Alan freezes at interview. Despite being perfectly capable of handling stress in his job, the moment he walks into an interview his mind goes blank. He talks rubbish and invariably gets the kind of feedback that only reinforces his depression: “You didn’t seem able to think on your feet.”
He has reached the point where another failure might so undermine him that he gives up and the service will lose an able and effective senior officer. “It’s not just because someone else gets the job,” he says. “I could cope with that. It’s because I know the interviewers are not seeing the real me.”
Admittedly, walking cold into a roomful of elected members, making a presentation, answering questions and going out again (all in 20 minutes) provides little scope for demonstrating anything except the capacity to cope with the unusual.
By now, though, Alan knows to expect that kind of approach and prepares accordingly. But even a more relaxed style does not necessarily help. In one very informal setting he was asked to identify key positive aspects of legislation in the past 10 years. “I couldn’t even remember LMS or the national curriculum,” he says.
The comparison with the actor who “dries” is obvious. So is the nervousness before a performance. For Alan every interview is a first night. He knows his lines, has rehearsed the part but still fears the audience might boo.
While stress tolerance and the capacity to think clearly under pressure is a necessary quality for any senior post candidate, the interview is a notoriously poor way of measuring it. Psychometric testing, the kind of group or in-tray exercises favoured by the National Education Assessment Centre or the in-depth one-to-one structured discussion are much better arbiters and are gradually being adopted by appointing bodies.
Meanwhile, it is no help to Alan to know that his is a common affliction or that many highly successful people have suffered from it. What he needs are constructive strategies for getting to the point where he stops being “the candidate” and becomes himself.
Some of these might come from the nervous actor, for example relaxation and breathing exercises before “going on”; running over some key “lines”; focusing on the “applause” at the end.
Once “on stage”, the actor analogy fades. In Alan’s case he has only a vague idea what the other performers are going to say or what direction the “play” will take. He has to be ready to improvise and that means gaining some degree of control.
Obviously preparation is important - thinking through the likely topics and one or more responses to them. But careful listening so as to be clear about the question and create time for the considered answer is also essential.
Attention to posture and to not becoming physically rigid or tense will help. So will focusing attention on individuals, particularly any who appear sympathetic or supportive: it is always encouraging to see someone nodding agreement to anything you say.
Having the courage to stop and admit “I don’t think I’m saying what I mean here,” or returning to an earlier question to make an additional point can be important confidence boosters. They also enable the interviewers to relax, knowing the candidate is taking charge.
Alan, of course, knows all this and is determined that “next time” everything will be different. “Even if someone else then gets the job,” he says,“at least I’ll know it wasn’t my fault.”
Mike Fielding is principal of the Community College, Chulmleigh, North Devon
