How To Be Calm During An Interview
Arming yourself with answers to likely questions and researching your potential employer goes a long way toward calming nerves before an interview.
The ability to remain calm, may break or make an interview. Calmness shows poise instills confidence and promotes the clear-headedness necessary for thinking and reacting quickly.
So, for you to get that level of calmness, here are some tips you can use during an interview:
Practice the S.T.O.P Method
It goes this way:
- Stop what you’re doing and place focus around your thoughts.
- Take a couple of deep breaths.
- Observe what’s going on in your body, brain, and emotions, and why you’re feeling them.
- Proceed with an aim to incorporate what you observe into your actions.
The importance of this procedure is to slow down and be deliberate in the things you do, but the sentiments you let out. It reminds you that you have the ability to get rid of feelings of dread, doubts, and nerves in any circumstances.
Plan for the Worst
Whatever your greatest fear is, there’s always a way around it. Food particle in your teeth? Pack a smaller mirror and floss in your bag. Stressed over not having a good response to an interesting question? Be proactive and figure out how to cover your tracks when you don’t have the foggiest idea about an answer. By thinking ahead, you have the confidence that regardless of what happens, you’re more than prepared to deal with it.
Smile
It’s an obvious fact that smiling makes you feel surer, regardless of whether it’s fake, so there is no harm in trying it. And surprisingly if you hold it long enough, you’ll make the interviewer like you more.
Utilize Your Stress as Adrenaline
Anxiety and adrenaline are profoundly related—that is the reason studies show that getting pumped up rather than being calm before public speaking produces better outcomes.
So, in case you’re shaking and your blood’s rushing—good. Go with it.
Remember It’s Just a Conversation
Most importantly, remind yourself that you’re not leaping out of a plane, or combating a shark. You’re meeting one, perhaps two individuals, and having a decent discussion about your career.
So not all the pressure is on you because it isn’t simply going to be them grilling you—you have questions they need to answer, and they’re likely anxious about making a good impression, as well.
Infuse Some Perspective
When you feel apprehensive, everything appears to be intense and tough. It’s tempting to see the hiring manager, for instance, as a heartless examiner who’d like nothing more than to get you out.
Infusing some perspective here can help calm you down. Recall that your interviewer is simply just another human, like you. Additionally, it’s to their greatest advantage to build rapport with you and get you to show yourself in your best light since they have an opening to fill, after all, and are without a doubt judged on the quality of their recruits. They will be accustomed to seeing individuals feeling apprehensive as well, and would be quick to reassure you.
It’s also important not to put yourself through undue pressure. Obviously, you truly need this job, but remember that in the event that you don’t land this position, it is definitely not the end of the world. There are different positions out there – and really, by not thinking unreasonably about the job, you have a better shot at performing well at the interview.
Embrace Positive Self-Talk
Therapists and psychologists remind us that the language we use to converse with ourselves can powerfully affect our beliefs and actions. So, reframing unhelpful thoughts into more useful ones can have a genuine effect and make a huge difference.
For instance, as opposed to saying, ‘I’m so apprehensive about the interview’, why not say, ‘I’m so amped up or excited about the interview’?
Another positive thought process is to envision how you’ll feel when the interview is finished. Arrange a treat for the evening to look forward to, maybe a drink with a friend or loved one with whom you can have fun and talk over what happened.
Breathe Deep and Slow
When we are stressed out our breathing pattern changes: the breath gets shallower, the rate revives, and our hearts begin to race. The breathing technique can help with decreasing your heart rate and make you feel calm.
There is a wide range of breathing techniques out there, however the simplest one centres on ‘slow breathing’: breath in normally but breathe out leisurely, slowly, and steadily until your lungs are totally empty. Extending your exhalation will normally deepen your inhalation. Continue to do this for a couple of moments until you feel more relaxed.
Remember to Start the Day As You Mean It
Get up early on the day of your meeting. Leave a very sizable amount of time to prepare: rushing around will just put pressure on you. Go for a quick run or other exercises to help you burn off any excess pressure.
Have a good breakfast – something that will sustain you without making you feel drowsy, like corn porridge or oatmeal. If by any chance you’ve lost your appetite due to the interview, take two or three bananas with you and eat a significant piece when you can. Stay away from an excess of caffeine if possible: it can make you feel anxious and tense.
Leave with a lot of time to get to the interview and in transit listen to some motivational or relaxing music to make you feel pumped up or calm – whatever works best for you!
Late Minutes Tips
If by any chance you show up at the venue of the interview hot and bothered, go to the restroom and run cold water over your wrists and touch behind your ears to cool yourself off. Utilize the breathing techniques you’ve rehearsed to slow down your pulse. And keep in mind that you’re waiting to go in, don’t be afraid to strike a conversation with the secretary or any other individual waiting with you – it’ll help you take your mind off any apprehension you’re feeling.