If you feel nervous before or during the job interview, you are not alone. The thought of speaking in front of a panel of employment interviewers ranks among life’s most stressful challenges. Even the best speakers can feel anxiety in a job interview — but that doesn’t mean they aren’t confident.

Being nervous before your job interview is natural. Especially when faced in a situation of uncertainty and your actions and responses are closely being evaluated by employers. With job interviews, it is how you respond to these feelings that can make the difference between success and failure.

If employers sense that you are tense or unsure, they may have less confidence in you and be less receptive to your response. If you want the employers to believe in you, you must believe in yourself and be confident in your job interview preparation.

Here are 3 simple steps to help prepare you for the job interview by eliminating job interview anxiety.

Practice: Like any skill, practice makes perfect. Many people make the mistake of “winging it” or thinking all interviews are the same; until they are in the job interview. Yes, interviews can be the same from one to another, but there is no guarantee the same questions will be asked, the interviewers will use the same process or the environment will be open and warm or closed and confined. To get past the “unknown” successfully, you have to practice what you know from previous interviews and know your strengths and weaknesses. Engaging in role-playing with others or recording your responses and playing them back are proven results to ease anxiety.

 Preparation: is key to an interview, right down to directions to the interview, who you will be meeting, how many interviewers? and picking out the right attire. Have your clothes picked out, any materials you are bringing ready (e.g. resume, documents), and make sure you get a good night’s sleep beforehand. Even if you don’t get the job, remain positive and learn from the experience and how you can improve for the next one.

 Relax: practice some breathing exercises. This will trigger a relaxation response that will soon become second nature to you. This forces your body to move out of the ‘fight or flight’ state, into a more useful, calmer state. Along with breathing, smiling and maintaining eye contact during an interview will help you relax and make the environment positive for you and the interviewers.

Following these three steps will provide you confidence and energy going into an interview. You’ll be ready to manage your nerves and provide excellent responses to the interviewer(s) questions.

Information provided by HR Difference.

Our HR team specializes in providing small and medium sized companies with cost-efficient and customized human resources consulting solutions and learning management systems to meet your need and budget. We also provide custom resume writing and telephone job interview coaching for job seekers.

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