No more Interview jitters!

Tips for bringing calm into the interview

Image: Tips for bringing calm into the interview

The stakes are often quite high on any job interview. You are eager to make a good impression to circumvent being rejected, yet interview jitters begin to take over.

The interview may start with a feeling of confidence, but as the interview progresses, you begin to doubt yourself. Quite possibly you believe your responses may be less than adequate and the negative self-talk begins to take over.

Your heart begins to pound a little faster, your hands begin to sweat and your voice that once was strong, now begins to quiver.  Your body is now displaying what the mind is conveying – nervousness.   

Placing yourself in the right frame of mind and controlling your mindset before and during the interview is a learned and practiced skill.  It is as important as preparing the responses for the much-anticipated interview questions.   

In this blog we will review how self-talk and mindful attention to breath can help to ease interview jitters.

Tip One: Create Positive Affirmations

A way to exude confidence on an interview is to understand what you fear most about the interview, and address these fears and concerns ahead of time. This helps to reinforce positive self-talk. So, lets break that down.

Self-talk is driven by what we think about ourselves and what we think others think about us.  How we feel about our work-self can be a reflected in the experience of our most recent work assignment. Some thoughts may be positive; however, some may be negative especially if the last work assignment was toxic. This causes self-doubt and the negative thoughts begin to take over. So, stop right there.

Ways to overcome negative feelings would include reflecting on your past performance reviews – which may include high praise from previous employers. Reminding yourself of what you have achieved – your skills, abilities and career accomplishments can act as a boost to your self-esteem.

Another way to address negative feelings is to accept that your recent layoff was simply an isolated event. It does not define you nor negate a lifetime of successes.  You have a lot to offer!

Create Positive Affirmations to reinforce these remembrances.  Your Affirmation is a phrase or two that lifts you up when self-doubt begins to distract and discourage your belief in yourself.  Teaching yourself to turn to Affirmations when you feel anxious can prevent the mind from building on negative thinking, which can impact your job search campaign as much as it can your interview. When you can shift your mind away from the negative, you are calming your nerves, and boosting your energy and confidence.

Here are examples of Positive Affirmations:

Affirmation for daily job search:  I am a seasoned and skilled professional and have the skills, abilities and knowhow to get the job done. I have built a reputation on my good work and will find the work that provides to me (fill in    the blank).  I am confident and I will succeed!

Affirmation to calm interview jitters. I am confident, I am good at what I do,  and I am prepared to talk about how my skills and experience match the employers needs. I know who I am, have prepared my responses and am ready. I will have successful interview.

Create and say your Affirmation first thing in the morning as you are about to begin your day in job search. Set the tone for the day. Have it posted in front of you where you can view it. Say your Affirmation out loud and pace yourself so you can tune in to each word. Say it once, then say it again and again until you feel what you are saying. Try closing your eyes so you can concentrate on each word. Feel the emotional shift. Practice this daily and begin to experience how much you can shift your energy to the positive.

When sitting in the waiting room, ready to meet the Hiring Manager, repeat in your mind the Affirmation you created to calm your interview jitters. (See example above.)  As you would when repeating your daily mantra, say your Affirmation slowly and focus on each word. If it is possible, and you have privacy, close your eyes so you can really concentrate. The goal is to relax into the moment.

Tip Two: Add the Breath

During the interview, you need to take stock on how you are breathing. Pay attention to when your breath quickens and your pulse heightens. A sudden feeling of self-doubt can trigger this bodily response- so pay attention to your self-talk.  Should you begin to feel nervous, say the word “stop!” to yourself and shift the self-talk to the pre-interview Affirmation you created and breath.

Breath in deeply and let your breath out by slowing blowing your breath out of your lungs with your lips partly open. Place your hands in a restful position in front of you. Visualize a successful interaction with the Hiring Manager and repeat your affirmation. Concentrate on what you are saying and pace yourself by your breath – and soon your body will align with your thoughts and deescalate your body’s reaction.

In Summary

To bring a calm to the interview, below are a handful of important recommendations that are useful.    

• Review your accomplishments so you can speak to them with ease.

• Prepare your response to the question “why you are looking for a new job?”  Be ready to address lay-off, firings and if you quit a job.

• Prepare your response to “tell me about yourself”.

• Practice your responses to anticipated behavior interview questions not just traditional interview questions, and

• Research the company and who you are interviewing with.

However, in addition, learning how to control negative self-talk through Positive Affirmations is as crucial to the interview as the recommendations listed above. Through the practice of incorporating Positive Affirmations on a daily basis, and breathing techniques, self-confidence gets a boost and distractions caused by nervousness is minimized. You have trained yourself to take control and shift the narrative.

Remember to write out your affirmations and commit to saying them, again daily, so when the jitters sneak up on you during an interview you will have a tool in your tool box to control your interview jitters and create a sense of calm.

You’ve got this!  Good luck on your next interview.