Feeling nervous for a big interview coming up or maybe your first interview?
You are in the right place as I will share some helpful tips on how to be less nervous when going to an interview.
All of us can get nervous, especially for important interviews but then there’s also people who get extremely nervous and I am 100% that person!
I had my first interview when I was 17 for a grocery store and I was so extremely nervous. I kept stuttering when answering questions and at times I didn’t even know what to say even though I practised.
We can practise and still freeze up in a interview just because of how much we stress ourselves out.
AND so don’t be scared, I will share some tips to avoid stressing ourselves out.
Tip #1:
Be Confident:
Before going into your interview it’s important to be confident because when we’re confident with ourselves, answering questions are extremely simple. Just because of the fact we think we’re going to kill it, so theres no need to be nervous!
I know being confident is hard. TRUST ME, I KNOW! I still have to constantly work on my confidence.
However, even acting like you’re confident will make a huge difference!
Think about the most confident person you know and just act like them for the day. As children we use to play pretend all the time and we still can. When going into that interview act like you’re the most confident person in the world!
I do this all the time when I go to interviews! I am a shy and quiet person, the type that is more of a listener when it comes to people who I don’t know or meeting for the first time…
The most confident person I know is my boyfriend and so I literally acted like him for the day and talked like him during the interview because he talks with such confidence and it honestly helped me because it helped me not feel as shy.
ALSO, I am not saying at all that you shouldn’t be yourself in a interview. I am all about being yourself!
HOWEVER, if you find it hard to communicate with people just like me. This can be a helpful method. I use to struggle at interviews all the time when I was younger because I didn’t have ANY confidence what so ever and it affected how I delivered my answers a lot. It made me seem like I didn’t prepare at all for the interview even though I did multiple times. I simply just couldn’t communicate well because of the lack of confidence I had.
ANYWAYS, I know it sounds silly but give it a try!
Another very helpful way to be more confident is saying positive affirmations!
This is another favourite method of mine!
If you don’t know yet, affirmations are a way of reprogramming your mind by changing the way you think and feel about things…
You can either read to yourself affirmations multiple times or listen to them! There are plenty of affirmation videos you can listen to on youtube and many different categories as well! There are plenty affirmations specifically to help you be more confident!
Here is an example of affirmations you can read to yourself…
“I am confident”, “I am capable”, “I am talented”, “I am strong”, “I believe in myself”, “I can succeed”.
There are many lists of affirmations you can find on the internet & Pinterest that you can use. These are just some that I made up and you can also make some of your own!
Here is a affirmation video that I love on youtube! You don’t have to listen to this specific one, you can choose a different one that’s best for you!
“Live The Life You Love” is my favourite channel on youtube when it comes to affirmations! It has many different types of affirmation videos that can help you!
I 100% suggest you practise this method before going into an interview. Maybe even listening to a affirmation video while you sleep, the night before the interview!
You will me amazed by how just saying to yourself “I am confident” multiple times changes how you think and feel about yourself. You will start to feel more confident.
Tip #2
Avoid Overthinking:
Overthinking is definitely the worst. I overthink a lot and it doesn’t make my life easy!
Before going to an interview we can catch a lot of us overthinking.
We may be thinking to ourselves “what if they don’t like me?” or “what if I mess up?” or “what if I don’t get the job?”.
STOP thinking like that! Thinking these things before and during the interview can get you feeling extremely nervous.
When you catch yourself saying all these “what ifs” in your head, fix what you say immediately.
For example, this is related to what I mentioned earlier about affirmations…
When you catch yourself saying “what if they don’t like me?”, right after saying this in your head replace it with a positive affirmation such as “they will like me” or “its okay if they don’t like me”.
OR if you catch yourself saying “what if I don’t get the job?”, replace this by saying “I will get this job” or “this is not my only opportunity”.
This will save us big time and it will help us avoid all the negative thoughts that will end up making us stressed out and nervous.
Before going into an interview try to distract yourself from your thoughts. Listen to music on the way to the interview, read a book, say affirmations, anything that will not allow yourself to think too much.
Tip #3
Don’t Believe This Is Your Only shot:
Often when we get nervous for an interview it’s because we think this is the only opportunity we will ever get.
OR we think if we don’t get the job then our life is over…
THAT’S NOT TRUE AND YOU KNOW IT!
All of us have to go through experiences to be able to learn and for us to be able to get closer and closer to finding our life purpose.
The universe, the world has limitless opportunities waiting for us! Sadly, often we think there isn’t many because usually others negative comments get in our head…
For example, maybe you were called to have an interview with a company and the manager told you that this job is very competitive and rarely they call people to come and do an interview. Listening to that only gets us more nervous as we start to believe that this is our only shot.
Don’t believe that! Sometimes people just don’t want you to succeed and so they get in your head by saying all these things…
NOT saying this is how it is 100% of the time. Im JUST SAYING, Don’t allow yourselves to believe you are limited to opportunities. Believing in that will only cause you more stress that you don’t need.
When you don’t get the job, its not because you weren’t good enough.
There are many reasons why someone doesn’t hire you. I was not hired by some places simply because of the fact my schedule wasn’t flexible enough.
BUT, even if you don’t get the job, It simply means it’s a sign that it’s not meant for you. You may not see the reason now but you will see it in the future.
And by not getting that job, it gives you the opportunity to apply for more jobs and by doing that you can possibly find a job that is more suitable for you!
I remember all throughout high school I kept sending out resumes to retail stores because I wanted to work for a clothing store so bad! LIKE SO BAD! I probably sent out almost 50 resumes to different stores and I would even re apply to those stores after a few months…
And still nothing! I was getting really depressed as I felt like I was not good enough to work for anyone.
Until I got a job at Starbucks and it was 100% the best job I ever had! (even though some current Starbucks employees might disagree LOL) but I had so much fun!
And while working at Starbucks, I kept hearing horrible stories from friends of mine who works at clothing stores. They would tell me how much they hate working there and it just made me think how grateful I am that I didn’t get the job because it pushed me to a different job that was better for me!
THEREFORE, don’t feel like you will never have another opportunity. Feeling this way will get you nervous. There are many other opportunities out there that will make you happier!
Once you go into an interview thinking and feeling that this is not your only opportunity in life, having this mentality will make you feel like there’s no need to worry. Which means a easier interview!
So keep pushing! You got this!
Thats It! Good Luck!
So that’s all the tips I have for you!!
It’s not a lot but those are the most important ones to keep in mind to help you be less nervous!
If you want more tips on how to be less nervous, let me know!
I wish you all the best with your interviews, you will do great!
Remember your worth!