Exams, interviews, evaluations of any kind induce stress and anxiety in a lot of us. It happens due to two sets of reasons – circumstantial like getting laid-off and psychological like imposter syndrome. While we may not have much influence over the first, we can work on the second. We can learn to control the anxiety.

What I have found to work personally is reframing the process as an opportunity to learn. Like most good things, this mindset doesn’t manifest on demand. But, studying my own behavior over time, I have identified specific processes that have helped in this conditioning so far. These are subject to my personal characteristics, so as with most experiments, it will require trial-and-error to figure out what works for you. That is part of the fun 🙂

• Paying attention to interactions within my team and recognizing the areas / skills where my contributions prove valuable. Take special note of the soft skills because those are the harder ones to replace.
• Taking up courses which emphasise more on learning and less on grading. Doing them at my own pace in my free time.
• Thinking about the value of the assessment to me. By doing this exercise, I spend lesser time worrying about the areas that may be tested but don’t matter to me. (This is more specific to interviews)
• Focusing on what I can say and do instead of how I might be perceived.
• If I find out what I don’t know, that is just another learning. I am better off than before when I didn’t know what I didn’t know.