How to deal with placement stress? Writeup — 2 | Dealing with your feelings
Read my first write-up “How to deal with placement stress? Writeup — 1 | Story of my placement days”
If you read my previous article, you will understand that most people who go through this phase feel low during placements time.

In this post (2nd write-up in the series), let’s talk about feelings.
Here’s a list of things that you might possibly feel
Victimising Self | Self Pity
- Why does this happen to only me?
- I do everything I can, but I’m still not getting placed.
- The world is unfair.
Minimising Self (Self Blame)
- I am a loser.
- I am worthless.
- I didn’t study hard enough.
- I’ll not get placed.
- I’m not smart.
- I don’t deserve a job.
Maximising Fellow candidates
- Everyone is better than me.
- I’m not as good as them.
- My friends are better than me, that’s why they got placed.
Blaming Fellow candidates
- He/She doesn’t deserve to get this.
- He/She is so lucky, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to crack this.
- He/She got easy questions in the interviews.
Blaming the placement department
- They don’t bring enough companies to the college.
- They should have made the cut-off more strict (High GPA holders)
- They should have made the cut-off more lenient (Average GPA holders)
Blaming the companies
- The questions in the test is useless in the context of the job.
- Their evaluation system is flawed.
- They are playing favourites.
- They are only taking people of a particular gender.
and so many more …
Now you might tell me
“Okay! YES! You’re damn right! I’m feeling all this. So what?? What are you trying to tell me? Should I not feel all this? Do you know how hard it is to go through what I’m going through?”
No, I’m not here to tell you what to feel and what not to feel. I respect your feelings. And yes, I have been through this myself.
It’s painful. It’s hurting. It’s embarrassing. It’s shameful. It makes you angry at yourself and others.
All I’m saying is, it’s completely fine to feel this way. Now here are a few things that I believe might help you deal with this better.
How to Deal with this?
- Feel it
You ask me
“Okay, I get it, most people feel this. Now what? What’s the solution? How do I stop feeling all this? How do I just relax, be calm, be happy and get over this easily?
Sorry people, it doesn’t work that way. You cannot just jump through your feelings! Even if you try to do that, it stays inside you and bursts out when it’s overloaded.
SOLUTION : FEEL IT
Yes, I’m asking you to feel all of this. Acknowledge that you are feeling this way. Accept it completely.
Do not try to resist these feelings. What you resist, will persist! The more you fight it, the more it hurts you.
Understand that it is a natural feeling during this phase. Feel the pain, embrace the pain. This will help you get over it sooner so that you can start preparing and be effective.
While you are feeling it, take a break, think about something you like. Eat something you like. Watch something you like. But stay within the limits so that you get back to preparation.
2. Affirm it
Just tell yourself the following things. The words might feel empty and meaningless, but trust me it’ll help you subconsciously. Just look at yourself in the mirror, stand straight, tighten up and say it!
- Yes, I do feel this way. But my feelings don’t define me
- I’m powerful than my feelings.
- I am smart.
- I will get placed.
- I can be effective despite being low.
- I’ll take my side of responsibility which is — I study hard, give my 100% in the tests/interviews, but what happens on that day is not my responsibility.
- I’ll not give up.
- It’s not just me, everyone feels this way.
3. Share it
I know that you are self-reliant. You take care of yourself. You don’t want to trouble others with your issues. You don’t want to crib about it. You don’t want to look uncool. You don’t want to show your weakness/vulnerability.
But, let me tell you something. We humans are social in nature. We have survived this long because we function well in groups. We think, talk and work together. We are inter-dependent beings. We need each other to live a healthy life.
Sharing is just a way for you to express everything you are feeling inside with another person.
You can choose one/two people with whom you want to share. It could be your parents, or a friend, or a teacher or anybody with whom you feel comfortable sharing honestly what’s going on your mind.
You might now tell me “This is my problem. How will they help? How can they help? They don’t know anything about this.”
We are not asking for help, not yet. I’m just asking you to share.
Just tell them “Hey Buddy. I’m going through a tough time right now because of my placements. I would like to speak about it with you. You don’t have to give me advise/solution. I just need you to listen to me and stand by me while I go through this phase”.
How is this of any help?
Well here’s what happens when you share.
- You know that there’s someone out there who cares about you, who’s listening to you and who wishes good things for you. This will boost your confidence.
- Your mind gets a chance to let your feelings out so it brings down your stress levels.
- When you are talking about it, a neural connection can happen and you might get clarity on how you can crack your next interview.
- You might realise that the other person is going through a tough time of their own. It’ll relieve your stress as you’ll accept this as part of human life.
4. Exercise
Now you say “What the f**k is wrong with you? You gotta be kidding me! I don’t even have time to prepare for placements and here you are, asking me to concentrate on my fitness right now!”
Hold on! I’m not asking you to exercise for fitness.
Exercise release a chemical called “endorphins” hormone. This reduces your stress/pressure so that when you are back, your focus will be more and you’ll learn faster.
Okay, I get it, Exercise! What type of exercise? How much time should I exercise?
A minimum of 15 minutes and a maximum of 60 minutes should be good :) I’m not asking you to go the Gym or run for 5KM everyday (that would be healthy though ;))
Any movement/light exercise that makes you feel good. You got to find your own comfort in this. I’ll give a few suggestions
- Yoga.
- Stretching.
- Take a walk in the midst of nature.
- Swimming.
- Jogging.
- Jumping/Skipping — You don’t have to go anywhere. Whenever you feel bored/low/lethargic. Just stand where you are and jump a 100 times.
- Dancing — I love to put some heavy music on, lock my door and dance like crazy :P that’s just me.
So you figure out and do something that works for you :)
5. Take Help
Again, I know that you have a huge self esteem and shit.
But to get placement, you need the mindset of Beg, Borrow or Steal but get it done.
Nobody is going to give something to you if you don’t ask for it. I mean not because they don’t want, they honestly wouldn’t know.
If you want something, ask for it. Take care of your side of responsibility. Whether they give it to you or not is upto them.
“Okay dude, what help do I ask for? Whom exactly do I ask for?”
Well, we are in the context of placements aren’t we. So the possible people who can help you are
- Seniors who already went through this before and know how it works.
- Friends or fellow students who already got placed.
- Your brother/sister who went through this process before.
You ask “What type of help do I ask for?”
Well, it depends on what you need right
- If you are weak in some subject that is required in placements.
Solution: Ask for help from an expert in that subject. Friend/Senior/Professor
It’s okay even if you don’t know that person. It might feel weird. It might sound opportunistic. You’ll be surprised how many people are willing to lend a hand. Some people might say “Sorry, I can’t help”. Thank them and find someone else. You need the knowledge, don’t let your ego block yourself from getting it. Go take help!
- Are you lazy? Do you have trouble keeping a schedule and studying regularly in a critical time like this?
Solution: Then ask someone to keep a check on you or better still find a partner to study with.
You now ask “If I depend on others to check on me, when will I learnt to do things myself?”
Well I respect your self-reliance, but seriously guys, this is not the time to work on yourself to become independent. You’ll have a ton of time do this after you get placed, and trust me, it takes time.
This is the time to get your ass moving, work hard and get placed. If it means that someone has to keep a check on you, so be it. If not now, when?
- Are you an introvert? Do you have trouble speaking up in an interview? Do you lose confidence completely and don’t know what to say even though you know the answer?
Solution: Ask someone to take mock interviews for you where you get some practice .
It’s okay if you are an introvert who doesn’t talk much, not everyone needs to be like me, :P talking all the time. However, you don’t want to become dysfunctional in an interview just because you are scared. It’s okay to be scared. Courage is not the absence of fear. It’s the ability to overcome fear.
The mock interviews from familiar people first will help you prepare for the actual interviews.
If you have any questions or if you are going through a tough time and you want to talk to me about it, leave a comment below and I’ll do my best to help you :)
