{"id":2320,"date":"2021-10-27T12:00:40","date_gmt":"2021-10-27T11:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/?p=2320"},"modified":"2025-10-22T15:14:57","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T14:14:57","slug":"stage-fright-choking-and-job-interviews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/2021\/10\/27\/stage-fright-choking-and-job-interviews\/","title":{"rendered":"Stage fright, choking and job interviews"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am a huge fan of the\u00a0<\/span>Hidden Brain podcast<\/span><\/a>\u00a0which explores human behaviour and the unconscious phenomena that drives them. A\u00a0<\/span>recent episode<\/span><\/a>\u00a0interviewed Sian\u00a0Beilock, a cognitive scientist and\u00a0covered the science behind stage fright or\u00a0choking under pressure. From athletes to\u00a0<\/span>Presidents<\/span><\/a>, from performances to tests \u2013\u00a0we can all probably think of a time\u00a0we have crumbled under pressure. Where something we know we can do well suddenly becomes alien and our minds go blank.\u00a0Feelings of stress, anxiety and worry conspire against us to cause us to perform much worse than we would have hoped or expected.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, because I work in a Careers Service,\u00a0high pressure situations\u00a0immediately got me thinking about job interviews.\u00a0We know that lots of students can find interviews\u00a0really nerve-wracking and worry about their minds going blank.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So with Halloween just around the corner - lets talk about how you can stop your brain playing tricks and reduce <\/span>the chances of a fright at your next job interview.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Preparation\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Being well-prepared for your job interview may not necessarily prevent you from choking. However, preparation is key to a good interview performance. Being well-prepared will help you to feel more confident, in control and make it easier for you to feel like you should succeed. All things that can reduce that dreaded mind blank.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One good thing to prepare for is the question you really hope they won\u2019t ask! If you\u2019re worrying about a specific question this can take up a lot of headspace and worry. It can give you a sense of release, and confidence to release that worry and get your answer sorted in advance of the interview.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Good preparation involves a combination of researching the employer and honing your interview technique.\u00a0<\/span>You can find out more about both in our Get Started guide.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Practice,\u00a0practice,\u00a0practice<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Practicing under pressure can help you to perform well under pressure when it counts.\u00a0So\u00a0for job interviews that means practicing answering questions. That doesn\u2019t mean practicing the answers in your head! To get the pressure on try practicing with other people.\u00a0<\/span>Try some practice interview software.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0Keep an eye out for\u00a0<\/span>practice interviews with employers\u00a0on\u00a0MyFuture<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0Or book an\u00a0<\/span>interview practice with the Careers Service.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Reframe your nerves<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Being worried or excited can often trigger the same physiological responses.\u00a0So\u00a0if you are feeling nervous before an interview, see if you can reframe those nerves positively or at least try to stop think about them really negatively. For example - your beating heart is pumping blood to your brain so you can think better.\u00a0You are feeling nervous because you are excited to take on this opportunity.\u00a0<\/span> This reframing can help you feel more confident and in turn, make those responses feel less intense.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Remind yourself why you should succeed\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Instead of focusing on all the ways an interview can go wrong, it can be useful to think about the reasons you should succeed. Employers have put you on the shortlist because from your application, they think you can do the job and see your potential. Which should be a boost in itself. Additionally, this is where you can remind yourself of your preparation and practice - you have done your preparation, you have practiced your answers \u2013 you are ready for this!\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Reframing your thoughts like this can help to combat that stress and worry \u2013 leaving you in a more positive frame of mind.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Stop paying\u00a0too much\u00a0attention and remain present<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

One of the key reasons we can perform poorly under stress is because we start focusing on every little detail and overanalyse. Suddenly you are worrying about how much or little eye contact you are making, or whether your voice sounds\u00a0annoying\u00a0and you lose your train of thought.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So\u00a0to stop yourself paying too much attention, distract yourself with something else. Before an interview you might want to try\u00a0singing your favourite song (perhaps not in the interview waiting room!) or doing some breathing exercises. During the interview you might want to focus on a couple of key points or try grounding yourself. We have an excellent\u00a0<\/span>blog on how mindfulness techniques can help you with interviews that covers these ideas in more detail.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Final thought<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

I hope these tips help you to feel more confident and in control of your nerves at your next interview.\u00a0<\/span>If you want even more tips, check out our resource on interview nerves<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0Even if you do find your mind going blank - I hope this blog reassures you that you are in esteemed company.\u00a0And if you still don\u2019t believe me \u2013\u00a0<\/span>take a look at our very own Careers Advisers\u2019 nightmare interviews.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0It happens to all of us at some point. Job interviews are not life or death (well..\u00a0unless there\u2019s a job interview Squid Game spin-off..!) and a bad experience is always an opportunity to learn.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0However\u00a0if you are struggling with anxiety,\u00a0stress\u00a0or your mental health more\u00a0generally\u00a0\u2013\u00a0<\/span>you can get support from the University.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For more help with interviews \u2013\u00a0<\/span>check out our\u00a0Get Started guide.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am a huge fan of the\u00a0Hidden Brain podcast\u00a0which explores human behaviour and the unconscious phenomena that drives them. A\u00a0recent episode\u00a0interviewed Sian\u00a0Beilock, a cognitive scientist and\u00a0covered the science behind stage fright or\u00a0choking under pressure. From athletes to\u00a0Presidents, from performances to...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1174,"featured_media":2321,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[748],"tags":[592,282,44],"class_list":["post-2320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archive","tag-careeressentials","tag-interview","tag-interviews"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/82\/2021\/10\/pexels-photo-5635095.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1174"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2320\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}