeating it while she

was making the kids dinner, she was

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repeating it, she was taking the dog

for a walk, she was repeating it.

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And she was beginning to feel that

it actually was beginning to make a

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difference to her, to how she felt about

going into that interview situation.

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And she did get the job.

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Now, obviously we can't attribute

it just to the affirmations, but

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it definitely helped her to feel

more positive and more confident

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going into that interview situation.

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It could be something you

could experiment with.

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And then , my last tip for you is around

visualization, because the power of

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visualization is, super important and it's

got evidence to show that it does work.

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Visualizing the interview going well,

not just once, but on a number of

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occasions, can be really powerful in

ensuring that actually it goes more well.

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Like that on the day.

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As I said, you can find out on

LinkedIn who your interviewers

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are and , what they look like.

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So you can imagine yourself walking into

the interview room confidently if it's a

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face to face interview, or logging on into

the Zoom or Teams interview, confidently,

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smiling, greeting those interviewers.

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Answering the first question they

ask you positively and confidently.

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You can visualize more interview

questions going well, but certainly that

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initial, , moment in the interview or

moments in the interview that first

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few minutes in the interview are super

important in establishing rapport

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Impact and setting you up for how the

rest of the interview is going to go.

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So spending time visualizing that

initial First say five to ten minutes

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in the interview can be really helpful.

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Now visualization has been evidence based,

so they have done research around it.

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There was particular research

that was around sports and

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they had three control groups.

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It was around basketball.

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So they had a control group who

went and practiced shooting the ball

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into the hoop over a time period.

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They had a control group who did nothing,

no practice or any kind of visualization.

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And they had a control group who,

just purely visualized themselves

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successfully shooting the ball

into the hoop but did no practice.

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And then they tested them.

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The control group who just visualized

shooting the ball into the hoop

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did as well as those that practiced

shooting the ball into the hoop.

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And obviously the ones who did

nothing didn't do that well.

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So the power of

visualization is incredible.

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That could be something else that you

could experiment with is just using

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visualization to help you feel more

confident and have a more positive mindset

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about going into that interview scenario.

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I hope that's given you some food for

thought about how you can increase your

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positive mindset because you might already

have a positive mindset around interviews,

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but you might want to increase it further.

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Or if you feel You'd read interviews,

how you can actually turn that

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around, , and feel more positive about

going into that interview situation.

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This episode is also available as a

video on my LinkedIn live events page.

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I'll put a link in the show notes for you.

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: 00:18:03

And while you're over on

LinkedIn, do connect with me.

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: 00:18:06

If we're not already connected.

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: 00:18:14

Thank you so much for listening

to this episode of the Unstuck

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: 00:18:17

and Unstoppable podcast.

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: 00:18:19

I have lots of free resources you

can access on my website, ww.career

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: 00:18:24

tree coaching.co uk, and I'll

also put links in the show notes.

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: 00:18:29

If you found this episode

helpful, then please subscribe

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: 00:18:33

so you don't miss the next one.

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: 00:18:35

And please do share it with a

friend and leave me a review

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: 00:18:38

and I will personally thank you.

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: 00:18:40

Remember, you're capable of more

than you know, shine brightly.

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Lead boldly and unlock the

extraordinary potential within you.

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: 00:18:50

Be unstoppable.