[Closed] A wee snifter before a job interview?

Spud... Trainspotting... ?

Waits for the Trainspotting links…

have you seen trainspotting? a little dab of speed worked well for spud. though he didn’t want the job.

Are you really going to want the risk of smelling of alcohol at that time in the morning for an interview?

You lot beat me to it😁

Jesus christ no

Try Rescue Remedy. May be placebo but helped me on a few occasions

Are you really going to want the risk of smelling of alcohol at that time in the morning for an interview?

Can you share aromas on Zoom now? Dammit

I get your point but its a slippery slope....a little drop before the interview but then where does it stop? One on your first day to combat the nerves, before the big meeting etc etc. Got to be a better way to overcome nerves/anxiety although let me know if you find a solution 😩

Unless the interview is taking place in Glasgow, i'd just do it sober!

Try Rescue Remedy

<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">Its my brain that needs lubed up, not nerves as such.</span>

@nuke it really is just interviews. Same company I work for, my ex boss who I get on well with. I just can't talk about myself I suppose. Unless...

Go for it. I can't see any possible scenario where things could go wrong. However should, at any point, the interview be going badly then that joke about the Gypsy, the Jew and the gravy boat should lighten the mood.

A word of caution though. Given it's a morning interview then do stick with white. A glass of red before lunch may be seen as rather gauche.

In this context it's called a 'sharpener' (not a snifter)

Urban Dictionary: Sharpener An alcoholic beverage used to enhance creativity and productivity

That's a really bad idea!
You're more likely to end up an alcoholic than get a job.
Why are you nervous?
Need to do more preparation, role too ambitious, high stakes, scared of failure.
Identify the cause and tackle that - no booze required!

Also, the interviewer is probably nervous too, so you're both in the same boat.

Ignore the above and neck a can of Kestrel Super or Special Brew. If things start to go sideways then whip out the Thunderbird or 20/20. Trust me on this.

Just pretend youve just finished the night shift! 😉

Makes me feel ill to even think about it.

Worst that could happen is you not get the job, which could happen anyway - so why not. A strong, spicy Bloody Mary gets my vote.
RM.
<caveat> not if this for a bus driving job which includes a practical test!!

Rescue remedy is alcoholic.

https://www.rescueremedy.com/en-gb/explore/faqs/does-rescue-remedy-contain-alcohol/

Don't have one before you get there; take full hipflask with you and invite interviewer to join you in the proverbial sharpener before the interview proper starts.
Guaranteed to get you a job offer.

If you're going to prop up your performance with substances why stop at a the interview?

I smoked a joint on the way to a University entrance interview ... it was a bit strange. I thought it was just an open day for some reason, forgetting that this Uni claimed to interview every candidate! Turned up in the department and noticed i was the only one in Adidas Sambas and jeans. Private school kids in blazers etc. Then it dawned on me.

I remember sitting in the Prof's office telling him all about what i'm reading at the moment and as I crossed my legs being acutely aware that we were both looking at my shoes.

I got the place though so maybe it worked... not sure i'd recommend it though.

In fact the more I think about it, the more it seems you should watch Airplane as prep for your interview rather than get slightly pissed

https://youtu.be/YVOUlNCJK2Y

https://youtu.be/QM0ILL7wuxA

I sometimes take candidates to bar for final stage interviews. Let’s us get to know them for real after a few drinks, especially those that are talented but introverted and maybe don’t interview well. had co’s do this to me in the past too.

Don’t see the big deal if you can manage it (chewing gum), it doesn’t impair your performance and are not reliant on it going forward.

Obv not if interviewing as a surgeon / pilot. If you are applying for sales / account management at many CO’s it should basically be part of the job description.

A night out on the beers with the MD, Sales Director and another brewery MD was part of the interview process with a brewery I nearly worked for 😀

Apparently, if you are a salesperson in South Korea you spend the day in the usual meetings then you go for after-work drinks and they will make sure everyone gets shitfaced. They want to see what you are like drunk to see if you are trustworthy. Our sales people get warned about this before doing business there and it apparently is the source of a fair bit of amusement.

it really is just interviews. Same company I work for, my ex boss who I get on well with. I just can’t talk about myself I suppose. Unless…

Unless... Bolivian marching powder - trust me on this.
My flatmate loves a toot and he never stops talking about himself when he's on the llello. Fascinating guy 🙄

One drink, absolutely. Maybe 3/4 of a second. But NEVER finish that second drink.

If you are applying for sales / account management at many CO’s it should basically be part of the job description.

Lovely, actively filtering out a whole swathe of the population who don't drink for medical, ethical, cultural, religious or other personal reasons, e.g. might be a reformed alcoholic. You're actually really limiting your candidate pool and diversity of thinking there... trust me on this, I hire 50+ people a year and try my hardest to make sure we have a real cross section of people from different backgrounds. It makes for better team dynamics and productivity. Also work drinking culture, what is this, the nineties?

Yeah i can appreciate how this could work. I find public speaking and things like interviews absolutely terrifying but am otherwise very competent and confident in my work. Those saying it's a route to alcoholism...Jeez..

Many many many years ago, having disastrously bombed my French A-level exams (far and away my best subject) I decided to have a pint before my German oral exam. Worked a treat...i spouted forth a fluent and passionate scenario and then passionately discussed at length the 'merits' of existentialism. Apparently it must have been OK as I found out afterwards I had impressed the examiner. Never done it since. Maybe that's where I'm going wrong 🤔🤔🤔

I think it's a really bad idea for you to need to consume alcohol prior to a job interview. In order to improve your confidence I suggest you knobble the interviewer with a little LSD, this should place you in a much stronger position for your interview.

History has shown I’m useless at interviews, I get tongue tied and stuttery and rapidly lose confidence.

Just  be honest and tell them that you don't perform your best at interviews. Interviews are weird anyway. The people doing to interview aren't looking forward to it either, especially not over Zoom.

I smoked a joint on the way to a University entrance interview … it was a bit strange. I thought it was just an open day for some reason, forgetting that this Uni claimed to interview every candidate! Turned up in the department and noticed i was the only one in Adidas Sambas and jeans. Private school kids in blazers etc. Then it dawned on me.

I turned up to one still drunk from the little "getting to know you" buffet the night before, which turned into leaving a nightclub at 2 am and then having to find our way to the hotel...

I got an unconditional offer. The guy interviewing looked in a worse state than i felt.

I went somewhere else though.

A good tip for speaches, talks, interviews

Is to sit in front of a mirror and give your talk/ answer interview questions over & over whilst looking at yourself. It's unpleasant and awkward but it helps when you come to do the real thing.

Work drink culture, the job must be in government or the local conservatives surely?

A friend of mine had "a" drink to calm his nerves before an interview, turns out he fell asleep waiting for his interview and had to be woken up by the receptionist. Funny enough, he didn't get the job!

Just  be honest and tell them that you don’t perform your best at interviews.

A bit more disclosure. Its with my ex-boss - he moved departments, now recruiting. We get on and work well together. This will be the third interview I've had with him - first one - awful (got the job, he knew I was the best candidate and probably wangled it a bit), second one - for his job when he left, marginally better, didn't get the job. Now this one. We both know my interview performance is poor and it adds to the tension. I do feel more emboldened either way to catch myself if its going poorly and just say "hold up, I'm doing it again, lets just take a moment..."

Nah mate, you need to pop half a valium instead. that'll loosen you right up.

You’re more likely to end up an alcoholic than get a job.

It's a well known fact that some men were born two drinks below par.
Dr Maclaren : Whisky Galore.

A bit of Sam Vimes going on here i guess, always a couple of drinks too knurd.

Are you an airline pilot by any chance?

I do feel more emboldened either way to catch myself if its going poorly and just say “hold up, I’m doing it again, lets just take a moment…”

This seems like a far better approach than having a drink before the interview. Since you know they guy, and he knows how you struggle, why not open the interview with a suggestion that either of you call for a pause if you start derailing?

Please tell me the job is at a brewery.

I was an awful interviewer having mind blanks and giving responses too quickly and missing the key points.

I was given a tip of having a large glass of water or bottle of fluid which helped me, I would listen to the question, have a sip giving myself some time to process the question before giving an answer or if I hadn't understood the question not being afraid to ask them to re read it or reword it, did me alright and got me the job I wanted after a few god awful interviews!

[The people doing to interview aren’t looking forward to it either, especially not over Zoom.

Tell me about it, I've been on six interview panels over the past five days. Even one drink would have put me at too high a risk of falling asleep in two of them.

From the outside looking in, this seems to be a problem of your own devising. Ie, it's not that you're bad at interviews, it's that you believe you're bad at interviews and this then becomes self-fulfilling.

Everyone (who isn't a sociopath) is nervous at interviews. It's an unknown quantity, you don't know what the interviewers are going to be like, whether you can cut the mustard, your potential future career depends on whether you can impress in the next 20 minutes, etc etc. But.

You know this guy, he knows you. You've worked together previously. You're ahead of the curve because if he didn't think you were suitable for the role then you wouldn't be in the chair in the first place. What if you had the job and this were a team meeting, would you be "useless" then? Ask yourself, what's the difference?

In your head it's an INTERVIEW - it's not, it's a chat with a work colleague. Best-case scenario, you get offered a better job; worst-case, nothing changes from where you are now.

@TheFlyingOx came here to see if anyone had posted that. Never finish the second drink.

Everyone (who isn’t a sociopath) is nervous at interviews

Something I found useful in the past but is hard to recreate is screwing something up just before the interview eg bad public transport (okay that is easier nowadays), having an arse of a time finding the place. After the stress of that the nerves get forgotten.

That's how I passed my driving test. I did something gormless right at the beginning, I don't even remember now, stalled setting off from outside the test centre or something. Thought, "great, that's that then, I've bollocksed it before I've started" and then had a flawless drive because all the mental pressure had gone out the window.

That’s how I passed my driving test.

For a second there I thought you meant by having a drink beforehand.

In your head it’s an INTERVIEW – it’s not, it’s a chat with a work colleague. Best-case scenario, you get offered a better job; worst-case, nothing changes from where you are now.

This is a good point, I haven't interviewed for a few years but I always took that approach. It's a conversation to allow them to see if you are the right candidate for the role they need to fill, but it's also a conversation to allow you to decide if the job/company/team are right for you. Go in as an equal.

I was given a tip of having a large glass of water or bottle of fluid which helped me, I would listen to the question, have a sip giving myself some time to process the question before giving an answer or if I hadn’t understood the question not being afraid to ask them to re read it or reword it, did me alright and got me the job I wanted after a few god awful interviews!

This +1, just get a nice water bottle, not a manky old cycling bidon. That and unless* they make you sit at a desk it gives you something to do with your hands that doesn't just giving the person from HR some body language to apply their cod psychology to.

*In an actual face to face interview

An actual drink seems like a bad idea, it doesn't make you better, it just lowers the bar of what you consider acceptable. Go to the gym and do some deadlifts or squats beforehand, or go for a ride with some all out intervals. Anything to get your blood pumping and endorphins going that'll give you a better mental boost without the downsides.

do it.

This is just a really bad idea - if you are nervous then the booze won't help because alcohol is a depressant so you'll just make poor choices. If you are nervous tell the interviewer and have the discussion before the main thrust of the interview, a good interviewer will take it into account

also, SillySilly

"I sometimes take candidates to bar for final stage interviews. " you have a work culture that needs dragging out of the 70s, imagine a someone with medical or religious reasons for not drinking applying for a job, it's discriminatory

Everyone (who isn’t a sociopath) is nervous at interviews. It’s an unknown quantity, you don’t know what the interviewers are going to be like, whether you can cut the mustard, your potential future career depends on whether you can impress in the next 20 minutes, etc etc. But.

I don't I love em.

If you know the guy can you not meet up with him before hand so you're "in the zone" with him so you feel like he is onside?

Cocaine, just not too much of it, or you'll talk bollocks

I don’t I love em.

Everyone (who isn’t a sociopath)

😁

Just hosted a department meeting online. All good, no nerves. The presentation (on Skype) blanked out a couple of times which required some on-the-hoof sorting. A colleague commented afterwards "but you handled it like a pro", I said good job I had a G&T beforehand. He laughed...

snowflakes.

if it calms you down then why not? ive certainly done it in the past. if i have a dram, doesnt mean im gonna polish off the bottle.

i remember when i started my first job out of school, the boss had a crystal decanter of scotch on his desk and whenever you met with him he'd pour you one! was horrible 😀

never did Don Draper any harm...

Second vote for ‘not quite 2 pints pissed’.

You ARE a tiger…

8 Ace.....

Interview done, and went OK. Nae booze, but LOTS of stress over the weekend.

Off out on the bike now, this weather is bonkers.

Well in,good luvk. 🙂

Bike over booze any day > good luck!

you have a work culture that needs dragging out of the 70s, imagine a someone with medical or religious reasons for not drinking applying for a job, it’s discriminatory

The moment any co hits scale it will end up selling product and / or services to people that want to drink. Diversity ends up happening naturally with scale and is required to achieve it. Japan/Eastern Europe Vs Middle East/Africa require very different people to acquire and retain customers. Personally I would rather MTB over drink and work every day but unfortunately demand from team, customers and partners, outside a select few, is not great. Nothing to do with 70's culture.