Anyone who’s had a job interview will recognise the pressure we can put ourselves under – here are some helpful tips on how to conquer job interview nerves, and a reminder that they can be useful too.
Normalise the nerves
Step one for beating your nerves is to normalise them. You are about to do something important, and it’s okay that it feels stressful. Nerves are part of our body’s response to high-pressure situations, so a first step to take control is to reassure yourself that what you’re feeling is normal and that you are safe.
Many people find interviews difficult because of the uncertainty and requirement to perform on the spot. Presumably, it’s a job you want, so there’s plenty riding on the outcome of the interview.
It’s useful to understand that the nervous feelings are your body’s response to messages from your brain reminding you that the interview is important. Nerves are a result of the fight-flight response kicking in, releasing adrenaline that sharpens our senses and speeds up our responses. Anxiety narrows our focus to what’s immediately in front of us – which is just what we need in an interview!
Reassure yourself that you might be uncomfortable now, but once the interview is underway, it’s likely your nerves will settle down.
Reduce the uncertainty by finding out more about the interview
You will probably be more nervous because of the unknowns about the situation you’re about to face, so find out as much as you can about the interview process before you turn up. Things you can reasonably ask are:
- How many people will be on the interview panel
- How long do they expect the interview to take
- What’s the format? Is it a conversation with questions, or will you be expected to do other tasks?
If you’re neurodivergent, you can ask for reasonable adjustments for your job interview. That could be having time to think between questions or even having the questions sent in advance.
Managing your physical response to job interview nerves
We will all recognise the heart-thumping, butterfly-jumping, palm-sweating symptoms of being extremely nervous. All of these, plus an anxious tummy and even shaking, are our physical stress response kicking in. But there’s action you can take to manage some of these effects.
Breathing exercises like square or box breathing (breathe in for four counts, and out for four counts while imagining the sides of a square) help to lower your heart rate and counteract the chemical stress response and tell your nervous system you are safe.
If you feel yourself slipping into panic, the 5-4-3-2-1- senses grounding technique can be really helpful because it gives your brain a job to do, which stops it spiralling. Name five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell and one thing you can taste.
Make sure to eat something nutritious before your interview and watch how much caffeine you’re having. You don’t want to turn up for your job interview hungry and wired!
Having a cold drink to help you cool down and getting some fresh air can counteract feelings of anxiety. This can help to lower your body temperature, which should mean you look less flushed and flustered.
I do reassure clients that we feel stress and nerves more than other people can see the symptoms of it. We think it looks worse than it is.
Taking control of anxiety about a job interview
There are a few things you can do to put yourself back in control when you feel stressed about a job interview.
Practice confidently sitting and standing so your body language exudes confidence, even if that’s not how you feel. (Yes, there’s an element of fake it ‘til you make it here!)
Grounding techniques can help you feel more comfortable in the moment. An easy one is describing your surroundings – that red mug, the hum of the coffee machine, the faint smell of cleaning products. This brings your brain back to the present.
Get your preparation right by doing enough so you feel ready, but not so much that you feel overwhelmed. You want to feel confident your examples are recall-ready, but this isn’t an audition, so you don’t need to learn them like a script. If you’d feel more confident taking a notebook in with some notes, do that. Many companies are more accepting that this helps people do their best at interviews.
Remind yourself that the interviewers have already seen your CV and decided you could be right for the role. While you are being assessed, their intention is for you to do well, not to catch you out.
What if nerves win during the interview?
There’s still plenty you can do to take control if you feel your nerves taking over during the interview.
- Don’t start by telling them or apologising for being nervous
- Buy time by taking a drink of water
- Ask the interviewer to repeat the question or explain it another way – you can also do this if you genuinely aren’t sure what they are asking
- Repeat the question back to confirm your understanding while you process. Try: “Okay so an example of when I have presented complex information to a non-technical audience…”
- Have a holding phrase you can use to create a bit of time to think. This could be something like: “Interesting question. Let me just think of the best example to use…”
Remember, the interviewers will know you’re in a stressful situation and should be understanding that you need to manage your nerves during the interview.
Don’t forget to bring your personality!
Sometimes when people are nervous, they get very serious and forget to bring their personality. Remember to smile and make eye contact; this might help you settle down. Interviews are about building rapport and connecting, so it’s important you don’t forget to show off who you really are, as this is an important part of whether you will fit in the team the new job is based in. You want to have a productive conversation, and they want to get to know the real you.
The main thing is to understand and anticipate your nerves, know yourself and how your nerves tend to show up and then try out different techniques to know what works to keep yours in check, so they don’t derail you on the important day.
If you are reading this, share in the comments what has helped you control your nerves when you really wanted to succeed at an interview.
If you want more advice about how to conquer job interview nerves or support with your job search, get in touch to book a free initial chat.
