"How To Make Job Interviews Less

Draining As An Introvert "

Alan Caniol

It turns out, there's a GOOD reason why introverts like us find job interviews (and parties) so exhausting — one that has a sound scientific basis.

Do you want to know what it is?

Well, as you know (if you've been reading my emails for a while), because of the way our brains are wired, we introverts are more sensitive to stimulation.

And we're particularly sensitive to novelty.

This is why we tend to find parties, networking events, and, especially, job interviews so exhausting. Because we're in a novel environment, where almost everything around us looks new, sounds new, and feels new. And, we absorb it all at a "turned-up volume" compared to our extroverted peers.

And so it follows...

If you want to feel less drained, less overwhelmed, less exhausted at the next job interview you attend, the best way is to reduce the novelty factor.

How?

There are several things you can do:

First, if you can, spend some time in the building where the interview will take place. Make it feel like a familiar place.

Second, use Google, LinkedIn, or even Facebook to "scope out" your interviewers ahead of time. Find out what they look like. Try to find videos or audio recordings, so you know how they sound. Learn about them.

Finally — and this is the most powerful one — practice: use virtual interview simulator software to practice answering the most common interview questions under time pressure. And keep practicing until you are comfortable.

These three things will take most of the novelty away.

When you walk into your next interview, the place will feel familiar and comfortable, the interviewers will feel familiar and comfortable, and even the questions they ask you will feel familiar and comfortable.

You can relax