Have you ever taken a test or had an interview and came away feeling like you had failed but later found out that you did better than you thought?

All the time. Our self-assessment is rarely correct, it seems. I’m sure you did way better than you think. Do you generally tend to under-estimate yourself, perhaps?

I’m the same as @longgone. And there can be time when I think I did so well but the results are horrible too.

I took a test once where I was sure I got every answer wrong. Turns out I got some right and got and A after the curve.

Certainly. We often lack reliable “mirrors” of how other people perceive us.

I’ve been so sure that I’d flubbed a job interview, only to be offered the position. I’ve thought that someone didn’t like me, then learned that the person enjoyed me and my company.

The opposite can be true, as well. We’ve all hurt, insulted, or offended people, having had no malicious intentions or understanding of the pain caused. I once thought I’d done a brilliant job on a graduate school assignment, only to have it returned to me with a D- (I’d gotten the answers right, but the professor didn’t like the format I’d used).

No.

I usually get it about right.
One way or the other.

No. In my working years, at least to the best of my memory, I almost always left an interview knowing whether or not I got the job. Plus, I almost always landed the jobs I really wanted.

Yes, definitely, especially in college. There were two times I thought I had completely failed a math and then a history test and I ended up getting A in both. I felt both stupid and proud.

It has happened on occasions. I remember and interview once that started very negative then the manager kept asking me all sort of questions that I thought would be above what a cashier would make. They were questions that would be answered by managers. So I thought she was just asking me these questions , hoping to trip me up. Well I did fantastic apparently because she wanted me to start right away as an assistant manager/ cashier. She wanted me as an assistant manager for the weekends so she could have off, and work as a cashier 3 days a week. I was so sure she didn’t want me. When I said I would want to get paid more than a cashier, she said sure, but she wanted me to work all weekend. I had two small kids and I couldn’t commit to working every weekend. Same week, I got called from two other places I thought were not going to hire me that had better hours.

Like every test I took in Linear Algebra. I didn’t understand a word the lecturer said, but I used my knowledge from another class and it’s probably the only reason I passed the class. I kept thinking I had failed the exams because of this, but kept getting decent grades. I did study a lot for the final and thought I actually did well on it. Not only did I pass, I got an A.

@longgone I always underestimate and doubt myself so I know that there is an element of that going on regardless. It means so much to me to pass that I crumbled under the pressure a little bit and forgot so many things I know. For example, I had a complete mind blank on the second sensitivity period in young dogs. This is stuff I spout about all day, every day!!

^ Oh, I really do know the feeling. I loved and aced my biology course in high school, for example, but during my final exam I rambled on like an idiot. That’s not uncommon, at all. I’m dure your boss is aware of it as well.

Have them call me, and I will testify to your knowledge and skill. I’ll have Amy to point to as living proof!

@dxs UGH, I remember in linear algebra just wanting to punch rref into my calculator. Nope gotta do it all by hand.

@longgone Thank you :) unfortunately my boss had nothing to do with it. I put myself forward for the exam hoping it will gain me membership to the APDT and its assessed by their own assessors who don’t know me and haven’t seen me at work in my usual comfortable environment! It’s just wait and see now but I’m not very patient!!!!

@areukiddingme and all that matrix multiplication…its coming up in my algebra class now and I keep avoiding those problems because I just don’t want to do it all out.