Scared

I recently applied for my dream job and to my disbelief I got an interview but I'm scared to death to go and will probably end up canceling the interview just because I'm scared. I do well with people in general social situations but anytime I think I may be judged or criticized especially face to face I fall apart. The interview is still 10 days away and I'm already so nervous I'm puking my guts up, I can't sleep, or think about anything other than how stupid I'm going to look to those people. The job pays extremely well though almost 40, 000 / year and its a job i have wanted all of my life and what i went to college for. I hate myself for being this way. I want my life to change I just don't know how to make it change. I have been a loner all of my life. I never socialized in school, never went to proms, I've never even been on a date before. I even had to finish college by taking classes online because I couldn't stand to be around the people any longer but even through all of this my family really doesn't have a clue about my problem. I hide it so well to them I act confident but inside I feel like I'm dying.

I'm 26 years old and really need to pull my life together I just don't know how. I want to go to the interview so bad and at least prove to myself that i can make it through it alive but if im this tore up now how will i be on the day of the interview?

I dont even have my drivers license ...

My life is such a screw up I have such good potential but im lowered down so much by my anxiety that i just can't reach any of my goals. My IQ is very high almost genius level but im too scared to do anything.

Has anyone else here had problems getting themselves to go to an interview? How did you overcome it? When i applied to the job I didnt even think I would get an interview and I was ok with it at first when i did until they told me I would have to do a presentation for them and thats when it just fell apart for me.. *sigh* I really hate myself.

Well i had to do an interview for work placement for my degree; i was nervous about it too. On the day of the interview i got lost and was 20mins late... however the interviewer wasn't bothered and it went very well and just like everything - it's not as bad as we think it's gonna be. Just go for it, it'll be fine. :wink:

If you have 10 days until the interview, think up answers/responses to the following:

1. "Tell me/us a little about yourself"

2. "How long have you been interested in ....." whatever job you're doing. If it's your dream job I assume you've wanted it for a long time.

They will, of course, ask you more questions, but usually they ask you some variant of the two above, especially the first. And they're probably going to ask you that early in the interview, so you can make a better first impression by having a good answer. You might be nervous as hell but at least you'll be prepared to give a good response early on.

Also, locate the good shoes you're going to wear and polish them NOW and then don't wear them again until the interview. I don't know about you, but I can't seem to polish shoes without having stains all over my hands for the next 3 days. If you wait until too close to the interview this might happen to you too.

Good luck.

I have been terrified of interviews myself... and the fact that you say your parents dont have a clue totally hits home as well... i am 3 years younger than you are and i too dont have a driver's license cos i am afraid i'll hit someone's car and they'll rattle the remaining bit of confidence i have left in me... i tremble inside more than a little kid whose just been rescued from the ocean but outside me is a solid brick person everyone thinks is quite normal though too desperate and hungry to be perfect... [/i]

interviews scare the shit out of me. i think they are unnerving even for "normies" (normal people). this is a good quote, the one in my sig:

"Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieive greatly."
-Robert F. Kennedy

so, if you go there is a chance you will fail. if you don't go you will fail 100% for sure. just suck it up. do it. go. now is your chance to take a step in the right direction. if it doesn't work out- whatever. at least you will have the satisfaction of knowing you at least tried and you will be more prepared for the next time around. and- you do have a good chance at landing the position. best of luck.

Good advice dottie! I was also in this similiar situation where I applied for a job and was surprised that they asked me for an interview. I was soooooo nervous and not only because it´s normal to be nervous but also because I had to take the train by myself into the big city and do the interview partially in another language. I was crappin´ my pants but I did it! I felt so proud of myself afterwards. I just kept telling myself to think positive and that I have control over the fear and not to let the fear have control over me. Coder, this is your chance! Your dream job! If you don´t go for it you will only regret it. Think of how good you will feel afterwards. Think of how proud and happy you´ll feel about yourself. You must think positive and replace the fear and bad thoughts with only good thoughts. I have faith in you. Make us all proud - it will give us all hope

I really want to go I just really dont know if i can or not. I've been crying my eyes out over this for the past few days. Im so scared! I just dont know what I should do.. part of me just wants to cancel the interview and try again later when im a little more comfortable and work on getting my drivers license first. Also a big part of it is I just lost a 10 year friendship with someone. I found out our friendship had been nothing but lies. Im so depressed right now I can't even hardly think. So you can imagine just how low my self confidence is right now and how hard it is to prepare the huge presentation I'm supposed to give.

I´m sorry about your lost friendship. I understand how depressed and scared you must feel. It´s sad and frustrating when good people with good intentions have bad things happen to them and trust goes out the window. We cannot control what other people do or how they think. We only have control over our own thoughts and choices. If you choose to be beaten by your fears and doubts than you have to accept and live with the consequences. I have found that negative thinking people attract negative things to happen to them and that positive thinking people have more good things happen to them. I know it sounds simple and cliché but I believe it´s true. I used to think only bad things about myself and I used to think that people were always thinking bad things about me. But then I realized that I couldn´t possibly really know what other people were thinking - no one can read minds and why would these people be thinking about me anyway, they don´t know who I am and they don´t care about me. I also realized that the terrible thoughts I had about myself weren´t at all true and I would never think such thoughts about someone who I cared about and loved so why was I being so cruel to myself? Coder, if you go to this interview trust me, you´ll feel like a huge weight is being lifted from your shoulders and you deserve to be free and happy - everyone does!

I like what Dottie and Blueberry said.
My advice: plan ahead. Think of what they will ask and plan your answers. Get your clothes all ready. Do something that is usually relaxing beforehand. Tell yourself every moment that you will get this job, starting NOW.
This is your dream job, so that's a benefit for you. People want dedicated workers. Also, think of skills that they would want in someone doing this job and make them apply to you. TELL them how you fit their hopes for an employee. If you think badly of yourself, you won't be able to do that, so start thinking positive NOW.
I'm very curious. What is this job?