Do you get so nervous that it keeps you from doing well in your job interviews?
Hi, I’m Jeri Walker, Career & Job Search Strategist and Founder of Your Best Designed Career
and in this video I'm going to teach you how to stay relaxed during your interview
so you can kill it and get that job offer.
And be sure to stay to the end of the video when I share a resource that will help you
with your next job interview.
One of the most common comments I hear from my clients is “I get so nervous, how do
I calm my nerves during my interview”?
When you feel like you have a lot riding on a job interview, it’s natural to feel nervous
and even scared of the interview process.
The key to overcoming interview nerves is not to try and ignore or push your nerves
away, as that usually makes things worse, but to take some steps to minimize your nerves.
And how do you do this?
Let me share 5 things you can do
Number 1 is Be prepared
The unknown usually makes us nervous and you can mitigate this by being prepared and doing
some research before the interview.
Be sure you have spent some time on the company’s website and you have a solid understanding
of what they do, who their customers are, and what the company culture and mission statement
is.
But even more importantly, study the job description because you want to know exactly what it is
that they need from the person who will fill this position.
Oftentimes nerves crop up because candidates don’t feel qualified for the job.
And they may not feel qualified because they’ve not really put enough thought into how their
skillset and experience is relevant and important to this position.
Now it’s going to be your mission during the interview to bridge your skills to that
of the position and what they need so put a lot of thought into this beforehand.
Make a list and decide which of your achievements is the most relevant to this particular position.
This will help you develop your talking points as well as gain confidence in yourself as
to what you have to offer the company.
Okay, number 2 is Keep your perspective.
This is just a job interview.
You’re not going to go wrestle bears or fight sharks.
This isn’t a life and death situation.
This is just a conversation between two people who share the same goal and that is that they
want to fill this position.
They’re not bringing you in to rake you over the coals.
They’re actually rooting for you, they want to hire you they want to get this position
filled!
Also, keep in mind that your interviewer may be nervous as well.
In the case of hiring managers.
They don’t do job interviews for a living, and some of them just aren’t very good at
it.
So be sure you aren’t taking on any of their nervous energy.
Just focus on your thoughts on having a conversation with another human.
Concentrate on learning some things about the company and the position and most importantly
learning some things about yourself as you go through the interview process.
Number 3 is Don’t get too attached to the results
If you get so attached to the results of the interview and obsess over whether you will
or you won’t get a job offer, it not only increases your anxiety but it makes you look
desperate and interviewers are going to pick up on that.
So prepare as much as you can for the interview but remember at the end of the day this interview
is not your only option.
The worst thing that’s going to happen is you don’t get a job offer.
At the moment, it may feel devastating and disappointing, but in the grand scheme of
life, is it really?
You always have other opportunities.
Number 4 is really important and that is that you understand your value.
If they are bringing you in for a face to face interview, chances are you’ve probably
already had a successful phone interview and they they want to get to know
you more.
They called you in for this interview because they either heard you say something in the
phone interview or saw something on your resume that made them think you could be of value
to them.
Remember, they aren’t just calling you in there because they want to be nice.
They need your help.
Now if you have done the research that I mentioned in step 1, you know exactly why you are a
good fit for this position.
So be sure and talk about your achievements and how you have helped your other employers
achieve their goals.
You will find that as you yourself acknowledge all that you have achieved for your previous
employers, you will be able to talk with more confidence and your mindset starts to shift
because you know you can help this employer.
And finally, number 5.
Expect to make mistakes.
Many people get paralyzed with interview fear and anxiety because they are afraid they’re
going to say the wrong thing, or answer a question incorrectly.
There are countless ways you can answer an interview question there are countless interview
questions so don’t get into your own head about how to answer a question “correctly”.
If you are asked a question and you’re not sure how to answer, buy yourself a few seconds
to think.
Smile, and say something like “Well, let me think about that for a second.”
There’s nothing wrong with pausing for a moment to collect your thoughts remember this
is a conversation.
when you are having conversations in the world, you don’t just blurt things out you stop
and consider what you’re going to say so remember that.
Also remember this, no matter what the question is, there is one thing that you are an expert
on, and that is you!
Focus on using that knowledge to help you frame your answers and remember to bridge
your experience and your skillset to that of the position.
I hope you found this information helpful, be sure to implement all 5 of these steps
in your next interview.
And if you need help crafting your answers to some of the most common interview questions,
be sure to grab my free Interview Guide.
The link for that is right below.
If you like this video, please let me know by liking it below, share it with a friend
who may need to watch it and comment below 1 to 5 which step you found the most helpful.
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Thanks for watching, see you next time.