Last Thursday, I was scheduled to take a data entry test for a job. Normally, I can get a little nervous during job interviews/tests, but I usually handle myself pretty well. I was fine on the way there, and while I was waiting to be taken to the computer room to take the test. There were about 15 of us there to take it, and being around others working has never been a problem. I've worked in a couple of cube farms, and I am quite comfortable dealing with noise from others. Well, when I sat down and put my hands on the keyboard, my hands started shaking. They were shaking so bad, I couldn't type AT ALL! It scared the shit out of me. I put my hands in my lap, and the shaking stopped, but when I put them back on the keyboard, it looked like my hands were having seizures. I don't know what the hell happened to me. Any ideas on what was wrong with me?
My coworker gets shaky hands when he's stressed (the greater the stress, the more they shake). You might want to talk to a doctor about having something for such times, or do something natural (my coworker doesn't seem to fix the problem, he just lives with it, which isn't ideal for you). If it's the same thing as with him then it will go away with the stress but that isn't very helpful for interviews and tests!
I have no advice on the physical manifestations, sorry!
But will they let you retake the test?
(05-30-2010 01:41 AM)Ziggy Wrote: [ -> ]My coworker gets shaky hands when he's stressed (the greater the stress, the more they shake).
I have had these shakes before due to high stress -like a car wreck, but I've never had it happen to this extreme during a job search. I usually just get a little nervous, but nothing noticable. I've even taken data entry tests for previous jobs with no problems, but those were done individually, not as a group. One thing I did notice was that when everyone started typing, it sounded like everyone had acrylic nails. They made a "click, click, click" sound instead of a "type, type, type" sound. I use to work with a girl that had acrylic nails & she typed like that.
Had you had a lot of coffee before hand, or not eaten much? It could be a caffeine rush or low blood sugar. Just two shot in the dark guesses.
ITA with Cats, stress, low blood sugar caffiene overload all cause my hands to shake and tremble.
Sometimes I find it helpful to sqeeze or contract all the shaky muscles and release and relax them with a slow exhale. For whatever reason they recommend it because the contrast between purposely contracting the muscles as tight as you can then slowly releasing them helps with the anxiety and physical symptoms of high stress situations. Just an idea I've found helpful in the past.