Today I want to share with you some tips on making the impression that you want and calming those pre-interview nerves. Some of these things you may have heard before, but this is an opportunity to stay open minded and take away information that you can apply to any situation in which you need to present your best, authentic self.


Kate Jurd
Learning Design Technologist
Toowoomba Hospital

Preparing the mind for the interview to ensure calmness, full attention and confidence on the day!

These are the qualities of mind to embody in an interview
The goal is to give panel members full attention and focus on their questions

I am going to share the tools that will assist you in the your mental practice.

Being able to utilise these mind practice tools, will not only help you in preparation for interviews, but can be used for any situation that causes anxieity and stress.

These techniques are backed by robust research, and relate to studies where they show the changes that occur in the brain after regular practice.

Mental practices can enhance confidence, self efficacy and prime your brain for success.

When you are nervous your breathing becomes short and shallow. You tend to breathe through your chest rather than stomach.

Chest breathing triggers the mind’s fight or flight system, which warns the mind that there must be an external stressor or nearby danger. Overall, our natural disposition for chest breathing unsteadies our mind and stresses our body.

Breathing slow and deep:
- Slows your heart rate
- Brings the nervous system back into balance
- The mind becomes more focused.

When in any situation where you regulate your breathing through conscious breaths, you tend to stay or return to a calm relaxed state. This subsequently alerts the parasympathetic nervous system which then regulates your body processes accordingly (regulate heart rate, decreases blood pressure & relaxes muscles). This has a positive impact on our health by keeping our stress hormones in check and quieting busy minds.

Research studies have shown, that there is less mind wandering and distractibility among those who have a daily mindfulness practice. These people showed better concentration.

Studies have shown that those who meditate are less reactive to stressful situations and that the area in the brain that triggers the fight or flight responses, the amygdala, is less likely to interpret inputs as threats. This will help you to react less strongly to minor conflicts with patients or their families, as well as work colleagues. Being able to calmly discuss issues will also have a calming affect on those you are dealing with.

Those who practice mindfulness show a stronger working memory - practicing focusing on the present moment, ie focusing on the breath or body senses (body scan) and continually bringing the attention back forms a habit that will translate into everyday instances, thus improving in the moment thought processes. This means more clarity with patient diagnosis and management..

Research studies have shown, that there is less mind wandering and distractibility among those who have a daily mindfulness practice. These people showed better concentration.

Studies have shown that those who meditate are less reactive to stressful situations and that the area in the brain that triggers the fight or flight responses, the amygdala, is less likely to interpret inputs as threats. This will help you to react less strongly to minor conflicts and being able to calmly discuss issues will also have a calming affect on those you are dealing with.

Those who practice mindfulness show a stronger working memory - practicing focusing on the present moment, ie focusing on the breath or body senses (body scan) and continually bringing the attention back forms a habit that will translate into everyday instances, thus improving in the moment thought processes. This means more clarity with your interactions and more easily you are able to explain and communicate your thoughts.

Research studies have shown, that there is less mind wandering and distractibility among those who have a daily mindfulness practice. These people showed better concentration.

Studies have shown that those who meditate are less reactive to stressful situations and that the area in the brain that triggers the fight or flight responses, the amygdala, is less likely to interpret inputs as threats. This will help you to react less strongly to minor conflicts with patients or their families, as well as work colleagues. Being able to calmly discuss issues will also have a calming affect on those you are dealing with.

Those who practice mindfulness show a stronger working memory - practicing focusing on the present moment, ie focusing on the breath or body senses (body scan) and continually bringing the attention back forms a habit that will translate into everyday instances, thus improving in the moment thought processes. This means more clarity with patient diagnosis and management..

Deep breathing is the quickest and most effective way to get your body to relax

It needs to be a deep inhale from the belly and as you exhale expand the belly.

The biggest tip I can give you is a super simple breathing exercise is breath in for 4-5 counts and breath out for longer. (with practice extend the counts)

Box breathing is another breathing technique that helps you concentrate on the breath - assists keeping you in the present moment:

Sitting up straight, feet flat on the floor, hands resting gently on your lap
Take a deep breath (from the bottom of your stomach) count slowly to five
hold for five
breathe out to the count of five
hold for five

Repeat 3 - 5 times.
Concentrate on the breathe going in and out of you body. If you mind wanders, gently bring your attention back to the breath.

Why does visualization work? In a nutshell, visualized events, if vivid and empowered with emotion, stimulate your nervous and muscular systems in the same way as experiencing the event in real time. Many studies have proven this, and elite athletes around the world have been using the techniques for years

Visualise the interview day – visualise yourself confidently getting ready, driving to the hospital, walking into the reception area, greeting the receptionist, smiling, waiting calmly, see yourself being asked into the meeting room and being introduced to the panel members, shaking their hands (feel the strength in your shake) have some questions that you feel you will be asked and rehearse the answers in your mind.

Visualise the pleased looks on their faces, nodding and smiling while you explain the details. Visualise the feeling at the end, when they congratulate you on your experience and skills. Feel the positiveness in the room, the admiration from panel members as you say goodbye and leave the room. Visualise your own reaction to how confident you were and how well you answered the questions, smile as you leave the room and warmly say goodbye to the receptionist. After leaving the building, do a little skip to acknowledge the good feeling on a job well done.

Think about your skills, your interests and what you can offer the organization or department
Write down examples of interactions or work activities where you felt you excelled or where a patient acknowledged and appreciated your care & kindness.

Other examples of team work where you made a contribution to patient management
Or times when your consultant positively acknowledged the work your were doing, think about how they described your skills and qualities as a doctor

As you write each thing down visualize the event, the setting, the look of gratitude from your patient or team member, how you felt, think of the feelings you had in those moments - the more you practice the more clarity you will get with the images, sensations and feelings.

This will assist in relaying the events on the day as you will have clear practiced images - memory recall will be sharper.

Acknowledging your accomplishments this way and visualising the scene, and how you felt is also powerful tool for self growth.

Practice in front of the mirror or ask a friend, partner to ask the questions.

Look like you have taken care with your appearance

Turn off your phone
Have copies of your documents, CV, 100 point ID
Pen and paper to write on
Life savers: Tissues, cough lollies.

You want to be able to feel comfortable that - no matter what happens - you set yourself up to succeed. It may seem obvious, but there is nothing that will throw your confidence more or distract you more if your phone goes off in the middle of the interview and everyone has to endure the Game of Thrones theme song for 5 - 10 seconds (or whatever you have as your ringtone). Also, think about whether you're prone to the odd hayfever attack, does your coffee breath linger longer than most? Keep things like tissues, mints on your person in case you need them.

Be there early
Smile
Rapport with the receptionist
Remember to breathe

Breathe in through your nose (x4) Breath out (x4) Repeat 3 times – this will slow down your heart rate
The breathing exercise will help you slow down your talking and stop you from speaking too fast.

A survey of 273 managers found that interviewers take on average less then 7 minutes to decide if a candidate is right for the role

Yes, the basic premise of an interview is to make a good first impression to your would-be employer. But if you reframe this slightly, it's also the culmination of all your hard work and dedication. There is a reason you chose this career, try to remember that reason and bring it to the forefront of your mind before and during the interview. When you're clear about your 'why' it's so much easier to be authentic and will even put the interviewer at ease as well.

These specific attributes (1 - 6). that interviewers are looking for have corresponding behaviours.

I would recommend getting 'method' with this. If you have a few hours in your day prior to the interview, hold yourself as if the interview has already begun. Act as though you want to give the best impression of yourself through even the smallest of interations. Grabbing a coffee? Try to charm the barista. Chatting with your partner over breakfast? Listen intently to their every word. Someone cut you off in traffic? Pretend that person is your interviewer and responde with the rational, level-headedness that you would if already sitting in that interview room. Getting 'method' like this means that once you actually do get into the interview, your behaviour will feel a lot more normal, natural and familiar. This will definately give a good first impression

These are some of the thoughts that your interviewer will be having. You need to be adequately prepared to answer any questions that they may have around these areas. This is where sufficient preparation comes into play. It is worth dedicating time to researching the hospital that you are interviewing at. Also, download a standard interview template and run through the questions on that so that you can practice your responses. The aim isn't to replicate your responses verbatim, it's to get you familiar enough with the question so that your response is natural, considered and true to who you are. Confidence is simply preparedness meeting authenticity and a belief in oneself.

On a final note..remember to smile

Smiling actually tricks the part of your brain associated with generating feelings of happiness, calmness and joy into producing those chemicals. Even if you feel like you are 100% faking it - it doesn't matter, you'll still get the same chemicals coursing through your body after doing this for about 1 - 2 minutes. Contrary to certain beliefs, it is a positive affect that will allow you to perform your best. Even if 'smiling' isn't your thing - harness it for the performance-enhancing effects that it has.

Kate Jurd
Principal Medical Education Officer, Toowoomba Hospital
eLearning Specialist, UQ Rural Clinical School