Exposure to Social Situations
177agencies, and so on) begin with an interview process that is very similar to 
an interview for a paying job. You may feel less pressure if you know that 
you’re applying for a nonpaying position. If so, this would be a good place 
to start. In addition to giving the employer the opportunity to meet you, 
another purpose of an interview is to give you a chance to evaluate the posi -
tion. Applying for a volunteer position does not commit you to accepting it 
if it’s offered. If you decide it isn’t for you, you can always turn it down. If 
you apply for several volunteer jobs, you will become more comfortable with 
the entire interview process.
UÊPractice interviews with family members or friends . Practicing job inter -
views with friends or family members is another good way to begin the 
process of overcoming anxiety over job interviews. You will need to coach 
your friend or family member about the nature of the interview and the role 
that he or she should take. You may also want to work up to having some 
of these role-play interviews become particularly challenging (for example, 
have your helper play the role of a hostile interviewer), so you can learn to 
be more comfortable with difﬁcult interviews in real life.
UÊApply for jobs that are not particularly interesting to you . A great way of 
learning to overcome a fear of job interviews is to practice interviewing for 
jobs that are not high on your list. You might as well learn how to interview 
more effectively in situations in which you have little to lose. By practicing 
interviewing for jobs you don’t particularly want, you will be better pre -
pared when it comes time to interview for a job that interests you.