How to Manage Interview Fatigue in 7 Ways (With Tips)

Updated 5 May 2023

Looking for a new job can be an exciting experience that allows you to explore better job opportunities and advance your career. To some people, the hiring process can be stressful and make them feel anxious and tired. Learning about the symptoms and causes of interview fatigue and how you can manage it can help you maintain a positive mindset as you find your ideal role. In this article, we discuss interview fatigue, show you how you can manage it and share tips for avoiding interview burnout.

What is interview fatigue?

Interview fatigue, also known as interview burnout, can happen to a person after interviewing for many jobs, usually in a short period of time. A candidate can experience fatigue regardless if they're interviewing with multiple companies or have completed several stages of recruitment with one organisation. There are many symptoms and signs that can indicate interview burnout. If you've been going to many interviews lately and agree with most of these statements, you may be experiencing fatigue.

You feel more tired than usual.
Your eyes are tired and dry.
You have more headaches than usual.
You lose focus or feel lost during an interview.
Your answers to interview questions become shorter and less enthusiastic.
Your job expectations are lower.
You feel discouraged about the interview process.

What's important to remember is that you don't need to go through a specific number of interviews before you can feel tired and stressed. Every person experiences and reacts to situations differently, which means that you may notice a few signs of burnout even after your third or second job interview. Learning more about yourself and how you handle different emotions is essential to managing this.

What causes interview fatigue?

There are many things that may cause you to feel stressed and tired after attending a series of interviews. Some of the most common causes include:

excessive amounts of intense eye contact
long periods of sitting
increased mental stress from interview questions
uncertainty about the results of an interview
low self-esteem and lack of confidence

How to handle interview fatigue

When you learn to manage interview fatigue, you can regain the enthusiasm that looking for a new job can bring you. In the end, attending an interview is a great way to test your skills and learn more about yourself as a professional. Although there are many different approaches to this, here are some universal steps you can take to avoid or handle interview fatigue:

1. Switch up your interview routine regularly

If you're intensely looking for a new job and send out dozens of applications a day, it's often necessary that you attend several job interviews in a day, several days a week. Because many hiring managers use similar interview structures, after a few days you may start feeling bored and tired of going through the same process again and again. To avoid this, consider scheduling your interviews at different times each day.

For example, attend one interview on Monday morning and schedule the next one for Tuesday afternoon. This technique can be especially helpful for you if you're just about to enter the workforce, as it allows you to learn more about yourself and when you're the most productive. It also makes the interviewing process a bit less repetitive, which can feel refreshing.

2. Make time for yourself

Maintaining a healthy work-life or interview-life balance is an effective thing you can do for yourself to feel less stressed about any professional or workplace challenges. For instance, you could start practising mindfulness, which is a type of meditation that allows you to focus on becoming more self-aware. This technique can be especially helpful for you if you've noticed that you're quick to make harsh judgements about your performance during interviews.

There are many ways in which you can practise mindfulness. For example, you can work on breaking old habits and establishing new ones, such as regularly exercising or going for long walks. It's also beneficial to work on your compassion and self-love, as this helps you truly notice your strengths and set better goals for yourself as you're looking for a job.

3. Practise gratitude

When you practise gratitude, you concentrate on the things that you have instead of thinking about the things you want to accomplish in life. Feeling more grateful about where you are in life can help you appreciate every little thing, person and experience in your life, including each job interview you attend. Journalling is one of the most popular techniques for this. If you'd like to start journalling, dedicate 10 to 15 minutes each evening to reflect on your day and make a list of the good things that happened to you.

4. Find new ways to motivate yourself

If you're struggling with maintaining a positive mindset while interviewing, it's helpful to determine if there's anything new you can do to motivate yourself. When you're motivated, you can increase your chances of advancing to the next round of interviews or even of getting a job offer. This happens because candidates who are motivated usually show more enthusiasm in interviews and come off as easily approachable and more reliable.

To find new ways to motivate yourself, focus on your career history, goals and thought process. You can also make a short list of your past accomplishments to determine if there was something you experienced that motivated you to achieve those things. For example, you may have a mentor who inspired you by sharing their knowledge and expertise with you. Another helpful method to increase your motivation is to monitor and regularly assess your progress to see how far you've come.

5. Take a break

Sometimes the most effective strategy for handling interview fatigue is to take a break from interviewing. Depending on your fatigue symptoms, this break can last from a few days to even a few months if you currently have a job. During your break, analyse how you performed during previous job interviews and determine if there's anything you could do differently next time to get the job. Make sure to look at yourself objectively and avoid comparing yourself to other people, as it's only possible to set realistic goals when you take into consideration only your own potential.

6. Surround yourself with positive people

Having someone to talk to about your feelings as you look for a new job is a helpful way to express your thoughts and recover before the next interview. When you see and feel a close friend's or family member's support, it's easier for you to overcome challenging situations and view them as growth opportunities. Surrounding yourself with positive people who want to lift you up and brighten up your mood can help you feel more valuable and avoid interview burnout.

7. Review your performance after each interview

As soon as an interview finishes, spend a few minutes reviewing your performance and the interview structure. This can involve analysing each question that the hiring manager asked you. Doing this allows you to determine what went well and if there's anything you'd like to improve before your next meeting with a hiring manager. Although some people may find this technique challenging, it's a highly rewarding method that allows you to focus on constantly improving yourself and seeing progress more quickly.

Additional interviewing tips

Avoiding interview fatigue is a helpful ability that allows you to maintain a positive mindset and attend as many interviews as necessary to get the job of your dreams. Here are some additional tips you can use to maximise your potential during each interview:

Express your career needs and goals: To make sure the company you're interviewing with can create the right career opportunities for you, make sure to discuss your goals and aspirations in each interview. Talking about this with the interviewer can help you determine if it's possible for you to advance to a leadership position or run your own projects in the future.
Research each company: Researching each company is a crucial thing to do as you're preparing for a series of interviews, as it can help you better understand the employer's requirements and the company culture. You can then use this knowledge to ask the interviewer better questions about the role and the organisation.
Learn the interviewer's name: Conducting research on the person who's hosting the interview allows you to make a better conversation and ask them questions that are more relevant to their experience and role within the organisation. It also helps you present yourself as a more confident and decisive person.