Are you stressed about an upcoming interview? Feeling uneasy and on edge. Most people feel this way but interview nerves is different where it can affect your ability to communicate and can place you in a mental fog during the interview. It is a serious problem and will cause you to lose out on opportunities. You finally got the job interview and then you blow it. Stress on the other hand can help you perform better in the interview.
Lights, camera, action. Be prepared
You are in the interview and being grilled with questions like an interrogation. No. Not quite but it can feel that way particularly if you see you aren’t a fit for the company with the culture or with other things. Research the company, the products or services they offer, and the people you will be interviewing with so you will feel more comfortable and confident. Take a pregnant pause before answering their question. Give your brain a few seconds to pause and think about how to answer their question. In some interviews the interviewers are very relaxed and friendly because they made a decision not to hire you. In other situations the interviewers are very intense, serious, and seem skeptical of you. This may be due to the reason that they are seriously considering hiring you. It could be vice versa also. Sometimes you just don’t have a sense if you got the job after the interview.
Practice, practice, and practice some more
Even after all the practices there is nothing like the real thing when being in that room and being interviewed but after a few interviews and much practice your confidence will rise and you will be more self-assured, and you can feel that getting the job isn’t going to make or break you. You develop a tougher skin. If they hire you great and if not you’ll roll on to the next job interview. After all you are unique, there is no one like you, and you are a valuable asset to the company.
Develop stories based on what the company values. If the company values creative problem solving, thinking outside of the box, and forward thinking than think of stories in the past to demonstrate that and practice them until you are comfortable telling them in an interview. Practicing it will make it sound natural when you tell it and not like a robot. Make sure you sell yourself. You are not there to be shy and wishy washy.
Plan ahead and arrive early
Make sure you have extra copies of your resume, clothes chosen and ironed out or dry cleaned if necessary, and routes to get to the job mapped out. If they offer an interview time choice choose non-busy traffic hours. Interview day could arrive and you could have a frazzled mind if you don’t prepare. Arrive early to the interview at least 15 minutes but don’t arrive 30 minutes early. Sit in the car or do something else but you don’t want to interrupt their day and make them to feel pressured to interview you earlier to not having you sitting in the lobby for a half hour.
Interview nerves are normal but for some people it affects their performance. Utilize these steps to not let that happen.
