Think Like an Athlete to Recover From a Bad Interview

The day starts out great. You have prepared for this moment, practicing your answers as if your life depended on it. Your outfit is perfect. Smiling at everyone you meet, you are gracious and relaxed.

You know you’ve got this interview nailed.

Then, out of the blue, the hiring manager asks a question that you should have been prepared for. In fact, you were prepared for it but for some reason your tongue got twisted in your mouth and you stumbled. Big Time.

It was like a slow-motion train-wreck happening as the wrong words came out into a mish-mash of an answer.

Not one of your finer moments.

To your credit, you recovered and kept going with the next question, yet it was a bit too late.

You could sense it – even see it – in the hiring managers’ eyes.

Game over.

How many of us have made a mistake during an interview, blowing the answer to a question that we should have answered correctly?

It happens. What we need to remember is not to wallow in defeat. We need to have a very short memory when it comes to our interview mistakes. We need to pick ourselves up, brush ourselves off and get back in the game.

Take a lesson from athletes. They have to get up and get back in the game literally seconds after making a potentially game-changing mistake, with large crowds of people watching their every move.

My nephew is learning how to master this skill, which will serve him well in the future.

In his first college football game he faced almost every obstacle possible, from wind, to losing his deep snapper (the guy who holds the football while nephew kicks), to penalties that forced him to attempt a field goal from a distance that many pros won’t make.
The style of kicking that his high school coach loved is different from what the college coach wants. His first two kick-off attempts failed, yet by number three he found his groove.

My nephew showed determination and a commitment to succeed. He let his short-term memory take over during those moments, forgetting his mistakes so he could focus on succeeding the next time he was on the field.

Next time you have an interview that doesn’t go as planned, think like an athlete.  Learn from your mistake, engage your short term memory so you don’t wallow in pity, and move on to success next time.