How to Calm Your Nerves Before A Job Interview
You’ve submitted your CV and done the prep, now all that’s left is the interview. Read our guide to discover how to calm your nerves before a job interview.
No matter how well-prepared you are, nerves are a normal part of the job interview process. According to a survey from JDP, 93% of job candidates have experienced anxiety related to their interview. To stop your nerves from getting the best of you on the big day, read our guide for ten stress-busting techniques.
Table of Contents
10 Ways to Calm Your Nerves Before A Job Interview
1. Be Prepared
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” – Roy Keane
Investing plenty of time into preparation is the best way to build up your confidence before an interview. Before your interview, be sure to set aside time to do the following:
- Have an in-depth discussion with your recruiter about the role and the company
- Research the company
- Review your CV
- Update your LinkedIn
- Prepare answers for commonly-asked questions (e.g. “Tell Me About Yourself“, “Why Do You Want to Work With Us?“, “What Are Your Salary Expectations?” etc.)
- Conduct mock interviews
- Have your outfit ready-to-go
- Gather all required tech for remote interviews by phone or email
- Prepare a quiet space for remote interviews
Don’t forget to schedule a chat with your recruiter before the interview. They will be able to give you useful information about the company as well as some insights into their hiring processes.
2. Focus on Your Breathing
Right before the interview, take a mindful moment so you can relax and achieve a clear state of mind. Breathing exercises and meditation are highly effective ways of keeping anxiety at bay. An article from the University of Michigan explains, “Deep breathing is one of the best ways to lower stress in the body. This is because when you breathe deeply, it sends a message to your brain to calm down and relax. The brain then sends this message to your body. Those things that happen when you are stressed, such as increased heart rate, fast breathing, and high blood pressure, all decrease as you breathe deeply to relax.” A 2011 review article in Health Science Journal compiled some of the top health benefits of deep breathing techniques, these included:
- decreased fatigue
- reduced anxiety
- better stress management
3. Pump Yourself Up
According to data from JDP, 64% of candidates listen to music to get them into the right mindset before an interview. A 2014 study from Northwestern University revealed that participants who listened to high-powered, bass-heavy music showed improved performance during interviews. Just as an athlete will listen to an empowering tune to get pumped up for an event, you might listen to some motivational music for a pre-interview confidence boost.
4. Practice Visualisation
Visualisation is a technique used by many top athletes to give themselves a pre-game confidence boost. Tiger Woods, Muhammad Ali and Jack Nicklaus have all attributed part of their success to practising visualisation. Psychology Now explains the reason why visualisation works: “Mental imagery impacts many cognitive processes in the brain: motor control, attention, perception, planning, and memory. So the brain is getting trained for actual performance during visualization.” Set aside some time before your interview to visualise what a successful interview would look like.
To do this:
- Lie down in a quiet space. Shut your eyes, and fully focus on your breathing.
- Once you feel relaxed, imagine yourself entering the interviewer’s office. Think about the various colours, light, shadows and objects in the room. What does the interviewer sound like when they greet you?
- As you settle in, imagine yourself smiling warmly and the interviewer is smiling back. Once the interview commences, visualise yourself confidently and successfully answering the interviewer’s questions.
- Visualise what a successful outcome would look like. For example, at the end of the interview, you might imagine the interviewer say something like “You’re hired” or “Welcome to the team!”
5. Practice Positive Self-Talk
Put simply, self-talk is your internal monologue. Sometimes, self-talk can be positive, uplifting and encouraging. Other times, it can be distressing, pessimistic and demotivational. Before an important event like a job interview, it’s important to pay attention to this as it can have a huge effect on your mindset. Use positive self-talk to silence your inner-critic. Be kind to yourself and practice self-compassion. If a nasty thought creeps into your head, try to distract yourself or challenge the self-criticism by asking whether it’s even true.
6. Get a Sweat On
“After a fast-paced game of squash or several laps in the pool, you’ll often find that you’ve forgotten the day’s irritations and concentrated only on your body’s movements… As you begin to regularly shed your daily tensions through movement and physical activity, you may find that this focus on a single task, and the resulting energy and optimism, can help you remain calm and clear in everything.” – Mayo Clinic
One great trick to help calm your nerves before an interview is to exercise. Not only does exercise help take your mind off the upcoming job interview, but it is also a proven stress-reliever and confidence-booster. Studies show that exercising reduces levels of stress hormones (e.g. cortisol and adrenaline) in the body and stimulates the release of feel-good chemicals. On the day of the interview, set yourself up for success by going for a brisk walk, a dip in the pool or a half-hour yoga session.
7. Maintain Good Posture
Studies show that maintaining good physical posture not only projects confidence but it can also help you to feel more confident in yourself. A 2009 study found that people who sit up straight were more likely to believe thoughts they wrote down while in that posture concerning whether they were qualified for a job. Before and during the interview, be sure to do a quick posture check:
- Is your back straight?
- Are your shoulders relaxed?
- Is your chest lifted from the breastbone?
- Are both your feet firmly resting on the floor?
8. Plan a Nice Treat
Sometimes distraction can be a useful tool. While preparing for your interview, you should also plan something to look forward to afterwards. This will give you something else to focus on so that you’re not wholly consumed by interview anxiety. Perhaps you could plan an activity you enjoy or arrange to meet a friend for a delicious lunch. A lot of hard work went into applying for the job and preparing for the interview, you have earned a reward!
9. Drink Tea Not Coffee
Be strategic in what you eat and drink on the day of the interview. Avoid coffee directly beforehand as this may leave you feeling jittery. For your pre-interview caffeine boost, try a calming cup of green tea instead. According to Healthline, “Many people report having more stable energy and being much more productive when they drink green tea, compared with coffee.”
10. Make A Gratitude List
Another effective way to calm your nerves before a job interview is to make a “Gratitude List”. According to the JDP survey, 6% of respondents said that they made a Gratitude List as part of their interview preparations. A gratitude list involves writing a list of good things that you appreciate in your life and/or career. This exercise can help to relieve stress and increase feelings of positivity. As the career coach, Katherine Street writes, “people with a greater sense of gratitude are less depressed and neurotic, and more agreeable and open — traits that are attractive to employers.”
How to Calm Your Nerves Before A Job Interview: Key Takeaways
It’s natural to experience anxiety throughout the job interview process. However, it is possible to learn how to calm your nerves before an interview through the right combination of preparation and self-care. It may also help to approach a recruiter who can prep you for the interview and advise you on job interview techniques so that you feel more relaxed ahead of the big day.
