You’re Not Nervous, You’re Excited!

Do you have the pre-interview jitters? Good. Don’t fight them; embrace them. Stop saying you’re nervous, and start saying you’re excited. Turn that nervousness into a strength by guiding it into excitement!

Whether you are feeling anxious or excited about something, your body responds the same way: heart beating so fast it feels like it’s going to pop out of your chest, constant restlessness, sweaty palms, and elevated adrenaline. We’ve all been there, it’s up to your mind to interpret those body signals with a positive spin.

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According to a study conducted by Harvard Business School, saying that you’re excited instead of nervous has been shown to make people less anxious, more optimistic, and perform better.

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“The way we verbalize and think about our feelings helps to construct the way we actually feel,” says Allison Wood Brooks, Harvard Business School.  “Saying ‘I am excited’ represents a simple, minimal intervention that can be used quickly and easily to prime an opportunity mind-set and improve performance.”

And why not be excited for a potential great job opportunity? Adam Reese, a Lead on Insight Global’s Talent Acquisition team, likes to remind his candidates that no one knows why you would be a fit for the job you are interviewing for better than YOU. “Interviews are for you to sell everything you bring to the table as a candidate,” he says. “Personally, professionally, academically, organizationally—all of it has shaped you in one way or another to make you the quality candidate that you are!”

Adam has also seen firsthand how putting a positive spin on nervous energy has improved the quality of interviewing for candidates pursuing opportunities. “Look at your anxiousness as eagerness. Turn that nervous energy into positive adrenaline,” he says. “You chose to interview with the company, and they want to hear that passion behind why that company is exactly what you want out of a career!”

Looking for a new opportunity to get excited about? Learn more about Insight Global’s in-house teams or apply directly for a sales, recruiting, or operations role nationwide here. Insight Global also has thousands of open positions across various fields including information technology, engineering, accounting, finance, healthcare, and more on our job board.