Tips to Help Calm Your Nerves before Your Interview

 

A job interview is a big deal. Your success at the interview makes or breaks your efforts to advance your career. Being nervous is a completely normal reaction – but you must find a way to calm your nerves and convince a hiring manager you’re the right person for the job.

Although it can be hard to stay calm, cool and collected, following these tips allows you to go into your interview with the confidence you need to succeed.

 

• Get yourself 100 percent prepared before the interview.

Do your homework before an interview. Knowing you are prepared will calm your jitters and help you craft great answers to questions. Research the company and carefully review the job listing to demonstrate you have the skills the employer is looking for.  Consider practicing answers to hard interview questions so you don’t get caught off-guard. 

 

• Practice selling yourself.

Your interview is the one chance you have to show you are the right person to help the company succeed. Think about why you are the best person for the job and be ready with your “elevator pitch” to sell yourself as the ideal candidate. Think about your greatest professional accomplishments and be ready to discuss them to show off all you can do for the company. 

 

• Give yourself time to think before responding to questions.

You don’t have to jump right in to answering after an interviewer questions you. In fact, if you just start talking, you might provide a meandering answer that fails to impress. It’s okay to pause for a second or say, “Let me take a moment to think about that question.” An interviewer will be more impressed with a great answer after taking a few seconds to collect your thoughts than if you just stammer out a bad reply. 

The Reserves Network will help you land interviews with top companies interested in hiring people with your skills. Search our available jobs today to get started on the next phase of your career!