Confidence is Key: 10 Tips to Help You Conquer Your Nerves Before a Job Interview
Updated: May 20, 2020
Nervous before an interview? Here’s 10 quick and easy things you can do to exude confidence and ward off the pre-interview jitters.
Power pose. Research actually supports the theory that power posing for ten seconds can make you feel more confident. To try it, stand like your favorite super hero with your feet apart, hands on your hips, and your chest and head held high.
Eat a piece of chocolate. Dark chocolate is known to temporarily ease your nerves and cure anxiety. Chocolate contains tryptophan, an amino acid that is converted to serotonin in the body. At high doses, serotonin is known to cause sleepiness, but at lower doses has a very soothing effect.
Take a deep breath. Taking a deep breath helps to calm your mind and clear your head. While it may just seem like a cliché, there is actual science behind it. Breathing deeply helps to trigger the parasympathetic nervous system to secrete hormones that will decrease your blood pressure and heart rate, which will help you relax.
Reflect. Take the time to reflect on your accomplishments, qualifications, and the reasons that you were invited to interview in the first place. Putting the interview in context with your life may help set the stage for success.
Rehearse. Practice makes perfect. Although you may not know what questions you may be asked, you can practice explaining your previous experiences and what you have learned from them, as well as practicing answers to common interview questions.
Envision success. Envisioning success is a good way to take your mind off of the interview and may also help you feel more comfortable. By taking time to envision success, you will also be able to determine the type of difference you want to make while on the job, which will be beneficial to convey during your interview.
Dance it out. Not only is dancing fun, but it like many other forms of exercise, it releases endorphins, which are neurotransmitters that may induce positive feelings.
Listen to your favorite song. If you don’t have time or privacy to dance, you can listen to your favorite song. Psychological research has shown that listening to music helps relieve anxiety by helping to decrease the number of stress hormones that are released.
Distract yourself. Read an article in the newspaper, play a game on your phone- anything to take your mind off of the interview. You can’t worry about something you’re not even thinking about.
Fake it until you make it. If all else fails, fake it until you make it. Sometimes, just pretending to be confident can give you actual confidence, which is important to have during job interviews.