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Advice on How to Cope with Interview Stress
Advice on How to Cope with Interview Stress
Getting an interview is great but may also fill you with dread. We hope to ease this stress, by giving you some simple ways of how to stay calm, stop stressing and make the best out of your interview.
Firstly, it’s very normal to feel nervous before an interview, in fact it would be slightly strange if you didn’t. Remember, a few nerves is a good thing, but you want to try and avoid them completely consuming you. We have created this blog post in the hope you will go into an interview feeling happy and confident.
Tips on how to prepare:
One of the easiest ways to help reduce interview stress is to ensure you properly prepare for it in every way you can. There are a few ways to prepare:
- Think about some questions you could asked, and prepare answers to them, ensuring you have real life examples to exemplify what you’re saying.
- Practise, practise, practise – whether this is in front of the mirror or asking a family member or friend to help you out. Playing the senior out will help you know what to expect when you’re in the interview.
- Do your research, this will enable you to feel like you know the company and gives you a better grasp on what they might talk to you about.
- Don’t stress about mistakes, they are bound to happen and are expected as you’re only human!
- Prepare the night before by preparing your outfit and bag and aim to get an early night and have a good night sleep. You want to wake up feeling refreshed and energised.
- The morning before your interview you should aim to wake up with enough time to eat. Get ready do some last minuet prep and get there, you want to avoid rushing around as it will only increase your stress.
Tips for during the interview:
- Firstly, always look professional both by your choice of clothes but also through your posture and manners throughout the interview. Despite your nerves, try not to fidget, it is distracting.
- Remember an interview is not a quiz show, it is a two-way conversation where you can get to know the company better, and they can get to know you. Asking questions is always a good way to show you are intrigued and want to learn more.
- As it’s a conversation try not to just learn set answers, try and respond to what they’re saying in the moment, to enable them to see your personality and your experience. Don’t be a robot, be friendly and endearing make them want to hear more about you.
- Remember, the interviewer/ers want you to do well and have a great interview. Even though they may come across as scary, they’re rooting for you deep down. They’ll have been through the interview process themselves and will remember the nerves and stress of it all, they are only human after all.
- If those nerves rise, remember stop, take a deep breath, think about what’re saying and carry on. It’s not a race answering quickly doesn’t mean you’re a better candidate.
Tips for afterwards:
- Firstly, arrange something for you to look forward to, so you can relax and treat yourself.
- It’s pointless saying not to overthink what you did and said whilst in the interview, because all of us will replay and question some of this we said. However, try and occupy your mind with other things, as there is nothing you can do to change the interview afterwards.
- It’s always nice to send a follow up email thanking the interviewers for their time, as you never know when in the future you will see them again and it’s nice to leave them with a good memory of you.
- If it’s bad news, aim as best you can to see the rejection as a positive. Initially, yes, this will be a challenge but after a while see how their feedback will be able to help you in the future. Try and see it constructively and a way for you to improve, not as a list of things you did wrong.
If you would like some more help with interview preparations and the interview itself, then check out our website for our blog on advice on how to tackle video and phone interviews, how to talk about yourself in an interview, and more…
Stay Safe,
Team Affecto.