I’m super drowsy even though I had some caffeine. I’m drinking lots of water and eating healthy foods, but is there anything else I can do in the meantime?
How do you make yourself feel better after a poor night of sleep?
Edit: It went well! The director even said, “we should just hire you now!” However, I have one more panel interview. Time for a nap.
If all else fails, just tell the interviewers something along the lines of
“I was so excited about this opportunity that I wasn’t able to sleep last night. I apologize for not being 100%.”
Most people have experienced being too anxious/excited to get a good night’s sleep, so if you are up front about it, they will probably be more forgiving than if you just try to power through and fail.
Take a nap. Seriously. Caffeine only makes you jittery and seem on edge, but coming in calm, cool, and collected will look way better.
Drink a cup of coffee THEN take a 20 minute power nap right after. Caffeine doesn’t clear the chemicals from the receptors that tell your brain you are sleepy. It DOES prevent those chemicals from binding for a while, so drink the coffee and immediately take a nap. Your body will clear up the Chema, and the caffeine will prevent the Chems still floating in your blood stream from making you tired again 20 minutes later
This works, and I’m speaking from experience. Nothing makes a short nap more effective at clearing cobwebs than coffee right beforehand.
If you can manage both, do this and then go for a walk for about 20 minutes before your interview. Physical activity can also help wake up your brain, and a walk shouldn’t get you sweating like heavier exercise might. Showing up for an interview sweaty isn’t a good look.
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How has nobody recommended you beat one out?
Always shake hands with an old friend before you shake hands with a new friend.
Preferably wash that hand in-between
Assuming you can’t get in some more sleep. Even a couple of hours will help.
Shower, a good meal, stay hydrated and some light exercise outdoors. Such as walking in the sunshine. If that is possible.
Don’t go too hard on the coffee as you will get the jitters and/or crash before the interview.
Try to stay relaxed and focused on your strengths. I know you will give it your best shot.
Power nap, cold shower, light exercise (brisk walk), and coffee (bonus points if you have l-theanine to take with it, can help w/ the jittery effects).
Yep! I never have caffeine without l-theanine.
I would say meditation or a power nap, but if you are super drowsy, I think you will likely sleep through it.
You could go for a long walk in a park (ideally close to your interview location) to get your body active and hope that the energy would carry through to the interview instead of tiring you out more.
But the safest option is still to ask to reschedule because of illness. Cold, IBS, migraine, plumbing issue… Your choice.
Edit: so happy that it went well!!
The holy trinity of mental clarity is to take a hike, a shower, and then a nap, cyclically in that order. Best advice that ever reached me. I explain it here, but basically it’s like companion planting: hikes get energy flowing and help with exposure, showers/hydration get rid of impurities and inspire epiphanies (I guess the mists do this), and sleep allows your mind to rest but also wander with all of that. If you can’t do one, do the other two (caffeine is not good for people, that “wakefulness” is just a high).
Or you could always be like Satoshi Tajiri during his interviews and wing it based on 24 hours of no sleep (he would help with making games for 24 hours and sleep for 12 and repeat the cycle, he even had his bed at the Gamefreak HQ for a time, and one time the BBC or whatever caught him during the end of the 24 and was like “is this a bad time”).
First drink a pint of water, your brain needs to be hydrated. But you don’t want to be needing to pee during the interview so push the water early and then stop. As for food, carbs will make you sleepier than protein or greens.
Napping would leave me sleepier and disoriented but ymmv.
Drink lots of water
I’ve an interview schedule in few hours as well.
Try taking cold shower and a coffee afterwards.
