Good News: This Most Common Interview Mistake Is Easy To Fix

By Shea Ki

​I have been involved in more than 10,000 interviews.
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​In my many years developing employment programs and managing several workforce centers, almost every day interviews were happening all around me. I also helped coordinate and support hiring interviews in many industries from entry level to executive and worked with new start-ups learning how to make their message of value resonate. 

As I moved up successfully in my field as a career development specialist and hiring manager, I started seeing patterns of mistakes and reasons why people were missing out on opportunities. It became crystal clear to me that the systems everyone was interviewing in are heavily bias, often broken, and mostly outdated. The obstacles prevent way too many amazing, qualified, and talented people, especially women, from moving forward and doing work that lights them up.

These experiences ignited a passion in me to develop holistic tools that provide much needed advantages in the inequitable world of work. I realized that my college degree in Communication and Masters in Counseling combined with years of training in stress reduction methods for the mind, body, and spirit could be used to help women achieve more interview success. This led to my creation of the Upgrade My Interview™ method.

We often hear that "insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result".

It is true, old ways won't open new doors. ​

To access the professional opportunities we deeply desire to be in, it takes learning a different approach. This two part blog series will explore several of the principles that help my clients take steps towards interview success.

If your mind is open to using holistic tools to upgrade your interview skills, you will gain a lot of benefit from what I share here. As I often tell clients and participants in my online classes and other events, embracing "woo-woo" for more win-wins opens up limitless possibilities so you can shine in the hot seat every time. ​​

Why is that interviews cause so much stress?

Here is a small list of challenges that I often hear from others about interviews before we start working together:
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They say I need more experience.

They think I have TOO much experience or that I am overqualified.

It is likely they are not preferring someone my age.

I haven't had to interview in a long time.

I've never been to an interview.

I don't want to waste my time and then get rejected.

This list goes on and the pressures are different for each person. For many of the high-achieving women that I help, other success blockers including imposter syndrome, perfection paralysis, playing small and self-sabotage enter on to the scene as the interview time and date get closer.

What if you are also an interviewee who is introverted, empathic, highly sensitive, or have social anxiety? The knots in your stomach tighten further and the weight of the world on your shoulders gets even heavier. Showing up in the hot seat as your best, authentic self with all of the mounting pressure becomes less and less likely. 

UMI FUNdamental #1: Raise your vibe first. 

I am often asked, "where is best to start with getting ready for an interview?" The initial  step I see professionals skip way too often is doing the energy work needed to connect with their higher self. It is a key element that sets up your interview prep time with the best conditions possible for future success. Tools of energy work, including meditation, yoga, mindfulness, and Reiki, help us stay connected to our best self and access high quality, engaging responses.

​The many benefits of doing energy work also make it easier to create a meaningful connection with whoever is interviewing you,  speak about your strengths with confidence and rebound quicker if the desired outcome does not happen.  

Ultimately, our first priority before doing anything interview related is to check with where we are at with our energy, or emotional state. If we discover we are not aligned with our higher self, then that is NOT the time to do interview prep.

Before you write your career success stories, raise your vibe.
Before you research about the company, raise your vibe.
Before you find out more about those interviewing you, raise your vibe.
Before you do any practice or mock interviewing, raise your vibe. 
Before you share your professional value with anyone, raise your vibe. 

Reflect on what type of energy you are bringing into your interview prep and determine what works for you to elevate it. Need an idea of where to start? Often for me, music is something that sparks me up quickly, including this playlist where clients have share with me their favorite mood lifting songs. 

UMI FUNdamental #2: Less internet, more inner-net.

It is a common trap to prepare so much for an interview in the wrong ways. The internet is oozing with way too much advice about it. We can get caught up in the many rabbit holes of what we should and shouldn't do to make a good impression.

​This doesn't mean that most people do not benefit greatly from interview coaching, but it is key to find support that helps you strengthen your connection and trust in your higher self. Otherwise you will show up to the interview sounding like everybody else and often miss out on opportunity.

For my clients, these questions help confirm if too much focus is happening on others for career advice rather than tapping into their inner resources.

1. In this moment, is the energy behind my actions of preparing for this interview coming from fear or faith?

2. Am I giving myself time to do the intuitive activities and reflective exercises my interview coach has assigned?

3. Do I feel my responses to interview questions are sounding authentically like me?

Learning how to listen to your intuitive guidance will change how you show up for the interview in big, positive ways. It is "ki" to unlocking the engaging warmth and showing your competence, two things you must do to be remembered. Best of all, when you make time for tuning in, you will transform a lot of your interview stress into inspiration that serves you better. 

As you continue to make trusting yourself a habit, you will gain clarity and genuine confidence that you can rely on when under pressure at the interview. ​

I dive deeply into the science that supports the benefits of energy work, how to tap into your inner guidance, and many holistic tools that will quickly lead to interview success in my new course "How To Shine In The Hot Seat Every Time: FUNdamentals of the Upgrade of My Interview™ Method." A favorite part of developing this course continues to be the discussions we have around understanding the Law of Attraction and how it can help us work smarter and not harder to prepare for an interview.

I will be sharing about the third Upgrade My Interview™ FUNdamental and other exciting news with you in the next part of this blog series. Until then, you can keep connected to the professional development opportunities, products, and services that I offer by subscribing to receive monthly editions of Shine In The Hot Seat With Shea Ki. 

☯️Namaste,

 About Shea Ki
Shea Ki’s Upgrade My Interview™ method and holistic strategies for interview success have been featured in Best Self magazine, Thrive Global, Youth Time, podcasts, and other media. She has received several “Top 100 Career Blogs” honors and has been included in articles as a person to follow for interview success.  She recently created the popular “Upgrade My Interview™ Prep Deck”. It sold out at her first online Pop Up store because it offers dozens of ways to boost your mindset, body language, and energy for any interview.
 
Shea became a certified career development professional while managing employment centers and helping employers find their best hires at job fairs for over ten years. She has received awards for her impact on the future workforce, earned a Masters in Counseling, and a degree in Communications. She attends trainings regularly to stay on top of what employers are looking for and entrepreneurship best practices. She also has completed a variety of intensive courses on Reiki, meditation, yoga and other methods for stress reduction and intuitive insight.

This blend of practical experience and spiritual connection helps Shea quickly zero in on how to best help her clients speak about their professional value with ease and genuine confidence. 

You can get more #upgrademyinterview tips about how to shine in the hot seat by following Shea Ki on LinkedIn or join the UMI Tribe by subscribing to the free, monthly UMI Power Boost.