Mental preparation is not just for gametime.
It’s time to dust off all those strategies you used to get hyped up for game time. At a job interview you are given the opportunity to perform your best on the spot while in direct competition with other candidates. As a former professional athlete, you hold one strategic advantage over the rest of the competition, as you have had a lifelong commitment to mentally preparing yourself to deliver your best performance when it counts.
Perhaps the most intimidating aspect of the job interview is the uncertainty of the outcome. While you cannot completely control the outcome of your interview, you can certainly influence it in your favor by cultivating a positive mindset.
Prime with Power is a mental preparation technique shown to enhance performance outcome results in a variety of settings, including the interview. To put it simply, you are more likely to think the way you want to think when you can remember the last time you thought that way. Can you remember that sense of unbeatable confidence, pure excitement, and an unrelenting desire to introduce your opponent to your preparation in the final minutes prior to kickoff? If so, you’ve just used the Prime with Power technique.
This technique simply requires that you can recall a time in your life when you felt in charge and powerful. Studies have shown that when we feel powerful, we are more persuasive, less susceptible to the influence of others, and better able to express ourselves in interactions with others. As a former professional athlete, the ability to prime with power will come naturally.
There is, of course, a potential drawback to this technique. As the saying goes, “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” For example, you may also recall a sense of invincibility leading up to game time. Although well suited for any high contact sport, invincibility does not directly translate to success in an interview. Rather invincibility can be interpreted as overconfidence and may also lead you to disclose unsolicited information in an interview setting. Thus, it is of upmost importance to prime with power and a purpose. Keep in mind the qualities hiring managers look for in a candidate when hiring as you prepare for the interview.
Given the demonstrated upside and potential drawbacks to this technique, your task is to develop a priming strategy that will elicit the appropriate dose of power before your next interview. Consult your AthLife advisor to tailor your priming plan towards the specific needs of your employer.