Jobhop Jobhop's blog : Interview Techniques For The Very Nervous
Feeling nervous about your job interview? Here are a few tips to help you through it.
1. Plan ahead
"Proper planning prevents poor performance" when you fail to plan, you are likely to be nervous.
Take time to research the company, research the mission statement and the core values, find out what the company stands for.
What products and services do they offer?
How fast have they grown in the past few years?
These are some of the things you should know about the company to get an edge over other applicants. It will also help your confidence as you step into the interview.
Planning also means getting the necessary items ready before going to the interview. If you fail to do this, you're more likely to start rushing around at the last minute; this could this affect your performance.
Print and organise all your necessary documents before the interview.
Iron the clothes you're wearing to the interview the night before, not on the day.
Lastly, don't forget to get a good night sleep, so you've got energy for the interview.
In summary, you can overcome nervousness during the interview by planning and getting yourself prepared.
2. Rehearse well
Make sure to practise answering interview questions. Doing this will prevent you from performing poorly during the interview since you'll already have an idea of typical interview questions.
One of the primary reasons people feel nervous during interviews is due to lack of confidence. Part of the best ways to achieve confidence is by rehearsing over and over again ahead of the interview.
To start with, you can gather your relatives or friends around you and get them to ask you questions as though they are the interview panel.
You can also stand before the mirror and act as if you are already in the interview room. Monitor the way you speak, if it is too fast, then slow your pace down.
Keep repeating questions and answers; this will help to make getting nervous during an interview a thing of the past.
3. Change your mindset
Another common reason why people feel nervous during the interview is a poor mindset. Mindsets such as "will they even hire me?" "Am I qualified enough?" "Can I outshine the other candidates?" the list goes on.
When you have negative thoughts like this, you can never perform at your best.
Replace every negative thought with a positive one.
Don't see yourself as someone who is not qualified enough; instead, see yourself performing well in the interview; see yourself occupying the vacant position the company has.
By doing replacing negative thoughts with positive ones you'll give yourself a much-needed confidence boost.
4. Remember it's just a conversation
The last time I checked, an interview is a discussion between a human and another human, nothing else.
Whenever you are in an interview, always remind yourself that you are just having a chat, don't put unnecessary pressure on yourself.
The reason is that when you put yourself under pressure, your brain can never work optimally, and poor performance might be inevitable.
Feel calm while attempting questions asked by the interviewers
If you don't understand a particular question, you can call their attention to it and ask them to explain.
5. Maintain a good mood
Your present mood can influence your performance during an interview, so make sure you set yourself in the right mood before, and during the interview session. To spark your mood, you can chat with someone you love so much before entering the interview room; you can also watch a short comedy video, or play your favourite song, do anything which will set you in a happy mood.
For job interview help click here >>> and find out about interview tips and tricks to cope with job interview stress.
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Natasha Wright Jobhop.co.uk
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