As a candidate, an interview can be one of the most nerve-wracking things you go through to get a job. But just remember it is natural to be nervous. Let's just understand where this feeling comes from first. Understanding this will make you feel more informed and better equipped to deal with it.
As humans have evolved certain traits have been bred into us for survival and over millions of years, they have served us well. One of these natural traits is our instincts to not want to put ourselves in any unknown or dangerous situations. And if we have to do this then our body goes into a full alert mode which heightens our senses and readies us for any action we may need to take. Along with this comes all the feeling of uncertainty and nervousness. Although interviews are of course not dangerous they are stressful as it’s unknown territory, therefore our senses get put on high alert by our primitive limbic system containing the autonomic nervous system, this is the primitive survival bit of your brain.
The autonomic nervous system is not very clever, it does not realise it is just a chat with someone, but on the plus side, it does a great job of keeping you out of trouble for the most part.
Okay, so now you are in the interview and you are in full fight or flight mode and you are not running away as you want the job! But, your cortisol levels are now rising and this can manifest in anxiety, shaking, rapid heartbeat and breathing. Even if you are not in a face to face meeting and on Zoom, you can still get nervous, it can be a daunting process for some. In this article, we try and go over how you can control this natural reaction. Also, we understand you can never know what to expect from an interview so we have put together some ideas to help. We explore some common interview problems when suffering from interview nervousness and provide some advice to calm you down before your interview.
Preparation
Be Prepared
This is the first action to take and it is a pivotal one! The more prepared you are the better you will feel, you will have a sense of control knowing you have all your bases covered! You also won't be put on the back foot at any time in the interview by any surprises. We have a myriad of information to help you through interviews like how to prepare properly for them, dealing with questions, what to ask, how to conduct yourself and much more! We have linked them all at the bottom of this article so make sure you read through them. Once that is done it will help your confidence knowing you are fully prepared for whatever will happen!
Common Nerve Related Interview Problems
Be Careful Not To Interrupt
Even if you would never interrupt or speak over someone in a normal situation, your nerves can change that. If you want to get the interview over and done with, you could subconsciously interrupt the interviewer to get through the questions and answers quicker. But just take your time and breathe. It isn’t going to go against you to take your time with an answer. Let the interviewer finish what they have to say, think about it and then talk.
Talking Too Quickly
Again, this is a common thing to do when you are nervous. Just like the interruptions, take your time and slow yourself down and remember to keep your breathing at a regular pace. If it is shallow and fast try deeper slower breathing, this will help you slow things down a bit. Ask yourself through the interview, would I normally be talking this fast and then get back to your normal spoken pace.
Understanding Questions
Nervousness can sometimes manifest itself in you not understanding a question properly. If this is the case don’t go off on a tangent, if you don’t understand a question, simply tell them, and then they can explain it in more detail. If you don’t know the answer, be honest, tell them you are not sure and apologise. Explain why if you can, and tell them you are willing to learn, although that could be daunting, it's better than trying to talk about something you don’t understand. Just remember we are all human, we do not know everything, but if you have done all your preparation work you can come out of the interview knowing you did your best!
Forgetting To Listen To All Of The Question
This one can be common in an interview, you can be listening to a question that you are being asked, then suddenly find yourself thinking about the answer halfway through it before they’ve even finished. Even though your thinking about what they’re talking about, you are not actually focusing on what they are saying all the way through. This could end up with you missing vital parts of a question. Again, it is all about slowing down and giving yourself the time to listen, then answer the question well. You do not have to answer the question at breakneck speed to make a good impression.
Be Yourself
This is probably the most important factor for an interview, just be yourself. Be honest, sincere and let your natural personality come out by trying to relax as the interview goes on. It is your opportunity to sell yourself and the more you can be yourself the more relaxed you will come throughout the interview.
Advice To Help The Stress
Breathing
Breathing is probably the best of all the techniques for helping nerves and anxiety! There are lots of styles out there if you google them, from just lengthening your breath to alternate nostril breathing. It is well worth looking at all these and finding what works for you. Measured, deep rhythmic breathing has a physiological effect on your body, calming you down, and lowering those cortisol levels we talked about earlier and also your heart rate. Research shows that there is a link between the way you breathe and the way you think and feel.
To expand on what we mentioned earlier, the autonomic nervous system which controls heart rate, respiration and all the stuff our body does automatically contains a sympathetic nervous system and a parasympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system is a physiological accelerator in charge of things like fight-or-flight. It gets your body ready for a perceived threat. The parasympathetic nervous system helps your body calm down, it decreases your heart rate, slows respiration and reduces cortisol levels. Relaxation techniques like box breathing engage the parasympathetic nervous system quickly, calming the mind and body. The slower and deeper you breathe, the more relaxed you will become.
If It Helps Navy SEALs, It Will Help You!
It is a documented fact that part of the training for US Navy SEALs is breathwork to keep them working efficiently under high pressure. They are taught two simple controlled breathing techniques that help them stay relaxed in high-stress environments. These are Box Breathing and Tactical Breathing. We are going to look at Box breathing today and how it could help you in an interview.
Box Breathing
Box breathing is a technique that helps you take control of your automatic breathing patterns. It is an optimal breathing technique that activates the parasympathetic system. To do this all you need to do is picture a box with equal sides. Inhale for 4 counts as you breathe in and visualise moving up one side of the square. Then hold your breath for 4 counts, as you do this imagine moving across the top of the square while holding your breath. Then exhale for 4 counts while your visualising moving down the other side of the square. Then finally hold your exhaled breath for 4 counts and visualise moving along the bottom of the square back to the start. Then all you need to do is repeat this until you get into a very relaxed state.
This square box visualisation helps you focus which then allows you to get into the flow of rhythmic breathing. Remember to breathe through your nose and if you can't manage counting to 4 then try 3 instead. Test run this a few times to get to see how it works for you before your interview. Then on the day of your interview, you will know what to expect with its calming effects. After you have done this and you are in the interview, remember to manage your breathing, breath deeper and longer in between their questions, this will help keep the calming effects going throughout the whole process of the interview. Box breathing is fantastic to do as a daily habit. Try it first thing in the morning before you start work, you will be amazed how it helps you relax over time!
Conclusion
We know an interview can be stressful, but with a simple breathing exercise, you can keep calmer and bring your stress levels down. Add that to great pre-preparation and you will have the best chance at a none stressful interview. If the Navy SEALs use it, you know it is a legitimate tool to help you through the battle of your interview! Just one more thing to add, try and push yourself to do as many interviews as you can. Do not treat them as critical, treat them as test runs and learning exercises. The more you do, the more comfortable you will be with them. As we mentioned before, the fear comes from something that you don't usually do,if you have lots of interviews it is not new anymore, therefore you will be a lot more relaxed. Then when that perfect job comes along, you will be ready to impress with your relaxed demeanour!
As we mentioned at the beginning of the blog, we have amazing resources that will help you in your interview. Two great articles to start off with are our comprehensive guide How to Find a Job and our Ultimate Guide to Getting Your Dream Job! These go into a lot more than just the interview but go through them and pick the relevant sections you feel will help you. We have some great shorter blogs on interview techniques below. Have a look at all these and you will be set for any interview! Remember, 'Luck favours the prepared! We wish you all the luck and success in the future!
The Top 10 Interview Questions You Should ALWAYS Prepare For!
Research You Should Consider Before An Interview
Ultimate Guide to Preparing your CV
How To Completely Nail Your Zoom, Skype or any other Video Conferencing Interview!
What questions should you never ask in an interview?
How to Answer the Question: What are your Strengths?
How to Answer the Question: What motivates you at work?
Finding a New Job? - It's Time To Clean Up Your Social Media Presence
Also, remember if you are attending interviews you may get rejected, do not take this personally! A lot of things in life are a numbers game, meaning the more you get rejected the closer you will come to getting the job. It is simple maths, the more you do the better the chance of success. It is a healthy part of the process so read the article below and don't let rejection slow you down!
10 Top Tips for Coping With Those Soul-Destroying Job Rejections