Plan How You’ll Attend
If you’re going to an interview in person, it can help to plan some things in advance, including:
- where it is and how you’ll get there
- what time you should leave your home to arrive early
If you’re having a video interview, you should:
- make sure you know the time and date
- check they have your contact details
- test your equipment and the video software you’ll be using
- try to have a back-up plan if you have tech problems
- make sure you can use your data if you’re not on Wi-Fi
- find a quiet location with plenty of lighting for the call
Prepare For The Worst
Whatever your biggest fear is, theres always an answer for it. Lettuce in your teeth? Pack a compact mirror and floss in your bag . Worried about not having a good response to a tricky question? Be proactive and learn how to cover your tracks when you dont know an answer. By thinking ahead, you can truly rest assured knowing that even if the worst happens, youre more than ready to handle it.
Avoid Letting Your Anxiety Get The Best Of You With These Seven Pre
You finally landed an interview for your ideal job. Now you find yourself in the candidate holding tank five minutes before it all goes down. Your insides are churning, heart-pounding, palms sweaty — and your brain seems incapable of reading its own resume. You tell yourself to breathe, but nothing seems to help. Your name is called. The interview is over before it began.
Anxiety is an interview killer…and a common problem. Job seekers have every right to be anxious about an impending interview. After all, the competition is often killer and your livelihood could be at stake. But the last thing a hiring manager wants is for you to be a bundle of nerves.
Avoid letting your anxiety get the best of you with these seven pre-interview tactics.
1. Have a game planA day or two before your interview, scope out the company building. If you’re driving, find parking and learn exactly where you’ll need to be the day of the interview. On the day of, give yourself a generous amount of time to arrive at the interview location and get settled. Note: This doesn’t mean showing up to the actual interview an hour early. Use this time to take a walk to soothe your nerves or review your answers to potential questions. Realizing there are factors prior to the big interview that are completely within your control can help you gain your composure.
5 minute interview prep in five easy steps
CareerBuilder | February 1, 2021
Body language do’s and don’ts in the interview
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Ways To Calm Your Job Interview Nerves
Megan Richardson is the Lead Career Advancement Trainer at Goodwill Central Texas. With over 10 years of experience in training, instruction, and career development coaching, Megan currently supports a diverse client base in digital skills training and job search preparation where she emphasizes the use of simple, practical, and accessible tools and techniques to help her clients reach their career goals.
Related: 5 Ways to Calm Your Pre-Interview Nerves & Be Prepared!
In this video, our host Sinead offers five tips to help calm your interview nerves and feel more confident.
You’ve found a job posting you love, polished your resume, submitted your application and now you’ve landed the interview. Congratulations!
However, if you are like many job seekers, this is right around the time that your nervousness about the interview begins to make you dread what is, in reality, an amazing opportunity. While nerves can stem from many reasons, being able to overcome them is crucial to setting a confident and well-collected tone when meeting with potential employers.
In this article, we look at some ways to conquer those nerves before and during the interview.
Treat Your Anxiety As An Ally Not An Enemy
I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t get nervous before an important job interview. With so much riding on your performance, its not surprising that you would experience some anxiety about everything in the processfrom not wearing the right outfit, to not answering questions perfectly,” to looking foolish, or perhaps the worst fear, not getting the job offer.
Feeling stressed or anxious about an important interview is just a sign that you want to do well. Your anxiety can actually motivate you to be better prepared, provide you with energy, and keep you alert during the process. But anxiety can also prevent you from doing your best by distracting you or weakening your memory. Here are 10 quick tips for calming your anxiety and maybe even taking advantage of it:
1. Be careful what you eat or drink prior to an interview. It probably goes without saying, but avoid caffeine before the interview. It’s also never a good idea to have an alcoholic drink before an interview, even if you think it will relax you. Eat something light before your interview so your stomach isn’t growling or you get light-headed. A heavy meal can make you tired, so eat moderately.
2. Dont force yourself to calm down. Forcing yourself to calm down will just increase your stress.
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Don’t Succumb To Pressure
Once in a while, you may be interviewed by someone who grills you to see how you handle stress. It may be tempting to spiral into negative automatic thinking, such as “They know I can’t handle this job I should never have applied” or “They don’t really like me I’ll never get the job.”
Stop. If you find yourself in this situation, realize what the interviewer is trying to accomplish and don’t let them upset you. Know that the other candidates have been treated the same way and that it is not a reflection of you or your capabilities.
Effects Of Interview Anxiety
The fallout of interview anxiety can have debilitating effects on a personâs career progression. Many qualified candidates often miss out on great opportunities to move up the career ladder because of their inability to deal with interview anxiety and its effects.
Significant negative effects candidates face before, during, and after an interview are –
- Avoiding interviews – It is not uncommon for candidates who experience interview anxiety to reject or cancel calls for interviews to avoid being in a stressful position.
- Underperformance at interviews – Being anxious affects a candidateâs ability to focus. Candidates often hope to simply get through the interview process vs. performing well during an interview. Consequently, candidates receive low ratings from interviewers for being unable to showcase their knowledge adequately. In some cases, candidates âblank outâ rendering them completely unable to complete an interview.
- Amplified anxiety or rejecting job offers – Anxiety over unsatisfactory performance at an interview lingers on even after the interview process is complete. This raises self-doubt in candidates about their ability to attend future interviews or fulfill responsibilities in their prospective roles. This causes some candidates to discontinue their job search, rethink career changes, and in some cases even reject job offers.
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Tapping And Energy Hotspots
Similar to acupuncture, tapping is said to work by unblocking our energetic hotspots aka meridian hotspots in the body, and allowing energy to flow freely through the body, keeping us feeling calm.
These energy hotspots are thought to lie just beneath the surface of the skin and each point relates to a specific organ or part of the body.
Tapping on each point stimulates the meridian point and unblocks stagnant energy or emotion that may be stuck there, helping to restore that point of your body to full balance and flow, explains Jenna OKeefe, confidence and breathwork coach.
It also helps you feel calm as you focus on that point of your body and connect back to your breathing, which stimulates your parasympathetic nervous system.
When this is activated it means that the body feels safe. The heart rate is slowed, and all anxiety and fear is released. Tapping also works to release stagnant energy and emotion that we may be holding on to.
She believes that its important to do this as blocked energy hotspots can manifest as physical symptoms or can result in more psychological symptoms .
Remember You’re Interviewing Them Too
The great part of an interview? You’re not the only one in the “hot seat.” You are interviewing your potential company too! They should impress you as well. Think whether you can see yourself working in this environment. Is the company organized and able to help guide your career? What you feel matters. Plan to take notes on important features of the company and environment to review later.
You are going to have a great interview! Remaining calm before the interview allows you to think more clearly and show the employer your best qualities.
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Trick #: Make Dates With A Lot Of Friends
This way you keep occupied enough that you dont dwell on the post-interview anxiety too long, and by seeing a lot of different people you wont drive any one person crazy with your own anxiety.
In my experience, Ive found that friends have to be very, very close to sit through more than 3 conversations about the same stress points, especially when there a) is no clear way to resolution, or b) theyve suggested things to handle the situation and you havent taken the advice.
Should Anxious Candidates Admit They’re Nervous To Interviewers Or Is That A No
Dr. Sherry Benton: Anxious candidates usually show outward signs of nervousness, so interviewers can generally make the assumption that a candidate is uncomfortable without them having to verbalize it. It’s completely normal to feel nervous during a job interview, so it’s best to avoid talking about it and instead focus on managing it.
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She Looks To Walking Groups And Online Communities For Support
Pham joined the on May 31 the day after her 45th birthday after seeing it on Today. Im big on support groups on Facebook I even admin several and I have never seen a community as 100 percent positive as the Start TODAY community, she said. It doesnt matter if youre super athletic or just at the beginning. If people get a little bit frustrated or discouraged with their own progress, everybody chimes in and says, You got this, dont worry. Youre doing the right thing. Just give it time.
Groups like these help her stay positive. Ive surround myself with people also doing their work, staying healthy, exercising and working to create a better world. These people inspire me and keep me reaching for a better me, she said.
Are There Ways That Candidates Can Avoid Job Interview Anxiety Or Is It More About Managing It
Dr. Sherry Benton: It is more about managing job interview anxiety and balancing your arousal levels. Too much arousal, and you will experience increased anxiousness and likely decreased performance. On the other hand, if there’s not enough arousal, you may come across as uninterested or disengaged during the interview.
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Her Goals For The Future
Pham is working her way through her next 100 days of daily walks, and her daughter made her a chart so she could track her progress. Her family took that beach vacation, and while she likes how she looks in the photo, shes happier that she could keep up with her 11- and 8-year-old kids. I was so much healthier running around on the beach this year, she said.
Pham told her doctor she intends to get her A1c to a normal level within a year. By then, she would also like to be closer to a healthy body mass index. For now, Im going to keep walking my mile a day, add more as time goes on, return to yoga and Pilates, and focus on conquering my smaller goals one at a time, she said.
Her 15th wedding anniversary is coming up this fall. Before we got married, my husband and I discussed renewing our vows on our 15th anniversary, she said. I wasnt happy being a plus-size bride, and I have always dreamt of having my original wedding gown taken in or remade for a renewal ceremony. I have never gotten close to being able to do that until now! I tried on my wedding gown and its huge! I am more confident than ever I will get that non-plus-size dress for a vow renewal.
Golden Rules To Overcome Interview Nerves Forever
To help calm your nerves, follow these overarching guidelines which have been found to be highly effective.
15. Proper Preparation
It is facing the unknown that instils anxiety. If we are about to be thrust in front of many strangers to deliver a speech we should likely feel more trepidation than if we had to give that same speech in front of a group of friends. We know subconsciously that we can expect a favourable and forgiving response from friends, but with strangers we cannot tell what the result might be. Thus a scenario about which we have prior knowledge or is familiar is easier to deal with.
The key to making an unfamiliar situation like the interview into a familiar one is to prepare effectively and this includes:
- Research the recruiting company
- Complete the MPOWER 6 step plan to smart preparation
- Practice answering questions using the Answer Builder and Interview Me modules in InterviewGold
- If feasible, visit the offices where the interview will be held
- Carry out a mock interview at home
- Make sure you have the right clothes and accessories to make a great first impression
- Ensure you have all the right tools and information ready for the big day
All of these will help you prepare mentally and help you feel that you are coming home when you arrive at the interview.
16. Avoid Rushing Arrive Calm
17. Use Body Language
18. Positive Mental Messaging
19. Use the AWARE technique for anxiety
A:W:A:R:E:
20. Deep breathing for relaxation
Try this simple exercise
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Listen To A Motivational Playlist
Star in your own episode of Carpool Karaoke on your way to the interview, and you could sing your way into a Zen-like state for interview success.
Movement and music can instantly get you in a place of confidence, says Jennifer Davis, a New Jersey-based leadership coach. Pick a favorite song that fills your heart with passion. Songs and movements that connect you with your best self will allow you to fully experience power in the moment, and then you can go in and crush it!
How To Not Be Nervous In A Job Interview
It is normal to feel a certain degree of job interview nerves before and during a job interview. You may really want the job and know you have to perform under pressure, or you may be naturally shy.
You all know that the interviewer will be in control of the conversation and you do not know what questions will be asked. This can lead to anxiety and make you feel nervous in a job interview.
Dont worry. There are a number of tips for staying calm during a job interview which can help to reduce and manage your anxiety.
Try and keep positive and not put too much pressure on yourself. Youve probably read guides on how to write a resume and spent time applying for jobs. Youve made it through to the interview stage which is fantastic. At the same time, there are other jobs out there so its not the end of the world if you dont get the job.
Preparation is the key to overcoming job interview nerves. There are a number of steps you can take during the days leading up to the big day, and other job interview tips to help you calm on the day of the interview.
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Try To Avoid Negative Thinking
Stress around interviews is often influenced by our assumptions or the statements we make to ourselves about the process. Identifying and countering anxiety-provoking thoughts can help to lower levels of anxiety. Some of the negative thoughts that can up your anxiety level include:
“I have to land this job, or I will be hopelessly unemployed.”
- Counter this thinking with statements emphasizing that no one interview will determine your work future. There will be other options and other chances to land a good job.
“I just messed up that answer, I’m toast, and I’ll never be hired here.”
- One poor answer normally does not knock a candidate out of consideration. An interview is like a test, getting an 85 or 90 might be good enough to land the job.
“I’m afraid that they will ask me a question which stumps me and I’ll look foolish.”
- If you are well prepared, you will normally be able to share some answer which reflects positively on your strengths. If you are truly stumped, then say something like “That’s a great question, can I give that some additional consideration and get back to you?” You might even supply the answer in question as part of your follow up communication.
“There’s no way I’m qualified for this job.”
- Mentally review your qualifications repeatedly prior to the interview to convince yourself that you have the right stuff.
Think About What You Have To Offer The Company
Write some bullet points of what you would contribute. Consider how you can show those points in the interview. Think of the interview not as a test or as a forum designed to trip you up or put you on the spot, or as a fake self-presentation. Instead, think of it as you and the interviewer having a conversation to figure out if you joining the company would be mutually beneficial. That way youll see the interview process more collaboratively and wont feel as much performance pressure. Alice Boyes, PhD, author of The Anxiety Toolkit
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