Coping With Interview Nervousness

You’ve done it!  You landed an interview with a prospective company that finds your skills to be a match to their need.  Now, it’s time to prepare for an interview.  Naturally, you may be nervous about the anticipated change in employment and the first step, interviewing.  Some people don’t sleep, other’s eat or drink in excess.  None of these things are conducive to making a good first impression.  There are better ways to cope with nervousness and we would like to share a few ideas with you.

The best idea is to prepare yourself, mentally and physically.  By researching the company in advance, you can have a better idea of their company culture and long term goals and how you may fit into their picture.  Study the website, understand the company’s structure and product.  This will give you insight into how you may want to dress for the interview and what kind of response is appropriate for the interview questions.

Next, pick out your attire the night before.  Make sure the outfit is pressed, clean, and wrinkle-free. Pick out your shoes, socks and any accessories that will compliment the ensemble.  You won’t want to scramble to find these items the day of the interview.  Make sure your hair is done and your nails are trimmed and clean.  You want to make sure you are well put together, as this will boost your confidence.  When you feel like you look like a million bucks, it may be easier to ask for, well, a few thousand more.  Don’t overdo it though, make sure you dress for a business environment.  By doing your research beforehand, you will understand if the business is formal or if business casual is appropriate.  By preparing to present yourself in a professional manner, you will be more confident, and less nervous, during the interview.

Brush-up on interview questions and prepare some answers for common questions.  There are a ton of resources available to help you with interview preparation.   If you got an interview through a staffing agency, speaking to the recruiter who set up the interview is also helpful.  They are a great resource to ask about the culture, who you will be speaking to and if they have any extra information they can provide you with prior to the interview.  Using your resources before the interview will give you more confidence because you have an idea of what to expect.  The more research the do, the better you will feel during the interview.

Lastly, remember that the interviewer is human.  All of us have been in that chair, being interviewed by someone who’s job is to assess if you may be a fit for their company.  If they are a good interviewer, they will do their best to make you comfortable so they can get sincere answers, not just canned answers.