Lose the Resume, Land the Job

Chapter NineYour Interview Prep: Don't Psych Yourself Out!

1. Nobody Gets Out of Sixth Grade
2. Making the Most of the First Seven Seconds
3. The Twelve Deadly Sins of Interviewing
4. The Great Unknown: Interview Questions
5. Your Mental Game

You're driving to work when suddenly you notice in your rearview mirror the dreaded red and blue flashing lights. “Maybe I was going five miles per hour over the speed limit,” you tell yourself. Or was it ten? The voice of authority booms, “Pull over to the side of the road.” Your body goes through a series of involuntary responses: Your stomach churns; your mouth becomes dry; you sweat profusely.

A job interview has been described as a cross between a trip to Disneyland and a visit to the dentist...

Welcome to what it can feel like when you're interviewing for a job.

A job interview has been described as a cross between a trip to Disneyland and a visit to the dentist to have your wisdom teeth extracted: While looking forward to it, you also dread it, fearing it will be as bad as when the dentist peers into the farthest reaches of your gum line and calmly says, “You might feel a pinch” (which we all know is code for “This is going to hurt like hell”).

My advice is to stop thinking about speeding tickets and wisdom teeth! If you let your imagination ...