Extreme anxiety before interviews leading to loss of sleep

New
iLjE34

New

iLjE34
Feb 28 12 Comments

I did my first 3 onsite interviews with either zero sleep or 1-2 hours of sleep. Because of the extreme anxiety and loss of sleep leading to a miserable existence I decided to stop and accept an offer despite 3 more onsites in the pipeline. Had all the symptoms of anxiety. Racing thoughts, body twitches, etc.

Never had this in college for exams. My world revolved around LC and studying for interviews for 4 months. I ended up studying things I already knew over and over again. I didn't know when to stop and chill out.

My interviews ended up being way easier than I initially thought too. Got offers at 2/3 places while looking like a zombie over webcam for the interview. Feel like I damaged my mental health for no reason at this point.

Anyone else out there like this? I'm seriously worried about the next time I'm searching for a job that these symptoms of anxiety come back..

#mentalhealth

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  • Plaid / Eng
    DejR41

    Go to company page Plaid Eng

    PRE
    Amazon
     DejR41
    Exposure therapy: just keep interviewing even when you don’t want a new job
    Feb 28 1
    • New
      iLjE34

      New

      iLjE34
      OP
      Been thinking about this too. I guess this would be good too to keep testing my value.
      Feb 28
  • I find that I experience some level of anxiety every 2-5 years that I begin to look for a new job. It’s an activity that determines quite a bit of your life - your income which pays for well… your life so of course it naturally comes with quite a bit of stress.

    Interviewing (and being an interviewer) is a skill that takes time and practice to develop. It’s difficult to stay sharp on this skill (unless your often jumping jobs which has more cons than pros in my opinion). So naturally some nerves are going to come back each time. Some things that help manage the anxiety/stress are:

    1. I have 6 months savings saved up for unexpected layoff or taking longer than expected to find a job etc. remove some of the urgency.

    2. I try to remind myself and enlist someone to talk to (close friend/loved one) to help me reflect the reality: not everyone is going to hire you, and your not going to want to work at every place, it’s a process and rejection goes both ways.

    3. Take failures/missed opportunities as instances where I can learn more and improve. I often find that I usually just assume my first interview will go terribly (I’m out of practice, not sure what to expect etc) but by the time I reach the 3rd-4th interview I am pretty polished as I’ve been back in the game and realized where I needed to brush up on.

    4. Realize your in this industry for a reason. Not everyone can make it here. You obviously have and will again. Believe in yourself and trust you have what it takes.

    You’ll be fine. Congrats on the new adventure!
    Feb 28 0
  • Amazon
    dick🇺🇦

    Go to company page Amazon

    dick🇺🇦
    It might also be due to increased uncertainty in the past two years. Try to take care of yourself. It might be a good time to ask a professional for help so that you can cope better next time.
    Feb 28 0
  • New / Eng
    mpmkloc

    New Eng

     mpmkloc
    Funny, I sleep like a baby before the interviews, but can't sleep for shit afterwards until I get the result. Just keep running the scenarios through my head.
    Feb 28 0
  • Dialpad
    pvTR28

    Go to company page Dialpad

    pvTR28
    Try giving this a read: https://anvikabharadwaj.medium.com/life-beyond-rejections-3f853d7b07c8

    It is not your exact situation but I feel the tools could be helpful.
    Feb 28 0