AIU Career Services: Controlling Those Interview Nerves
September 7, 2011
•AIU Online, Career Services
• 0 Comments
Controlling Those Interview Nerves
Your heart is racing and your palms are sweaty. You must be going into an interview! Whether you have a lot of experience or not, interviews can bring out your nerves and a lack of comfort. Anxiety and the huge amount of pressure job seekers have can cause true fear to build up within them, but you don’t have to let those emotions take control. Listed below are some tips to prevent the nerves from overpowering you and hopefully allow you to empower yourself!
Put yourself in the interviewers shoes
Hiring Managers are busy people. We all are busy people! They called you into this interview hoping that you will be “the one”. They aren’t out to get you or make things worse. When it comes down to it, they need another person for a reason. Their company needs help and the longer it takes to find that person the longer the company and themselves suffer. Keeping that in mind can lessen the stress and pressure you are putting on yourself.
Be Prepared
Practicing and preparing days before an interview will only build upon your confidence and keep you focused. Consider scheduling time with your Employment Advisor with Career Services to do a mock interview. Be sure that you not only prepare your answers to various interview questions, but also research on the company you are interviewing for and prepare to talk about them as well. Finding out information can be as easy as a simple internet search.
Manage your Time
Running late can cause pure panic. Be sure to map out the directions the day before. Allow more time than you think, just in case. Things to consider are: traffic, parking, bad weather, road closures and just plain getting lost. Allow enough time to get back to your current job or anything else you have scheduled. Hiring Managers tend to run late too and you don’t want to be rushing to leave the interview.
Pause
When the questions start, be sure that you really are listening to the question and then taking some time to think about your answer. Try not to blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. Pausing before each response shows a Hiring Manager you are thinking about your response, you’re taking this seriously. Putting focus again on the Interviewer will take away those jitters.
Ask Questions
Relief should come when the Interviewer asks if you have any questions for them, because that means the interview is almost over. Be sure to always have questions! Never seem rushed to either leave the interview or ask your questions. Coming prepared with questions will make the situation feel more conversational and will hopefully allow you to feel more in control.
For additional interviewing or career search assistance, please contact Career Services at 877-221-5800 ext. 15060 or careerservices@aiuonline.edu