Interviewing Is Hell — Let’s Talk About It | Workplace Reddit Stories

Interviewing is hell. It’s awkward, performative, and somehow you’re expected to be the perfect mix of confident, likable, and impressive… all at once.

In this episode, we get into  interview anxiety, getting rejected then called back, and the pressure to say exactly what they want to hear. If you’ve ever left an interview overthinking everything or wondering if you completely blacked out… you’re not alone.

Hit follow for more cozy, chaotic Reddit dives every week.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Are you episodes gonna do that? Because I'm in pajamas.

SPEAKER_03 0:07

And I don't know what we're No, like, can you tell? It's Friday. It's a Friday.

SPEAKER_00 0:16

It's been a long week. It's been a very long week.

SPEAKER_03 0:18

Capitalism economy.

SPEAKER_00 0:20

And it's coming off of a long weekend too.

SPEAKER_04 0:23

You know what? It's because, okay, hot take. Don't give me a long weekend if you're gonna give me the same amount of work the next week. Yeah. You cram in all that work the next week, it's like, what the fuck? What's the point? That's why we look like this. I look like I got ran over.

SPEAKER_01 0:37

I have bags under my eyes, and I'm the one of my biggest fears. This is not on some like anti-aging bullshit, women have to be pretty bullshit. It's just like from a very young age, I watched my oldest sister get eye bags, and I watched my middle sister get eye bags, and this is just like studying for SATs in college. Right. And I remember being like, what the fuck? No. That's when I I literally I I saw them get eye bags and I was like, I can get a B. And I saw I was like, I'm not a straight A is not worth an eye bag. I'm sorry. It's really not.

SPEAKER_04 1:07

I do think they go away. I do think with enough really they were permanent.

SPEAKER_01 1:12

They're bad.

SPEAKER_04 1:13

No, how bad? Can we show me a picture? I'll show you a picture later. You're concerning me, actually. Eye bags, they matter.

SPEAKER_01 1:22

They just really, I feel like, like I was on a call. Was it a f was it a random call? No, I think it was a scheduled call. It was the it was the call you and I had. Okay. And I when I got on that call, I looked at my face and I said, Motherfucker, you can tell I had a day. You can tell I had a day. That's why I'm wearing these little eye patches. I think the best thing you can do for under eye bags is drink water and sleep. But I was like, I look like my sister.

SPEAKER_04 1:49

But you can you can pay five thousand dollars and get those removed.

SPEAKER_01 1:55

Or I can go to sleep.

SPEAKER_04 1:57

But I don't, but you just said they're kind of permanent.

SPEAKER_01 1:59

Once they once they once you get them.

SPEAKER_04 2:01

Sometimes plastic surgery fixes everything.

SPEAKER_01 2:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 2:04

Anyway, huge tangents.

SPEAKER_01 2:07

Not a huge tangent at all. Because you know what gave me, what tried to give me really bad eye bags? Work. Well, yeah, work, obviously. Well, obviously. But like when I was unemployed and I was like in the interview trenches, yeah. Because I would just get so nervous and so anxious before every interview. Like, I would toss and turn online, I would sleep horribly, and it would like it, because like sleep really is the most important. Like, it's like drinking water and sleep are like the two most important things you can do for your mental health, your physical health, your aesthetic health. That's not a thing, is it?

SPEAKER_04 2:35

It is a thing. I kind of think we should coin it. Aesthetic health matters.

SPEAKER_01 2:38

It does. And so that's why I wanted to do an episode on just like interview advice, starting the new job advice, because there's so many things that I feel like I've learned and am still learning, but like I feel we're at the middle point of our careers, right? Like, we're no longer entry level, we're like mid yeah level. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm not I'm not gonna manager anyone, I don't want to manager anyone, but like we're we're mid yeah, yeah. So I feel qualified to speak on this. When I was deeply entrenched in interviews, like having one interview a week, I was sleeping horribly and I looked horrible because I was starting to get eye back. I didn't get them because I refused to let myself be stressed out over a fucking job. Period. But my body was trying so hard to get them.

SPEAKER_00 3:17

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:17

And so I found some stories about like advice around interviews and yada yada yada. This first one comes from our career guidance. They say, anyone have advice, weird interview situation. So I'm in a bit of a weird situation, and I'll try and keep a long story short. About a month ago, I was interviewed for a position I was extremely qualified for. The interview went very well, and the interviewer told me they were very impressed with my background. I was told the next step, and seemingly final step, would be to meet the head of the department and that I would be contacted in a few days. Well, the few days came and went, and ultimately I was told the following week that I wasn't advancing to the next round. I was very confused because all the signals I got were very good. Fast forward two weeks after I was rejected and I receive an email from the interviewer stating that something happened and the position is open still, and they'd like to bring me in for a second interview. I'm still very interested in the opportunity and don't want to miss my chance again. I'm a pretty strong interviewer, but I've never been in a situation like this. What should I do here? Should I be a little more direct slash aggressive in an attempt to secure an offer? Thanks in advance for the feedback. Would love to hear if anyone has had a similar situation and how it went.

SPEAKER_04 4:21

They're saying should they be more aggressive in what? A boundary, saying if I meet with you again, you have to give me the job. Like, I don't understand what it is, what expectation outside of continuing the interview process.

SPEAKER_01 4:36

Yeah. But I think what they're really looking for here is kind of comfort and also like an explanation of what happened when they were rejected and then they are now receiving a follow-up, and what I'm going to say happened and what I know is right. Somebody rescinded their Yes. They gave someone else an offer and that off that person turned it down.

SPEAKER_04 5:00

Right. So you're a second choice. I think there's so much context missing. Like, is OP unemployed? Does O OP want to leave their current position? Did they say in the post? Oh no, I'm not.

SPEAKER_01 5:11

Oh, I'm nodding and agreeing with you because yes, I think that all of that context is missing. And I also think that regardless of what that context is, my my advice to OP would be simple. My advice is a lie. Right. Lie. Lie, lie, lie, lie, lie, and lie. The job is lying to you. They're saying this is gonna be easy. They're saying we're just looking for someone who can wear mini hats. Like, you know, like they're they're lying to you at some point in the process, so you can lie back to them.

SPEAKER_03 5:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:39

And as far as being more direct slash aggressive, I don't think it's about being direct or aggressive, but I think it's about making it clear that like you are interviewing the this is so corny. I hate saying this, but it's true. You're interviewing them as much as they're interviewing you, and once you like uh fully adopt that mindset, I feel like the interviewing process becomes a lot easier.

SPEAKER_04 6:00

Never to take the side of corporate.

SPEAKER_00 6:04

Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_04 6:05

I know, but I don't necessarily think it's a red flag that they're spinning the block. They need to fill the position. I think there's a lot that we don't know. We don't know why the person they offered the position to pulled out. If I had to guess, it wasn't because it was too low of a pay or any red flags, because it doesn't seem like OP had an issue with the company. I think that that person who got the original offer went back, told their employer, and the employer either matched it or they decided to stay. Okay, so now the people who are recruiting still need to fill that vacancy. Corporate is never personal, it's not personal. Fully depends on the scenario that OP is in. If they're in a dire situation and they need a job, continue the interview process. You can say I am in several different talks with several different companies, so I don't have as much bandwidth or the timeline that I was working with two weeks ago. So, what are you expecting from me in terms of next steps? Maybe, maybe there are some bargaining chips in their corner, but I mean, I don't think it's necessarily a red flag. There's a lot of asterisk, asterisk, asterisk how bad do you want it to fully consider spinning the block.

SPEAKER_01 7:24

A hundred percent. And the first commoder does give a a pretty good example of something they experienced in their own life. High tech high KC says was in a similar position back in 2014, interviewed with operations manager, things went really well. Then they called back and said things were not moving forward for me. I was extremely confused. About a month later, I got a call that things were back on track and they would like me to come meet the VP. Ended up working there for two and a half years until I leveraged it into a better role.

SPEAKER_03 7:54

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 7:55

My advice examine the culture there and don't judge the whole company just off of this headache. I've never gotten a job where the hiring and onboarding were even remotely close to smooth. I have had a job where the hiring and onboarding were very smooth. Shout out Javier. It was my one job, not my one um no manager. But it was my first job in video games, and my interview with the recruiter was just talking about Naruto. My next interview with the hiring manager was just him telling me about how he supports the Black Lives Matter movement. Not a black person, no Latino, but I love him. Ally. Ally. And then my group panel was just talking about games, and honestly, I can't even talk that confidently about games. I can talk confidently about games now, but barely. But back then, I just wanted to talk about Naruto, and it was like the chillest panel ever. And then I got an offer, and then we had my onboarding, and my onboarding was playing Jack Jackbox.

SPEAKER_04 8:49

What? Go back.

SPEAKER_01 8:51

They were paying me 60k. I was living here on a 60k. Were you 21? No, I was here. I was moving back here. I got this apartment with that salary. Didn't make sense, but it worked out. I had four jobs.

SPEAKER_04 9:04

Okay. I forgot my train of thought. I think I think that commenter had great advice. You can't fully judge the company based off of an initial hiccup. I think there's a lot more research this person can do. Glass adore it, maybe reach out to somebody on LinkedIn and comment a connection and explore it. An interview is not an offer. You can continue this process, and if a red flag arises, you reassess.

SPEAKER_01 9:28

You can say no.

SPEAKER_04 9:29

You can say no. And I I've said this story before on a podcast that my friend um she got an offer. This is similar, but it's not one-to-one. To your point of yes, you're interviewing, but you're also interviewing the company. She got an offer that was below what she was willing to take, and she said, I'm actually okay. Then two weeks later, that company said, Okay, we'll give you what you were asking for.

SPEAKER_01 9:55

Exactly.

SPEAKER_04 9:56

It's okay to have standards, it's okay to have non-negotiables, it's okay to ask questions. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do.

SPEAKER_01 10:04

Do you know how batshit goofy I was being the last time I was interviewing? Because I was coming from a place where I was just so aggressively unhappy.

SPEAKER_00 10:12

Aww, Sam.

SPEAKER_01 10:14

I knew my options were either move back to Florida and live with my mom, take out a loan and try to start my own company, or demand what I want. And I was interviewing with two different places that I didn't end up moving forward with. But one of the places, I I was just honest with them. Like they were like, Yeah, like we're completely remote right now, but in like a couple years, we'd like to be like two or three times a week two or three times a week in office in Pseudo City. Does that work for you? And I was like, No. Good. I'm interested in this role, but like, what if I can't do that? And they were like, Oh, when would you be able to do it? And I was like, I don't know. They still gave me an offer. What? But I didn't take it because I did know, and the answer was I would never have been okay with going to office. I would have just been lying to them for like four years.

SPEAKER_04 10:58

I I think when somebody really wants you, they will fold. We don't fold.

SPEAKER_01 11:05

And they'll fire you eventually, but they'll fold in the short term. Oh my god. They will fire you eventually. They will follow you eventually. But this next question that comes from are ask women no censor. I love asking other women for advice. You know what's so funny? When I found this story, I was looking around the thread for a bit and I was like, this is all helpful advice. Like, I feel like I just need like my mom's kind of old and I love her very much, but like, how'd your mom catch a stray? She's not catching a stray. I'm just saying that I don't have, I don't have someone who's like who has experienced what I've experienced. My therapist was talking to me about this because we'll we'll circle back to the point. But basically, I was like freaking out early this week about how why am I so stressed? Why am I why am I not sleeping? Yada yada yada, like why is work so stressful? God, I want to win the lotto. And she was like, if you won the lotto, you would give me some money. Of course I'd give you some money. My god. You would do this full time.

SPEAKER_04 11:58

This is on record.

SPEAKER_01 12:00

It is, yes.

SPEAKER_04 12:01

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 12:01

But I was telling her, like, I just feel like I'm not being as competent as I should be, because I'm a very competent person. You are and she goes, Do you have a mentor? And I was like, What do you mean? She's like, like, do your parents have your parents worked in corporate before? Have you? And I was like, No, like, I'm the first person in my family as far as I know to work in corporate. And she was like, Okay. Do you have a former boss or manager that you talk to regularly about what you go through? And I was like, No. And she was like, Okay. So why do you feel incompetent? Because you're figuring everything out on your own.

SPEAKER_04 12:30

And I was like, She did.

SPEAKER_01 12:32

I was like, that's a bar. Hate you up. Yeah, it was a bar. And so I thought this subreddit was very refreshing because it was just nice to see that there's a place where you can go and ask women things. Ironically, um, I'm in the process of finding a mentor, and I was going back and forth on whether I wanted a woman mentor or a male mentor. I want a white man named Jared. That's what I landed on. That is what I landed on. Yeah. Yeah. But, anyways, an R Ask Women No Censor. Uslash dead plant five says, How do you balance competency and warmth in interviews? I'm going to assume this person is a woman, because this is a question that I would also ask. Because you know, you get into an interview and it's like, okay, how nice can I be without seeming incompetent? And how competent can I be without seeming like a bitch?

SPEAKER_04 13:16

So it's so upsetting because you know how that's such a valid real question.

SPEAKER_01 13:21

And it's bullshit. They go on to say, I keep missing out on roles because I, 39 female, apparently come off as highly competent but not warm in interviews. I get that we are expected to be both. I'm gonna cry. But men especially seem to think I'm not warm enough. What have you done for this type of feedback that's worked?

SPEAKER_04 13:39

This is so tough. Especially because I fall on the exact opposite of that spectrum. I'm so warm that I think people think I'm a fucking idiot. But that's okay because I want you to, so you stop giving me work. What the fuck I'm talking about! That's okay. Like, I'm very Gen Z and girly pop because I'm like, no, I'm not gonna girl boss two clothes to the sun. Like, you're actually not gonna give me these deliverables. Like, I can't do it. I'm a girl.

SPEAKER_01 14:06

I'm sorry. You know what's so funny is something I posted recently on our TikTok, someone commented on it and was it was like a it was like things that I say at work, and someone commented on it and goes, These are only things you can do if you're the personality hire. And I was like, Where the f is the personality hire? I want I wanna be the personality higher bad, but I have never been the personality hire.

SPEAKER_04 14:26

That's why that's why I think there might be a little bit of flaw in my logic because I'm like, Well that then why are you giving me work? You know, I'm trying to hee hee ha ha with you, like, bitch. I just want to hee hee ha ha with you.

SPEAKER_01 14:38

They're giving you the work because they know they can give you the work and you'll go hee hee ha ha okay, and you're gonna do it. You see, they're see, you're not coming off as a hee-hee ha ha or a personality higher. Coming off with a pushover, but it's okay.

SPEAKER_04 14:50

Pushover two, I'm the pushover two, I'm it's okay. I I'm I I need I need some real serious help. I do want to say this one thing, it is a pivot about things about TikTok to delete some comments. Why? Because I made a TikTok, you didn't see what I deleted. No, on the don't jump page. Yeah, I laughed because I thought it was funny, but I basically said and I stand by it, like what the fuck? I was like, your your comments getting deleted because this is not the audience that I need, like bad vibes. I made a comment. I was like, I think working in corporate is embarrassing, but at least I feel closer to my ancestors because this feels like slavery is. That's hilarious. I thought that was funny.

SPEAKER_01 15:32

I stand by it.

SPEAKER_04 15:32

Hey, people did not like that.

SPEAKER_01 15:35

Black people didn't like it. They did not like it. I deleted like four comments. I mean, like slavery, slavery is serious. I feel like, yeah, and I'm a minute, and I'm a minute, I'm a minute, but I can speak from experience. This is something I feel low-key strongly about though, because like let's take the Epstein files, for example. Right. You have okay, building to a point. Yeah, you have people making jokes about it daily.

SPEAKER_03 16:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:04

And the daily jokes are not funny because there are women that were systematically abused, and that is not funny. You also have people who are occasionally making a smart comment that is pointing something out. A la Cat Williams at the Kevin Hart roast.

SPEAKER_03 16:20

A la.

SPEAKER_01 16:21

That is funny because it is smart and because it is doing something with its smartness and with its funniness. The just making a fucking meme, TikTok, about the oh I agree. That's not funny. I agree. So I feel like I was giving political commentary.

SPEAKER_04 16:35

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 16:36

Yeah, you were Okay, that I'm a cog in a machine. I support. I'll get canceled with you.

SPEAKER_04 16:40

Okay, thank you. You're welcome. But so yeah, you get to do that, you get to the other, like, no, your ancestors would want to be paid. This is not funny. I wrote emoji. I was like, bitch, go like, come on, it's bigger than a joke. Like, I'm being abused, and you're that's what the point you're missing.

SPEAKER_01 16:55

My ancestors want me to do minimal labor for maximum money because they built this country. Where the fuck is my 40 anchors and a mule? So the the top comment says, I'm always told that I'm very approachable and friendly, despite the fact that I'm actually quite blunt and don't do small talk. I'm just very smiley, I grin, I laugh, I nod, retweet. I honestly think with a lot of men that's all you have to do because they're not actually listening. True. They just want to feel like you're listening and they're fascinating. I know it's kind of different in an interview, but I think similar applies. This that's exactly how I deal with all of my male colleagues.

SPEAKER_04 17:28

Um, I don't really have male colleagues. So I uh I typically I work with the girls and the gays, so that's easier in advertising and marketing. Like really, I I mean I've had higher up interactions like the C-suite, but that's always gonna be limited in like how I have it to present. So yeah, I my last team I had one guy, but the team probably that I had no men. Like, I don't really know. I I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 17:57

I feel like I work with a pretty even mix, but it tends to lean male on the sales side.

SPEAKER_04 18:02

Yes, my sales team they're men, but everybody in sales are that's a that's a makes they're a man. Yeah, yeah. Of like narcissism. Yeah, it makes sense. Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_01 18:16

Um, the next commenter says that's the feedback they gave you. That's so odd. May I ask what industry this is? And OP responds, most recently commercial real estate. So that kind of I guess makes sense in a weird way because OP is getting feedback that like you they want her to be more personable with potential prospects when it comes to real estate. That does make sense.

SPEAKER_04 18:38

Isn't commercial real estate like strip malls?

SPEAKER_01 18:41

That doesn't make sense. That doesn't make sense at all, actually. Yeah, no.

SPEAKER_04 18:46

Like, isn't that what am I wrong?

SPEAKER_01 18:48

You know, you're right. I didn't even I literally just skipped the word commercial.

SPEAKER_04 18:51

It's not like families that you're selling a dream of.

SPEAKER_01 18:55

No, that's just misogyny.

SPEAKER_04 18:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:57

That's just misogyny, but the advice I would give OP if this was a corporate role, smile a wave, nod. Smile a wave, and then give your good answers, but give your good answers with a smile. Okay, questions. Answer.

SPEAKER_04 19:09

Would you rather be a really competent, cold woman or personality higher? And still a woman, but like Do I get to be dumb? I would love to be dumb. But you're actually dumb, Sam. I would really love to be dumb. Is it better to be dumb and not know you're dumb? Or to be dumb and know that you have shortcomings?

SPEAKER_01 19:29

I don't know, because I'm not dumb, but I would love to be dumb because I just feel like I feel like life is more carefree when you're dumb.

SPEAKER_04 19:35

It is, but in corporate, because people are saying this bitch is dumb.

SPEAKER_01 19:39

Then I don't want to know that I'm dumb so that I can just be dumb.

SPEAKER_04 19:41

So they can just be happy and dumb.

SPEAKER_01 19:43

Yeah. Next one comes from our interviews. User fresh bottle of lotion says, interview advice. Yeah, you like that? You horny?

SPEAKER_04 19:53

Today is dark. I don't know what is in the air today.

SPEAKER_01 19:57

Fresh bottle of lotion says interview advice for a very, very nervous person. TLDR, how can someone who's prone to blanking out and getting extremely nervous prepare for an interview in a week?

SPEAKER_04 20:07

Beta blockers, baby.

SPEAKER_01 20:09

Stop pushing drugs on the youth.

SPEAKER_04 20:11

I but beta blockers have changed my life in the course of my professional career.

SPEAKER_01 20:15

I'm very happy for you. I love drugs. Some of us don't have access to a pharmacy.

SPEAKER_04 20:19

Right. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 20:20

Hello. As the title says, I'm a very, very nervous person, especially during interviews. The first job interview I ever had, I had a nervous meltdown and couldn't come up with an impressive or coherent answer. It was obviously ghosted. Now for this new position, two-year internship program, I went through the higher view and just about the same thing happened. Had a near panic attack and couldn't form thoughts or speak coherently for two or three of them, and only gave a decent answer a couple of times. The five questions took me two or three hours and countless minutes of deep breaths and reciting despite practice, albeit inadequate. That's how bad it was. I somehow managed to scrape by and received an invitation for virtual real person interviews, two interviews, 40 minutes each, and I'm so nervous I can't even feel excited for myself. I've only got eight days until then, though I haven't really stressed, it's eight days from now. Like chill out.

SPEAKER_04 21:12

You're saying that I'm pushing drugs, but this lady needs drugs.

SPEAKER_01 21:14

Yeah, I know. I've only got eight days until then, though I have though I really have less time to prepare than that because of my part-time job. Worst thing is I haven't practiced at all since my higher review because I was so convinced I'd failed. I'm worried about the same thing happening again during the real interview. Panicking, blanking out, failing to formulate impressive answers, especially with so little time to prepare. If it was eight hours, I would maybe stress. Yeah, yeah. Would anyone have any advice on overcoming this? Anything is appreciated.

SPEAKER_04 21:45

Drugs. This lady needs drugs.

SPEAKER_01 21:47

I I d I don't agree, but I could agree. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 21:50

If not drugs, if she only has eight days, right, and that's stressing her out, she can microdose her practice. Yeah. Productivity In general, it is best when you dose it. I agree. So figure out whatever that master list of things that you feel like you need to tackle. It's your elevator pitch, your past experiences, what you want from the role, and separate it of what you can tackle realistically each day in the week, um, on your lunch break or at night what you're while you're going to bed. So it doesn't feel like all at once overwhelming. I think eight days is an incredible amount of time.

SPEAKER_01 22:32

I think three days is enough time to prep for an interview. I need three days to if I want the job, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 22:37

If you want the job, you need three days.

SPEAKER_01 22:39

I mean, yes, and it depends. See, okay, so pros and cons. My advice to her would be the same corny shit I said earlier, which is like remember that you're interviewing them too, because that makes me less nervous because it reminds me, like, I have power here, and I also need to like you as much as you need to like me. Because I'm not I'm not gonna take the job if I don't like you. So like I need to interview back. That's A. And then B is like I also am someone who tends to get very, very nervous, and if I have less time, I don't have as much time to get nervous.

SPEAKER_04 23:05

Dude, that's what I'm saying. Yeah, it's better when if you tell me do this now or do it in eight days, I'm gonna say I'm gonna do it now. I actually feel like the outcome is gonna be the same. Like, there is nothing more motivating to me personally than a due date because I'm gonna get it done. But if I know that the due date is eight days from now, that stress, that anxiety, that stretch is way, way, way too long. That is way too long.

SPEAKER_01 23:32

I feel like I'm on a sliding skill. Because if you tell me I have eight days, and again, if I really, really, really want it, I'm gonna do what you said. I'm gonna microdose the productivity. I'm gonna prep my elevator pitch on day one, I'm gonna prep my skill section on day two, I'm gonna prep blah blah blah blah blah on day three. And like days one through six, I'm chilling, I'm just doing a little bit, I'm so chill. Day seven and eight, it's zero, I'm freaking out. I'm I'm realizing I forgot to prep this, I forgot to prep that, I forgot to prep that. But I feel like it all really just comes down to like really knowing yourself enough to give answers that are good enough. Because when you give really good answers to basic ass questions, they can't ask more questions. Because what shakes me personally up the most is when you're in an interview and they're like, Okay, basic question, basic question, give me your elevator pitch, give me a situation that you blah blah blah blah, and then they go, Oh, explain that. And I go, I didn't practice, explain that I'm following the script, and that's when my mind blanks out. But when you practice enough to have like a really good answer, that like the amount of times I've been in an interview and they go, Oh, well, you just already answered my next question with that answer. Good! Yeah, because even though I already answered the question in my answer, if I had given you the chance to ask me whatever question you had planned, even though I answered it, I probably would have freaked out and not been able to answer it.

SPEAKER_04 24:54

It's true. Give me some of the comments. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:56

Redditor Quiet Art9912 says same here. I used to prepare for days, trying to memorize every possible answer, but always blanking out during interviews. What helped me most was shifting away from memorized script-like answers and instead focusing on writing my star stories that I could adapt to different questions. I just memorized which topics each covered and built up some skills to quickly analyze the question and identify the topic. They're saying what I said but better. You said it better. Thank you. I also realized that taking a five-second pause to breathe before answering doesn't look bad. It actually makes you look more confident and thoughtful. An OP respondent said, Thank you, this is very helpful advice. I do want to second the like taking a five-second pause to breathe, and even if you you feel weird taking a five-second pause to breathe, what I would usually do, I'd kiki a little. And this goes back to the last story about like balancing warmth and competency. If I get a question that's like, tell me about a time where a client freaked out on you and you had to save the day, I'm like, clients do love to freak out, don't they? You're so buddy. And while they're laughing, I'm like, what's my fucking answer? Yeah. What's my answer?

SPEAKER_04 26:04

I also have been known to say, Oh wow, that's a good question.

SPEAKER_01 26:09

Thanks. I thought of it myself. I was figuring out what to do.

SPEAKER_04 26:13

Yeah, and yeah, by yourself sometime. I think at the end of the day, nothing is that serious, and you can bullshit your way out of every situation. Hear you, hear you. I will say something that comes with age and just experience surviving corporate, you realize how everything is a shell and nothing is actually real. Samantha made a great point to me earlier. I was showing her this deck that someone sent me that they made on Claude. Visually, it looked really great and it was impressive. But Samantha made a point saying, Yeah, it's a good looking deck, but the person who receives this deck is gonna throw it through AI and say, Synthesize this deck. So it's basically two people cosplaying people using tools and not actually learning anything or doing anything. And I say that to say, Yes, you can be so anxious to do these interviews to perform and be your best self, but nobody in corporate really is. It's all a performance. Nobody actually, I'm sorry, I've never met somebody who actually knows anything. It's either an AI tool or whoever the best showman is. So the way you get over anxiety is knowing there's no point in having anxiety because nothing is real.

SPEAKER_01 27:31

This might be too real, but something I started saying this week, and this only works if you're at a job that you truly like. I do love my current job, but I have had to start saying to myself this week, no one is out to get me. It works. I just say it over and over again. I do say, I do say it like a hundred times a day.

SPEAKER_03 27:48

Are you paranoid?

SPEAKER_01 27:49

Like Yeah. Working in Hollywood, yeah. Working in entertainment as a black woman, yeah. I'm paranoid. I don't know, but no one's out to get me now. And my my brain and my body doesn't know that, so I have to remind myself. So it's helpful, I imagine, for OP to probably say that when they're going to an interview, too. Like, no one's out to get me in this interview, like they're looking to hire someone, and I'm someone that they could hire. They're not out to get me. That's good advice. Yeah. Simone, do you have any final advice to interviewing for our listeners? All 200 of you love you.

SPEAKER_04 28:30

So, my advice to anybody who is interviewing is to really hold on to the firm belief that what is meant to be will be. I really mean that. I mean that too. I like that's the only thing that's keeping me going.

SPEAKER_01 28:42

What are you laughing? I'm dead ass. Remember who you the fuck you are. What did Angela Bassett say?

SPEAKER_04 28:47

What did she say?

SPEAKER_01 28:49

In Black Panther, she said, she said, remember who you are. And then Tedwick Bozeman beat up the monkey boy. No.

SPEAKER_02 28:57

Yeah. What it's meant to be, it will be. Wakanda forever. Is that still corny to do or it's not corny? No, no, it's not corny at all. Walk Honda Forever.

SPEAKER_04 29:10

This has to be over. Cheers! Bye! This was tough.

SPEAKER_01 29:16

Good luck on your interviews. No more Friday recording days for us.