Most of us find interviews challenging. For some of us, our nerves get the better of us and prevent us from making a good impression. If we do not perform as well as we wanted and perhaps receive a number of rejections, this negative experience of interviews creates what is called a negative anchor which makes it highly likely that nerves will again take over at the next interview situation.

In the worst cases this means that people are not able to get a better job and realise more of their potential, not because they lack the capability but simply because they are in the wrong state and cannot control it. They start to think of themselves as no good generally and may avoid interviews completely.

It is not easy to manage this state on our own. It is useful to have an objective outsider to refocus you, remind you what your capabilities really are, and help you approach the interview with a more positive image of yourself. This is what happens in pre-interview coaching.

It will get to the root cause of the problems you have been experiencing and help you to reframe it into something more positive. You will learn about your motivation in going for the job. Coaching will help you to sell yourself by clarifying your abilities and the reasons you want the job. It will cover beforehand any challenging questions that might throw you on the day, and help you to come up with suitable questions to ask about the company and the post.

Often nervous candidates have forgotten that the occasion is as much for you to find out more, as it is for the company to find out about you! This is the time to ask the interviewers questions which will let you know whether or not the job fits in with your overall purpose for your life. Does the company share your values and beliefs? Is it the right environment for you to work in?

The benefits of pre-interview coaching are that you will feel much more positive about the interview situation, and approach it with increased confidence and fewer nerves. You will present yourself in the best possible light, and actually have a competitive advantage, in that you will have prepared much more thoroughly than the other candidates are likely to have done! You may find, like some of my clients, that you actually enjoy the process which was once such an ordeal!

I find that typically I spend about 3 hours with pre-interview clients, in 2 sessions of about 1 and a half hours each, at a cost of about 300 sterling. You will find that you quickly get a return on this investment as you take control of your life and your career, and find a job which is fulfilling both personally and financially.

Andy Britnell

Andy Britnell has worked as a professional musician, a cheesemonger and in hotels, including Claridges and the Savoy in London. He spent 15 years with BT, latterly designing and delivering international management, sales and graduate development programmes. He now lives in Cornwall, UK, where as well as enjoying the surf and the coastal footpath, he runs a training and coaching practice specialising in sales, customer service and personal development training for the private and public sectors. He is an accredited coach and trainer of the Insights Discovery System which is a model based on the pioneering personality profiling work of Carl Jung. Using colour as a common language for better understanding of self and others, it helps people operate and communicate more effectively. Andy gains great satisfaction from helping his clients to grow and learn, and from the rapid progress they make in their business and personal lives. He works constantly on his own development and practises Ki Aikido, the ancient Japanese art of working with energy.