Ways to Beat Your Job Interview Nerves

Overcome job interview nerves with these five top tips. Learn how to prepare effectively, get a good night's sleep, enjoy a healthy breakfast, arrive on time, and embrace the interview moment for success.

Ask anyone what they’d like to solve about going to a job interview and most times you’ll get the same answer: The nerves.

In most circumstances where we need to perform, a few nerves are good. They keep us connected and alert. But controlling them for some people can often be a problem.

If all you can hear is your own heart beating and all you can feel is the sweat tricking down into your eyes, it can be difficult to give your best performance.

It’s made even worse if the prospect of an interview gets you trembling. These are all part of the natural fight or flight response and, as such, seem to have a mind of their own.

To help you out, here’s our five top tips for staying calm and performing well:

Prepare Well

We can’t underestimate the value of preparing for your job interview. The process not only involves looking at the company in greater detail but drilling below the surface. Most businesses nowadays have staff profiles or people who are on social media like LinkedIn. That means you can find out an awful lot of information and essentially get to know the people you’ll be talking to.

If you have trouble with interviews, practising beforehand with someone you trust can also help. It’s important to take a look at the kinds of things you are likely to be asked and practice how you are going to answer these questions. We so often skim over this entire process, that we end up sitting down in front of the panel unprepared and ill at ease.

Plan your attack, treat the interview with the respect it deserves and do your homework. It’s always best to overdo it than go into the interview undercooked.

Get a Good Night’s Sleep

The stress you feel before a big job interview will stop you sleeping properly. Getting a good night’s kip can be difficult but it’s not impossible and you should give yourself every chance to relax.

• Don’t drink alcohol the night before as this can disrupt your sleep.
• Make sure you avoid stimulants like caffeine at least five hours before you go to bed.
• Switch off all your digital devices and go to bed at a reasonable time.
• Try some breath meditation to ease you into the sleep cycle.

A Healthy Breakfast Will Energise You

Whether you live a healthy lifestyle or not, make sure you start the day with a decent breakfast. Give yourself time to sit down and eat without having to rush. Porridge is a good choice – it’s quick and easy to make and releases energy during the day without making you feel drained or tired.

Forget what lies ahead and take the time to enjoy this start to the day.

Arrive in Good Time

So often, nerves can get ramped up if we’re in a hurry. Always make sure you arrive in good time for the interview so you can get yourself centred and begin to focus on what lies ahead.

Timely arrive also gives you a good opportunity to look and see how the business or organisation operates. Treat this moment as part of your preparation process and use it to get in tune and acclimatise yourself.

Embrace the Moment

Finally, understand why you get nervous. For many of us it’s because we’re sitting in front of strangers. Others are frightened of making a fool of themselves. Mostly the cause of nerves at interview comes from putting too much weight on the actual process.

Your life doesn’t actually depend on this moment! Turn things around and treat it as a fun opportunity to meet and talk to knew people. It’s all about developing the right state of mind. You’ll be surprised how embracing the moment can make a big difference.