To cancel a job interview

[OngoingCrisis]

I'm probably being irrational and overthinking but this job interview is making me so anxious. I've had one interview with the same company and I've made it to the second interview. I have to do a 10 minute presentation via teams, they've scheduled one hour for the teams meeting so not sure what else to expect beyond the presentation. I'm very close to pulling out of it as I'm so anxious, I want this job so badly but I'm scared that the presentation will let me down.

AIBU to cancel my interview?

was there any need 😒

my manager is super laid back, they've encouraged me loads with this job and told me not to get comfortable in a retail/sales/customer service etc job and try hard with this one

Thank you, this means a lot. I've sort of got into my own head today and panicked that I can't remember every detail about the company. I've gone over my slides and gone through the company's principles and will do the same tomorrow :)

Hey guys wanted to update, I dont think I did too good with the interview as I struggled to answer some of the questions. The interview was almost an hour and a half and there were so many questions. My mind went blank at times. Will Hopefully receive feedback this week 😩

Well done on getting through it all! Try not to worry, everyone has a limit to their knowledge and experience and sometimes that's what they're trying to find. You don't know until you know!

If it is bad news, chalk it up to experience and go again 😊

I think you're minimising OPs anxiety. Any sort of presentation can be daunting. Public speaking, even making a birthday 'thank you or coming' speech can fill many people with horror.
I'm the opposite to OP. If I was in a room with a flip chart or PP slides I'd do someone else's presentation at 10 mins notice. ....as long as I don't have to make slides. My last but one interview included a short PP presentation over MS Teams. It took me ages to make. I also had a YouTube clip to share which I'd carefully set up in a tab. When I opened it it had defaulted back to begining. I got all panicky and shared my YouTube history including Mr Pimple Popper!
We all have different things that 'scare' us.

It aint over till its over. Well done for getting through it and hang in there. You never know. You said you did not think you answered the questions well but how did the actual presentation go?

You mentioned you are moving on from a retail/sales/customer service and that you did not have a clue what questions they would ask.

Well now you know. Once you have had a few days, if you can bear it, write down as many of those questions as you can so IF you do not get this job, you have learnt from this experience and can prepare better for the next interview. You can also start to build up the skillsets in your current job.

Did you use a recruitment agent? The good ones will give you an idea of the sorts of questions to expect. And if you are the second interviewee they put up, they sometimes tell you the questions which the employer asked the first interviewee based on the feedback.

You are already closer to your goal. Fingers crossed for you.

I don't think the presentation went too well either, I was talking so fast as my heart was racing (another physical symptom of anxiety I have). There was SO many questions. Ugh. Will keep you all updated though thanks guys

Sleep on it, OP. It will feel better tomorrow.

If you can put some of the questions on here, I am sure there are mntters who work in the field who will be able to craft a good answer for you. You are trying to advance and most slowly and surely, you are already doing it.

Hey op it may be too late for this but dont use post it notes - you can actually have your entire notes right in front of you on the screen and read the presentation verbatim (like a newsreader with an autocue) whilst keeping your eyes dead centre. If you can read aloud convincingly you will come across as super slick. just find out if you are sharing your own slides or not. If you are not sharing slides, write ‘next slide please’ in your notes. If you are sharing slides make sure you are clear how to share a window in teams as this locks in your slides (whereas if you share your screen they will see what you see) Nb use alt + tab to toggle from teams to your notes not your mouse.

Oops
should have rtf
hopefully you are being too hard on yourself. Good luck OP

Huge well done for giving it a go regardless of the outcome! The more you do these things the easier it gets.

As an aside, I got a new job which involves a lot of presenting which I've always struggled with. GP prescribed me propanol to use as needed - I take one an hour before I need to present and it really takes the edge of physical anxiety symptoms - no racing heart or shaky voice which helps me feel more in control. Just a thought in case it's something you want to ask your doctor about.

I rarely use it anymore but just knowing it's there as an option also helps. Best of luck with the job search!

Medication is propranolol sorry typo x

Thank you.

One of the questions was something along the lines of "what does a toolbox talk consist of?" I've never given one so couldn't give specifics

another one was something like "what part of the HASAWA 1974 is the hardest to enforce?"

I honestly don't remember much if I'm honest

OP, a quick google revealed that a toolbox talk is a short presentation to the workforce on a single aspect of health and safety.

https://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/resources/toolboxtalks.htm

HASAWA 1974 is the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. As for what is the hardest part to enforce, if you have no understanding of the act itself, read it from cover to cover and find articles on it. You can ask ChatGPT this question.

I don't know if your current and desired job involves health and safety but this could be one area to beef up on.

The trick with interviews is to know a little about everything of any and all the topics that could come up and prepare a little speech on each question that could come up. I usually end up with 2 A4 sides of notes which I rehearse the day before so it sounds smooth and credible.

For example, in my field, Russian sanctions are very topical. If I was going for an interview, even if I know zilch, part of the prep involve researching what they are, the key issues and latest developments and implications for the sector. I make notes, like I was in school, and rehearse a quick elevator pitch to be able to talk about it in 2-3 minutes. I might get out of my depth quickly if the interviewer probes, but at least I started strong and sound knowledgeable. And then explain how you would plug any gaps in your knowledge. Tick.

I know this is in hindsight. Which is not to make you feel bad. I have a lot of experience going for jobs that are just that little out of my experience and seniority. This is how I blag my way through. I am not super confident nor good at making things up on the spot and so my prep is to research and rehease.

"what part of the HASAWA 1974 is the hardest to enforce?"

That's a really wide question, and I wonder if they were using it to probe your knowledge of the H&S law as a whole. I think I would have said (with my very limited knowledge) something along the lines of - 'there isn't any one part of the act which is more difficult to enforce than others, the HSE has the power to enforce all aspects of the legislation, however I think the hardest part sometimes can be getting employee buy in to comply with work place rules on health and safety, particularly if it requires a change in the way people have previously worked. However it's clearly important that employees are on board, for their own safety and that of the team, as well as to protect the company from liability for issues.'

I'd possibly anticipate a follow up question on how you would get employees to comply, and talk about consutation, training, and having employees participate in risk assessments.

Is the role health and safety related? Or was the presentation on health and safety? And who chose the topic?

Just as an aside though, I once applied for a job working at the Ministry of Agriculture (as it was then). In the interview they asked me to name the current minister for agriculture. I couldn't. I still got the job. So don't be too disheartened, it's not over til it's over.

Now that the OP has done the interview and can't change anything that happened, I'm not sure how helpful it is to tell her what she should have said? I'm sure she can google 'toolbox talk' and HASAWA 1974 herself if she feels so inclined.

I hope it went better than you think, OP, and even if not, it's all experience. I hate presentations too but each one I get under my belt helps me dread the next one a little less.

I'm sure she can google 'toolbox talk' and HASAWA 1974 herself if she feels so inclined.

Not saying OP should do it now or in the near future but if she does not get the job for whatever reason, if the next job is in the same area (I don't know how important H&S is to her role) then she should take note and prep these questions for her next interview. That is how you learn from past experience. Researching and presenting on something is also a higher skill for a graduate role which is necessary to develop to take the next step up.

Based on replies I think I answered the toolbox talk question well, the HASAWA question really threw me off as it's such a big piece of legislation

The fact it lasted an hour and a half is promising. If it had only lasted 30mins I'd be more worried.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you.

@Doone21 I'd rather be a cry baby than someone who is nasty 💁🏻‍♀️

Do practice out loud. I gave a presentation recently and while I could say the key word in my head it turned out I couldn't say it out loud!

Of it's zoom i turn off the self view so I can't see myself. Otherwise I just stare at myself.

Sorry just seen I'm late to the party. I interview a lot and if I'm not interested in the candidate I definitely dont run over time. So sounds more promising than you might think.

Morning everyone,
thank you for your messages. I got the job!!

Congratulations OP, well done