DEAR ABBY: I’m in final rounds with a company and I really want the role but I’m trying not to get too excited and to manage my expectations! How can I balance my excitement coupled with my fear of rejection??
We see this daily in an interview cycle here at Prospex Recruiting. Especially when working with finance and accounting professionals who may be, self-proclaimed, some of the most logical and analytical bunch (anyone else spend 3 hours reading through reviews before purchase?? No – just me? ha).
Companies want to hire candidates that are just as excited about the company as the company is about them! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a candidate tell me, “I really liked the interview and I would love to work there!” and the company tell me, “I liked them but I couldn’t tell if they were interested or not…”
The Role of Vulnerability in Balancing Excitement and Fear
Tempering excitement is a normal human behavior. Brené Brown calls this concept Foreboding Joy where the fear of pain [rejection] can make us avoid joy [excitement]. “If we can’t tolerate the vulnerability of joy, we might subconsciously protect ourselves from future pain by avoiding or dismissing joyful moments.”
Rejection sucks. But if we don’t allow ourselves to feel the excitement and express that excitement to the company, we may never have the opportunity to see the excitement come to fruition. Is rejection a possibility? Absolutely. Will you get through it? 100%.
Expressing Excitement During the Interview
IF you are excited about the role, let them know! “I really enjoyed this conversation and I feel like this would be a great fit! What do next steps look like??”
Allow yourself to get excited!! Allow the company to see that excitement! Let that contagion spread!!
Embracing the Opportunity to Fly
In the words of Erin Hansen: What if I fall? Oh, but my darling, what if you fly?
Let yourself FLY! Prospex Recruiting would LOVE to be in your corner during your interviews! Reach out to our team – Maria, Zach, Talisha, Whitney, Maloree, Josh, and Lauren.