March 19, 2021

How to feel confident going into a job interview (and why you shouldn’t fear failure)

11 min read

Job interviews are a funny thing. Essentially, it’s an organised conversation to work out if you’re right for the employer and they’re right for you. Too often we go into job interviews building them up to be a do-or-die moment of truth. Now, they are important and likely will serve as the first in person impression the employer will get, but the over-thinking that we can do with job interviews is actually detrimental to our chances of landing a role.

Now, telling job seekers to simply ‘be confident’ isn’t particularly helpful. Because for many, a job interview represents a big spotlight on us, our qualifications, our fit – it can be a tremendously vulnerable state to be in. With experience often comes confidence in your abilities, which does make job interviewing become much easier over the course of your career.

But today we want to talk about confidence in job interviews in a bit more detail. How can we go into an interview and keep focused on the task at hand? Let’s get into it.

Do your preparation and run through

Job interviews are sort of like a musical performance or sports game; the more work you do beforehand through practice and preparation, the easier the event itself is going to feel. Musicians will often talk about practicing beyond the point just learning a piece, into the space where it feels ‘natural’. Job interviews are much the same – the anxiety that many experience during an interview is those moments where we feel ‘lost’ or caught out with not having an answer.

Preparation for a job interview can be broken down into a number of different areas:

Learning about the employer (business, government agency etc) – what they do, who they are, values.
Doing some research beyond the job ad about the role (especially if it’s new to you).
Writing out scenarios of past work experiences that might be relevant – both technical and soft skills like conflict resolution or team collaboration.
Speaking to others who work at or know, the employer. Getting some inside information on what the hire relates to (broader project, direction) can help contextualise things and help choose what parts of your experience you highlight.
Speaking out loud your experience to see how it sounds in a verbal setting. A CV will be read, but your summation of this experience in person will probably be different.
Practice with family or friends. This might be most pertinent to those at the very start of their career. Getting feedback at how you answer questions and your communication style is invaluable beforehand. This can help you remember to slow down, maintain eye contact and stay mindful of other tendencies you have.

There are plenty of other ways to prepare. The most important part here is that you’re making the effort to go into the interview ready. Even just going through this exercise will put you in a better mindset – something that will come across to the interviewer(s).

Dress the part, be the part

While the tech sector isn’t necessarily a 3 piece suit industry these days, being presented neat and tidy is always a good idea. Don’t be afraid of overdressing so much as underdressing. Yes, it may be perfectly acceptable to wear a hoodie to work once you’ve landed a dev role, but the interview is the chance to show you’re serious about the job and employer.

If you are interviewing for a more senior position that will be client-facing, we’d suggest shirt, jacket and neat pants and dress shoes. For a role that won’t have much client contact, you may be okay to dress neatly but casual – jeans and a clean top. The safest bet is to put a shirt on – you can always dress down once you land the gig!

Dressing nicely is as much about how you feel as it is coming across as presentable to an employer. ‘Look good, feel good’ while cliché does hold some truth. You want to appear confident in your interview? Start with your clothes!

Once you’ve got the clothes sorted, do take some time to get that haircut, shave, or other personal grooming that will only add to the visual presentation you bring to the interview.

Dress and presentation isn’t the most important part of job interviews – far from it. But addressing it does take any of the superficial stuff of the table, so you can focus on having a great conversation with your potential manager.

Visualise a successful interview

Say visualisation to some in our industry and you might be met with an eye roll. But visualisation doesn’t have to be a Tony Robbins-grade undertaking. Visualisation can simply be running through the interview in your head with a positive outcome at the end. We all visualise every day – anticipating conversations with our coworkers or friends, looking forward to a night out. So all we’re suggesting here is that you craft the ‘ideal’ interview and take mental notes of what makes it so. This process is actually a way to train your subconscious to look for and nurture these moments at the actual interview.

So what are some things you could visualise?

A pleasant, jovial greeting and introductions.
Going through your relevant experience and this being received well.
Asking the panel of interviewers a question about the business and listening to the answer.
Thinking about a question quietly before answering it.
Getting enthusiastic about the potential projects you’d work on.
Having good feedback from the interviewers in the moment.
Keeping eye contact
Finishing feeling positive about the discussion.

While you can’t make sure all of these things happen as this is a two-sided process, just running through positive outcomes can lift your confidence and bring in the right kind of energy. You’d be amazed at how one person’s energy can set the tone for a group setting like an interview.

Note down and bring in your strengths

This goes back to preparation somewhat, but warrants a deeper dive – many job candidates, especially Kiwis who are naturally humble to a fault neglect to bring all their firepower to an interview, leaving experience or skill sets uncovered in the interview. We’re self-deprecating and worried about being perceived as arrogant – don’t be. As long as you’re being honest about what you bring to the table, there’s no need for concern. Employers will be relying upon your CV, Cover Letter and You to build a story of your fit for the role.

Do not hesitate to write out your specific strengths for the role beyond what a CV format allows. Here you can go into detail about the job role itself and map your fit based on past experience. And, don’t make a secret of doing this. It’s perfectly fine to bring notes into an interview and have them on the table in front of you – after all, the hiring manager will probably have your CV and cover letter in front of them.

Be human, have real conversations

As we said at the start – a job interview is a conversation between people. Confidence can come from an approach where you aim to connect with the interviewer as opposed to play a ‘perfect game’ and answer every question with robotic precision. In fact, that’s likely to leave a hiring manager feeling like they don’t know much about you as a person after the interview.

You can help set a tone where the interview feels like a conversation right from the start by both asking the employer about their week, chatting about current events or even volunteering some information about you, e.g. “My partner just started a role at X”, “I just did the school drop off this morning”. Bringing in some light non-work related conversation particularly at the start, helps set the tone for the type of interview that will feel more ‘real’. If you don’t have small talk ready to go in the chamber, then try asking some questions of the interviewer like ‘how has the week been for you?’ – there’s a good chance the word ‘busy’ might come up. This is then a good segue into sharing what sort of week you’ve been having – just keep it positive and light!

Being human doesn’t stop at small talk – discussion about the job will have moments where its perfectly acceptable to touch on non-technical elements of the role. Ask about the company culture, the team you’d be working in, and feel free to share your preferred environment. You might get some key information here that will help you decide if the job is right or not.

Honesty from the start is a great approach. You want the interviewing manager to have a feel for the value you could add to the team technically and culturally – so be yourself!

Silence is golden (learning to listen)

Those long pauses don’t have to be awkward. When our nerves are on edge, we can be overly eager to fill any gaps in conversation. This isn’t necessary – if you’ve been asked a question that will have a complex answer, it’s totally reasonable to stop and consider the question deeply. Now, if you’ve done preparation, then there shouldn’t be too many questions where you need to form the answer on the spot. And too many long pauses before answering could appear as unprepared. Just use your judgement and even if you do know the answer to a question, a short moment before talking might help you articulate yourself better.

When an interviewer is setting context or asking a question, our eagerness can also interrupt the flow of the discussion. Try to stay in a ‘listening’ mode – engaged through non-verbal body language like nodding but not finishing the interviewer’s sentences. As you adopt this approach, you’ll find that you’ll gain more information about the role and some insights on how to best answer questions. Hear the full question, and take on board any context you’ve been provided. If you need to, ask for some clarification – there’s nothing wrong with showing a desire to fully grasp what it is you’re being asked.

Acknowledge your nerves internally

Being nervous for a job interview is perfectly normal. In fact it’d be more concerning if you had absolutely no nerves prior to a job interview. Butterflies are a good sign you care about the role you’re applying for. Rather than try to bury the nerves or ignore them (almost impossible), just acknowledge the fact that you’re nervous to yourself and know that this is okay. After making peace with the fact that you are feeling nervous, remember that you’re also prepared, qualified and interested in the role. Those factors will overshadow nerves provided you’ve done the work to establish this all before entering the meeting room.

If you’re applying for a number of roles, you will find that after 2-3 interviews in quick succession the nerves will reduce somewhat, giving you more brain power to focus on the interview itself.

Stay relaxed and fidget-free

As you go through the interview, it can be easy to fidget with pens, paper, our clothing or face (e.g. jewellery). We can also assume body language that appears closed or unwelcoming. In most cases we don’t even know we’re doing it. That’s why it’s important that before the interview you take note of any tendencies (perhaps that run through with a family member can help?) and avoid these. Keep a relaxed but engaged (lean forward) body position, don’t fold your arms (hands open and where they can be seen), and remember to breathe (for obvious reasons).

Unfortunately, while fidgeting and body language might not be deliberate, it may be perceived as rude or disinterested – which will affect your chance at success. All this advice is made easier when implemented together – preparation and dress will help your nerves and ability to relax.

Go easy on yourself!

Too many candidates beat themselves before even stepping foot into the job interview. As long as you’re honest with your abilities and fit for the role, there’s no need to actively find reasons why you might not get the job. Remember, you have got an interview because the employer believes you could be the right person for the role. That alone should give you reason to not doubt or second guess yourself.

Expecting a 100% perfect interview is simply unrealistic. There will always be things you could have done differently, but don’t dwell on these too much. Once you’ve done all the work of preparing for and doing the interview, you should be satisfied that you did everything you could. If you’re unsuccessful, take away learnings and not regrets.

What’s the worst that could happen?

It can be hard, particularly in a competitive market, to maintain perspective when job hunting. We can put a huge amount of importance into nailing a specific interview and it can quickly become all-consuming. But like many things in life, a job interview can be over thought and built up to more than it is.

Ask yourself, what’s the worst that could happen? No matter what happens during the interview, the answer is, in reality, you just don’t get the job. That’s far from a catastrophe, and if you’re applying for multiple roles (which most of us should be), something you will need to accept. Once you take off the huge expectation of needing to be successful, you could find you approach the experience with greater clarity and confidence. Fearing failure will only distract you from the task at hand. As a job seeker, you should be open to learning from both your good interviews and your bad ones. As in sport, we often get more from our losses. So don’t be afraid to fall over – you’re simply learning for next time.

Need more job interview tips?

Absolute IT has a tips and advice section that can help you get prepared for job hunting. If you’re looking to talk to someone about the job opportunities in the market and how you can interview for them, chat to our team.

Absolute IT

March 8, 2021

5 reasons why IT professionals suffer from burnout (plus tips to avoid this yourself)

10 min read

If you or anyone you know hasn’t experienced ‘burnout’ then you could be forgiven for thinking it’s simply being overworked and tired. The reality is a lot more serious. Professionals experiencing burnout will have undergone a particular stress or stressors for an extended time period leading to total exhaustion. While it’s important to note that highly stressed states and burnout aren’t the same thing, nor do they manifest the same, burnout is contributed to by frequent stress. While the stressed professional may be working extra hard to get through everything on their plate, the burnt out professional is beyond ability to do anything anymore – they have nothing left to give.

Being in the state of burnout isn’t just detrimental to your work life, more importantly it can affect family life, personal well being and general motivation to participate in parts of life you previously were involved in. Burnout looks like:

No motivation for work or other parts of life
Loss of hope
Disinterest
Avoiding work or becoming detached with your team
Poor health – physically or mentally
Poor decision making
Loss of perspective
Sleep and diet changes
Getting illness easily
Avoidance or inability to fulfil life responsibilities (like parenting)

Before we get into some of the reasons why someone may burn out, first know this: no job is worth getting to the point of burn out. Yes many jobs, especially senior roles come with their fair share of stress, but even a CEO should not be working to the breaking point. If you are currently experiencing what you believe to be burnout it’s essential you ask for help – reach out to your employer, your family, your friends, and any of the resources available to Kiwis.

Let’s look at some of the reasons why someone may burnout.

1. Work demands are too much and/or unreasonable

Kiwis have a world-famous work ethic; there’s a reason why our expats in London are so employable! However, the hard working, dig deep approach, with all its positives, can spill over into over-working. We as a workforce want to do our absolute best, and generally will give all of ourselves to a role to be successful. While this might have short-term benefits for our career and for our employer’s business, ‘workaholics’ who have the foot to the floor constantly are prime candidates for burnout. A highly motivated, hard working team member can become burnt out and unmotivated.

While many excellent workplaces still have cases of burnout, more commonly burnouts at work are made worse by a work culture or expectations that are not realistic. Poor manager/team member relationships can leave a constant degree of anxiety in the individual. Changing goal posts or consistent overtime expectations can also bring about episodes of burnout. In some situations a company culture is simply frantic and the way work is managed and allocated leads to high staff turnover and stress.

What do you about unrealistic work demands

So it’s best to set clear expectations with an employer on what’s reasonable. If you find you’re misaligned here, then it may be time to look around for something else. Sometimes however, a frank and open conversation can reset things – not just for you but for the whole team. Don’t be afraid to sound the warning on behalf of the team – many employers will be grateful.

2. No work-life balance

Often 1 and 2 combine to cause burnout. If our job demands are such that we’re working every waking hour to get our work done, then naturally our personal lives will suffer. The lack of personal and family time outside of work can be greatly damaging to our happiness and sense of fulfilment. Regardless of whether we’ve got families or not, having time for ourselves is essential. While not at work, we’re recharging and relaxing – we’re focusing on other parts of life that make us happy. This is crucial for our own happiness but it also helps our employer get the best out of us.

For those with dependents, overworking will hurt our personal relationships with those nearest to us. Hobbies and social events – part of what makes us who we are, can fall by the wayside with an overly time-consuming role. This leads to resentment which will almost always impact our performance at work. Prolonged work-only lifestyles are destined for burnout.

What to do about no work-life balance

You need to set very clear boundaries for yourself and your employer. No one should be expected to neglect their own wellbeing or family relationships for work. Expectation setting while daunting, is critical to maintaining a healthy balance. Sometimes Kiwis struggle to use a very simple but effective word – “No”. It’s not as bad as it sounds, and could save you from burnout.

3. We don’t look after our health

It’s not fair to say that stress should be avoided – it can’t be. We all go through work and personal stress during our lives, and these experiences make us stronger provided they are managed correctly and don’t spin out of control. Sometimes burnout can happen from a combination of stress and poor lifestyle decisions that leave us more vulnerable. Professionals who neglect sleep, diet and exercise can find themselves at risk of being adversely affected by stress. Conversely, those who actively manage and invest in their emotional, physical and mental health will build up a healthy level of resilience to stress, making burnout much less likely.

Imagine this: you arrive to work learning that you have 2-3 different projects with urgent fixes required by the end of the week. It’s doable, but not without very careful planning, expectation management and hard work.

If you’ve been getting 3-4 hours sleep a night, burning the candle at both ends and keeping a diet of fast food, what are the chances you’ll be able to do this work in time, to the standard expected? How we live outside of work will always impact us while at work – while some may pull it off during BAU, what happens when the business requires everyone to find another gear? Being healthy mentally and physically gives us that resilience to ride the waves that inevitably come our way.

How to start prioritising health

If you’re living similar to the example above, let’s try tackle one thing at a time. First, start by getting a solid 8 hour sleep each night for a week – you need to reset your sleep patterns into something more compatible with a busy work day. Next, move to a diet that centres around healthy food – you don’t have to go overboard, just reduce how much fast food makes up your weekly intake. With sleep and good food, you can focus on exercise and mental health with much more energy than before. You’ll be amazed at just how manageable work feels with a strong healthy foundation in place. And of course make sure to reward yourself when you can – you’ve earned it!

4. You and Your Own Self Expectation

High performing, Type A personalities can be more susceptible to burnout because of the huge pressure they place upon themselves. In some cases a state of burnout has absolutely nothing to do with the employer or external environment, but rather what the individual expects they should be able to accomplish in their day.

These personalities, without some self awareness and management, may be burning out while producing incredible results at the same time. Are you constantly working yourself harder, squeezing every last bit of effort you have? Do you ever give yourself down time, where you aren’t running to a tight schedule or trying to be productive? If you don’t, be warned, relentless productivity without a break could lead to a long period of recovery.

How to manage stress alongside your own high standards

Give yourself a break – even if that break needs to be worked into your schedule! Treating relaxation with the same rigour as work is a common way the Type A personality ensures they avoid breaking point. And if you go on holiday and just can’t bear the thought of completely unwinding, there’s nothing stopping you bringing some books or podcasts to listen to on the beach to keep that upskilling going!

5. No control or clarity in your work

The amount of working isn’t always the issue. In fact for some the stress and toll that leads to burnout comes from having a lack of autonomy or control at work. An employee can feel like they don’t get to make many if any decisions themselves and thus are left unfulfilled. They may have ideas that don’t get listened to or concerns that aren’t validated.

Sometimes stress and burnout comes from a lack of clarity as to what you’re there to do vs. other team members. It might not have been made 100% clear what you’re accountable for, and in the ambiguity comes conflicts and work outside your job description. Add to this a lack of reward or recognition (made challenging in itself due to no clarity on who does what), and burnout is a real possibility. After all, if you’re doing parts of 5 different jobs as opposed to all parts of one job – so the likelihood for stress is very high.

Getting clarity and control back in your work

Let’s start with clarity. This is much simpler. You need to identify the issue to your management and lay out the disparity that exists between your JD and the typical work day at present. Much like the unrealistic workload conversation, a staff member identifying ambiguity in a role should be met with appreciation, particularly if the problem is found to be widespread. Raise the issues in a respectful but direct way and get agreement on what your role should look like on a day to day basis.

The challenge is that lack of control can be due to different factors – the work culture as a whole, a particular team, a particular manager (e.g. micromanaging) or even something in your own approach to work that means you feel no autonomy. So the important first step is to identify exactly where the issue stems from. If we assume the issue is a manager, then you’ll need to raise this either directly or via an appropriate channel you’re comfortable with. It’s best to start with how this is impacting you, as this frames the conversation in a way that focuses on outcomes rather than blame. If you fail to get traction, it may require escalation. If your experience is of an entire organisation that doesn’t promote autonomy or delegation, the challenge may be larger than it’s worth. In these cases, remember you’re never stuck in any job and in IT, there’s frequently new opportunities coming up.

Avoiding Burnout

Burnout can sneak up on us – we may normalise constant stress and anxiety to the point where we’re almost in denial about an unsustainable situation. As a minimum, we’d encourage everyone to stay mindful about their own stress levels. Reflection on your current role and lifestyle as a whole should be done regularly. Staying in the eye of the storm for too long without stepping back is where many professionals go wrong. Remember, your career is a marathon, not a sprint – we want you to have a long, fulfilling career.

If you are suffering from what you believe is burnout or even high stress – reach out for support, in whatever shape it takes. Isolating ourselves to try and ‘ride it out’ is unlikely to work long term. Talking to others be it management, co-workers, friends, family or professional help starts to share the mental load of stress – you’ll be surprised at just how many people have gone through the same thing.

Set expectations at work and stick to these.
Learn to say no.
Communicate, constantly.
Ask for help.
Take holidays and breaks.
Have out of work focuses both personally and with others.
Avoid making your job ‘all you have’.
Stay healthy to build up your resilience.
Spend time standing back from your career and make sure you’re on the path you want to be on.
Don’t expect 100% performance 100% of the time.
Know that you’re never stuck.

Looking for a career change?

Sometimes we need a change of scenery to avoid burnout or loss of passion for our work. Absolute IT understands that a job is much more than just the work, but the fulfilment and happiness while you’re working. If you’re looking for something different, chat to our team and find out what opportunities might be in the IT market for you.

Absolute IT