Change your thinking and calm your interview nerves

From racing thoughts and sweaty palms to feeling restless, job interview nerves are natural. In order to exude confidence and make a strong impression, it’s important to calm your nerves before an interview.  

Over the years, I’ve given plenty of advice on how to calm nerves before an interview, including a few core job interview techniques that can help you to quiet negative thoughts. In this blog, I’ll share how to overcome your interview anxiety and give yourself the best chance for success. 

Prepare before your interview starts 

Interview nerves can start long before your allotted time. Make sure to get a good night’s sleep before your interview. Then, it’s important to arrive in plenty of time, around 15 minutes early. This will give you time to reduce your stress levels before meeting your interviewer. 

Put your mind at ease by talking to your recruiter before your interview 

Picking up the phone and speaking to your recruiter is a great way to calm your pre-interview nerves. After all, helping you to prepare for an interview is a key part of their role.   

Call your recruiter if: 

• There is anything playing on your mind about this opportunity. 
• You have any questions that are causing you stress. 
• You are not 100% sure about a certain part of  the interview process. 

Your recruiter will know their client very well, so give them a call to help put your mind at ease. Remember: they had enough faith in you to put you forward for the role. Speaking with your recruiter again might just give you the confidence boost you need.

Practise answering common interview questions

The thought of talking about yourself for the best part of 45 minutes (or more) can often be the cause of interview nerves. Lengthy public speaking doesn’t come naturally to everyone and can be a bit daunting.

If this sounds familiar, then practise answering some common interview questions about your background. Prepare responses about your key skills and attributes and why you think you are right for the job. Your recruiter can provide you with practice interview questions. Or take a look at the linked resources below.

If you can, ask someone you trust to practise interviewing you. Familiarise yourself with answering questions to channel your nervous energy. This will help you to feel comfortable when talking about yourself to a potential employer. It could also make the prospect of doing it in the interview room seem far less scary.

Picture positive outcomes to tackle interview nerves directly

Negative thinking can send the best of us into a downward spiral of anxiety. However, this is not the right mindset to be in before an interview.

Give yourself a pep talk and remind yourself of everything you have achieved so far in your career. Now try to picture positive outcomes in your mind’s eye. Think of building up a good rapport with the interviewer or delivering great answers that set you apart.

To embody this positive outlook:

• Maintain an upright posture and positive, open body language 
• Give direct eye contact to your interviewer  
• Practise deep breathing before you go into your interview if you’re feeling nervous. 

Never underestimate the power of positive thinking as a job interview technique. A positive outlook is key to your career success.

Research your interviewer to change your perception

Meeting an interviewer can be intimidating. This is often because a candidate starts to picture a mysterious, powerful decision maker whose opinion counts for everything. Thinking in this way is enough to get anyone’s interview nerves going.

Minimise this potentially stressful situation by removing the mystery element:

• Look the interviewer up on LinkedIn and put a face to the name.
• Check out their career journey.
• Recognise that this person was once in your shoes, sitting on the other side of the desk feeling nervous.

Consider every interview as a conversation 

An interview should not be an interrogation. The interviewer isn’t trying to trip you up or make you look bad. They simply want to have a conversation about your skills, attributes and experience. It’s also a chance to find out what you know about the organisation and why you want to work there. 

As long as you have prepared to talk about all of these common interview topics, you shouldn’t have anything to be nervous about.

Remember: the interviewer wants to impress you too

In any job interview, there is a balance of power. Yes, this interviewer may be more senior to you. And it’s likely that you really want to impress them because you are keen on this opportunity. Trust me, this feeling is often somewhat mutual.

The interviewer needs to attract the best talent and preserve their organisation’s reputation. Impressing you in the interview room is one sure-fire way to do this.

When you think of it this way, the interviewer becomes less of a scary enigmatic stakeholder, and more of a human being. They simply want to present the company and the opportunity on offer in the best light possible. Their main goal is to learn whether you are suitable for the role.

Look after yourself during the interview cycle

Positive, rational and optimistic thinking will be much easier if you remember to look after your physical health in the lead up to your interview.

Exercise is a scientifically proven technique for reducing stress and anxiety.  Eat well, steer clear of alcohol, caffeine and junk food, and get plenty of rest.

A healthy body goes hand in hand with a healthy mind. Exercise can be one of the best ways to reduce your interview nerves.

Finally, don’t forget to keep things in perspective. Of course, you want this interview to be successful. But, rest assured, you will still get to where you want to be even if you aren’t successful in securing this particular role.  

Above all, try to remember: 

• Follow these steps to calm your interview nerves.  
• This interview isn’t the be all and end all.   
• If this interview isn’t a success, it will be good practice for your next interview. 

• “Tell me about a time you failed”
• Got a second interview? Here’s what to expect
• Eight tricky interview questions – and how to answer them
• 6 ways to show your interviewer that you really want the job
• The do’s and don’ts of networking to find a job 
• Why storytelling could be your key to interview success
• Four tips for delivering the best interview presentation possible
• Seven common temp interview questions