Losing sleep/focus because of interviews

Question

I have some interviews coming up in the following weeks that I don't want to mess up since they are places I want to work at. So I keep losing sleep and cannot do anything productive before the interviews. Do you guys have any suggestions to help with my situation?

Update: I forgot to enable notification from the app so I didn't see many of the heart warming messages from you guys/gals. I really appreciate all your support and I have been doing some workout recently and it helped a lot of getting interview stress off my mind! I also tried to spend some relaxing time with my wife and she has comforted me as well.

I gave a virtual onsite interview today and I think it went reasonably well. I really want to thank each and every one of member of this community for the help!

I wish all the advice given here can help other people going through the same thing as me.

Now, fingers crossed for the interview result 🤞

undertone · Accepted Answer

It's not the end of the world if you don't get them, don't be attached to outcomes.

Get a good night's rest, maybe even watch a movie. Eat a nice breakfast, do your best in the interview. Leave it at that. Anxiety will just hold you back.

pepethefrog · Answer

I don't have an immediate solution, but you can try meditation to deal with anxiety like this. Will take about 6 months to see a difference though.

19g616l0o6df1s · Answer

For the short term, it's not the end of the world if you don't get the job. I personally butchered the first interview I did at the company I now work at. Hiring can be notoriously arbitrary so even if in an ideal world you did how you consider ideal in the interview, and even if they thought that was sufficient, there are still 1000 reasons you might not get the job (hiring freezes, attrition, etc. happen all the time). At the end of the day you have less control over the situation than you think, so I support the suggestion someone else made here of not getting attached to outcomes.

In the long term, no medications, self-care, or on line forums are a substitute for therapy when it comes to anxiety or any other mental distress. I used to have these exact same symptoms a few years ago before starting therapy, but after finding the right therapist, therapy alleviated this and so many other symptoms that I didn't even realize I was having. The change it's had for me is invaluable on a strictly personal level. Even from a strictly financial perspective, devoting 1 hour a week in therapy order to save potentially 8+ hours of stress per week (or in your case maybe much more?) is a no brainer and can allow you to focus on what you enjoy most, even if that means just having more time to focus at work. I think more people in our field need to take it seriously for our personal and financial benefit.

BrooklynBroke · Answer

Here are my thoughts.1. Don't put so much pressure on yourself. Focus less on outcome, but more on the journey.2. Applying to job is a process and realize that it takes time to land an offer.3. Watch mindfulness videos and practice deep breathing4. Ask yourself why you are putting pressure on yourself5. You may want to work at X company, but the reality comes down to who is your manager and who is on your team. If your manager asks you to do things, you have no idea of what do-- working at company may be fun.6. Have hobbies outside of work. E.g.Hiking, dating, sports team, or building stuff with your hands.

Mikasha · Answer

I can definitely relate as I went through the interview process recently. As many folks already called out, you need to find a way to address the anxiety you’re having. That can be seeking a therapist or a hobby which you can use to decompress from interviews. It’s important you show up to interviews rested and with a calm state of mind because you’re more likely to make mistakes if you’re extremely anxious. Interviewing can lead to burnout so make sure to do something you enjoy and don’t be so hard on yourself if things don’t go your way. Remember it’s a marathon not a sprint!

Losing sleep/focus because of interviews

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