Tips to calm pre-interview concerns

Your first face-to-face interview is and always will be the most panicky thing for any job hunt. Your ready and confident that your perfect for the role, but suddenly, as the minutes start to count down you’re getting more and more nervous. Here are a few things you can do to help you through the process.

S-T-O-P Method

Stop what you’re doing and concentrate on your thoughts.

Take a few deep breaths.

Observe what’s going on in your body, emotions, and mind, and why you’re feeling them.

Proceed with a purpose to include what you observed in your actions.

This is promoting the idea of taking a step back. Instead of letting your nerves be the only thing you can focus on.

It’s not a test

You need to remember that Interviews are not an exam, you are not expected to know everything about your career and recall it all when you’ve been asked. Take everything you need with you on a ‘cheat sheet’ if you wish.

Have a simple list of your main accomplishments, the names of the interviewers, the questions you’d like to ask at the end. This will cancel out the fear of forgetting something.

Strategy for After

Why not give yourself something to look forward to after it’s all completed, this will allow you to focus on this instead of those horrible nerves. Go for a jog, some retail treatment, see a movie, do anything to reward yourself for putting in the effort and courage to go.

Body Language

Body language is important in any interviews, different studies have even shown that having your hands in sight, rather than below the desk, makes you seem more truthful and friendlier. Make eye contact with the interviewer and sit up in your chair. These are just a couple of basic and easy things to practice that naturally give you a more self-assured posture.

Trust yourself!

There’s a reason you’ve made it this far, the employers like your CV, think positive and tell yourself that you’re good enough for the role.

We hope one of these tips help you, If you’ve got an interview in the pipeline, we wish you the best of luck!