How to Deal With Interview Anxiety (7 Easy-to-Follow Tips)
Everyone gets nervous before an important job interview - that’s perfectly normal, and it is just a sign that you want to do well and want to get this job.
Your anxiety can motivate you to prepare better, it can provide you with energy and keep you alert during the interview process. But anxiety has a dangerous side, so it can also prevent you from doing your best by distracting you or weakening your memory. Let’s see how to get rid of your interview anxiety:
7 Easy-to-follow tips
1. A “state of mind” causes anxiety - change your mind
If you think of interviews as a transactional process, where authority asks questions, and you have to give them the right answers to be selected, then you normally will be nervous and anxious. Change your perspective - keep in mind that interviews are a conversation process where two people talk to each other. There is no authority, only mutual respect. Think of the interview as a process in which two people ask each other questions. A process in which there are no right or wrong answers.
Understand that in interviews everyone is faced with a situation with their point of view and that is the only story you have to tell. Whether they selected you do not depend on the right answers, but rather on whether the interviewer likes your unique point of view. Once your perspective changes, anxiety automatically will overcome itself.
2. Get outside of yourself
Anxiety makes you self-centered. So to reduce it, try to focus on others and be compassionate.
How to do it? Say hello to the employees, ask your interviewer how their day is going, pay attention when a person tells you their name, try to remember it.
There will always be some anxiety at the interview, and that is normal. But if it affects you negatively, if it weakens you or prevents you from moving forward in your job search, then seek professional help. There are many techniques and treatments for anxiety, there are ways to use them to improve the performance of your interview.
3. Don’t force yourself to calm down
When you are feeling anxious - Stop forcing yourself to calm down, because this will just increase your stress. Instead, practice the process of mindfulness -notice and accept the anxiousness. It’s important to practice observing what your feelings are and accepting them without judgment. Make this a habit. It will help you relax.
4. Control what you can by preparing
It depends on you how you prepare for the interview. Use anxiety as motivation to prepare. Explore the organization, practice answering interview questions, practice handling and telling powerful stories about your skills (prepare some powerful stories). The more prepared you are for the interview, the more knowledge you have about your potential employer, the better you are likely to perform in the interview.
5. Find the right resources
Good preparation gives you self-confidence and is an excellent remedy for anxiety. Explore as much as you can. Any preparation you can make from the right sources will help you increase your comfort level and make you feel more confident and capable in the interview.
6. Visualize success
Find a quiet place where you will not be disturbed, close your eyes and visualize that you are successful in your interview. Visualizing success is more than just positive thinking. When you do it right, it prepares your brain to behave in a certain way. Elite athletes use this technique before competitions to improve their performance.
7. Breathe
When you are anxious, your breathing is shallow, and you do not inhale enough oxygen. Try to inhale deeply through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Do this for a minute or two. You can practice breathing anywhere, no one will probably notice, and just inhaling an enormous amount of oxygen will relax you, it’s a natural relaxant. When parking at the interview site, try to take a few minutes to sit and breathe calmly in your car.
Bonus - Here are some more things that are also working:
- Practice yoga
Anxiety has almost nothing to do with your logical side, but it’s related to an uncontrolled response of your body. That’s why you need this practice to calm your body. There are some special yoga classes for anxiety, but almost every type of yoga helps a lot in dealing with anxiety.
- Career counseling
The counselor will help you a lot in gaining self-confidence about your special skills for the labor market, will help you admit you are a wonderful employee needed by the employer. He will explain to you how to deal with some difficult situations and how to avoid them. And it will give you the best answers to stupid interview questions that put you in trouble and what is the reason for them.
- Activities that are helping you become a better communicator
Anxiety affects our communication skills. Therefore, start with activities to improve communication skills, such as acting, reading communication books, and try to increase the circle of friends as well.
- Anxiety pills
Anxiety is a condition that needs to be treated. If you can not deal with it alone, then a serious approach and professional help are needed, and often appropriate pills.
Keep in mind that the goal is not to kill all your anxiety, because you are a human being with emotions and this is impossible. But the goal is to keep it to a bearable level, where you can manage your behavior and what you are saying, to work in your best interest.