Hi YouTubers, Jennifer Tardy here.
Your black career success *laughing*
Hi there.
Jennifer Tardy here.
Your career success coach and we're back for another video for you in conjunction with
our Black Career Success YouTube channel.
And today's video is all about nervousness, because I hear that as the number one challenge
that job seekers face is that they're nervous!
We all know that if you're nervous during an interview that you'll never really show
how amazing you truly are.
So I'm gonna provide you three tips to help that nervousness.
Stick around to the end of the video because I'm also gonna share with you something that
I do personally that I started doing several years ago and it has truly helped me.
Actually two things, but I'm gonna ball it all into one.
It will make sense when we get there.
Now.
Back to you.
Three tips on managing nervousness during an interview.
Tip #1 Know that the interview is just as much for
you as it is for the interviewer.
Going into an interview these days, it's almost like dating someone.
You're so interested in getting that relationship, that you're not even trying to get to know
the person.
It's the same for an interview.
So many people are so dead-set on getting that job, that they're not even interested
in getting to know that company.
Specifically, the person that is going to be your manager in the future.
So when I say that it's just as much of an interview for you, as it is for them, you
have to know that.
You have to own that.
And what does that mean?
It means that once you get into that interview and you're sitting there and they're asking
you questions, it is completely acceptable for you to also ask questions in return.
I don't mean interrupt them in the middle of their question, and I don't mean to say
"Oh your question doesn't matter, so let me get my question in".
No.
It's truly having an ongoing dialogue.
So if they ask you a question about one of your weaknesses, it's completely acceptable
for you to come back and say "Well what do you think the reputation is like for an organization
like this?" or "What is the reputation like for this department?"
"What is one of the weaknesses for this department?"
These are questions that you would naturally care to know, but you may not ask because
you're thinking that it's all about them interviewing you as opposed to you interviewing them.
So be engaged, and as a question comes to you that helps you to better know the organization
that is interviewing you, ask that question.
It's completely acceptable.
Now...
Tip #2 Nobody knows your story better than you!
And this is one of those tips that when I first started off in human resources as a
corporate trainer, and I had to deliver presentations - I used to get so nervous!!
The other more seasoned trainers would remind me that I know the content and I know the
content better than anybody who is coming to hear the content in the audience.
Which means that if I mess up, they probably wouldn't recognize it because I built the
content or at least I trained on the content so much that at least I know what it should
have been versus what I actually shared.
So just know that your career, the information that's in you resume, the questions that they
ask you - you've experienced it before.
You know this information.
There is no need to be nervous about it.
Just think back to that answer.
If someone asks you "Well, why did you decide to leave this company and go to the next company?"You
know the answer!
Just answer the question.
So there's nothing that they can ask you about your own career and your own life, that you
aren't the expert in, because it's yours.
Okay?
So that was number two.
Tip #3 Have fun during your interview!
Keep in mind that being interviewed, this is the only time in your life where it's completely
acceptable for you to talk about how wonderful you are and other people want to listen.
Well.
The only other time you can really talk about yourself is when you're going to see a therapist,
but we'll put that to the side for now.
So, know that when you go into an interview that you get to talk about yourself.
You get to talk about how fabulous you are, the accomplishments that you've had, and you
get to talk about how you can contribute those accomplishments and how great you are to that
organization.
That's awesome, in and of itself.
So those are my three tips.
Now, I did promise you that I would share with you two things that I do on my end.
I used to get so nervous before interviewing and before presenting back when I was a trainer.
One thing that I do now is I say a prayer before I get started.
I imagine God taking my hand, and in that thought I know that I'm taken care of and
I let it go.
I drop it.
And that's right before I walk into an interview or to deliver a presentation.
I pray and I say "God please take my hand and let's do this together".
I visualize it and then I let it go.
I walk in and I do my best.
The second thing that I made a commitment to a long time ago, was that I will not allow
myself any more than fifteen minutes of nervousness for every hour I'm about to experience a "thing".
So, if I know that I only have a presentation that's going to be about thirty minutes, I'm
not gonna give two weeks of being nervous for that one thirty minute presentation.
It doesn't ever make logical sense.
So if I say to myself that I'm only going to allow fifteen minutes for every hour of
a situation, those smaller situations don't get any of my nervousness.
What I do is, I make a conscience effort to put it in the back of my mind.
I will be nervous later is what I tell myself.
And before I know it I'm pulling up to the interview or I'm pulling up to wherever I
have to deliver a speech or I'm walking up to the podium, and because I keep myself busy
in the mean time, I don't allow myself that nervousness.
I hope that me sharing my own personal story with you is gonna help you with your own nervousness.
There are your tips and even that bonus tip.
If you like what you've heard today, please click "subscribe"to our Black Career Success
YouTube channel.
As always, we'll be bringing these videos to you at least weekly.
So I'll see you soon!
Take care.