Job Interview Anxiety: Prepare, Practice, Perform, Celebrate!

Are you nervous about your next job interview? 

Just about everybody is, even if they don’t show it.

Your feelings of job interview anxiety are natural and authentic. But they should be controlled or at least lessened. You want to appear cool. Calm. Collected. Professional. In control. Appealing. 

Infinitely hireable. 

I’ll show you strategies and methods to focus your emotional excitement on the interview, not your internal anxiety. 

Don’t expect nervous feelings to go away completely. Instead, channel that energy to improve your presentation.

The secret is to prepare and practice ahead of time. 

Let’s go. You have work to do.

Prepare for Your Interview: Research

Thorough research is your best defense against job interview anxiety. It’s also what you need to do to understand the industry, business, and role you wish to play in them. 

You must research deeply to be confident in your interview performance. It’s information that is expected of every interviewee. 

After all, you are being hired for what you know.

In short, be sure that you know what you’re doing.

Know your résumé

First of all, understand your own résumé. Be able to explain every item on it in a friendly, persuasive manner. 

You might think of a brief story to tell about each item. Storytelling is natural and effective. Be sure to highlight your achievements.

Know your company

Study all the information you can find on the company you’re approaching. Understand their values, products, and industry placement. You want to be able to speak intelligently to management about the place you wish to work.

Know your job

Know what you’re getting into. You want to make sure the job is a good fit for your own sake. Understand the position, the department, and how they fit into the company structure. Know the goal of the job and the skills they require. Try to learn the names of the management and potential coworkers.

Interview format and process

Be clear on what is going to happen during the interview. Both format and process are essential. Will it be via video? In person? Where? When? Will you be asked questions? Think through the information you need to be confident at your interview.

Prepare questions for the interviewers

You can ask the interviewers good questions, too. In fact, this is a sign of an interested, engaged, and intelligent job applicant.  Very impressive.

Make a list of the questions you want answered. Phrase them in polite and professional language. But keep them short and to the point. Don’t waste the interviewers’ time.

Industry Insights

In addition to the job and the company, you should have a good grasp of the company’s industry. Research the industry trends, what economic impact the industry has, the market for the industry’s goods and services, and the technology the industry uses to operate and compete. 

The more you know about the industry, the more comfortable you feel when talking to the hiring manager or other management in the interview. 

Show them your grasp of the big picture.

Practice for Your Interview

With your research in hand, it’s time to practice for your interview. 

Perhaps the most important thing to practice is how you answer the questions the interviewers pose. This can be the most nerve-wracking stage of the interview.

But how are you to practice this on your own? You know a lot about the job, the company, and your accomplishments. You can feel confident in your comprehensive research.

Still, they may throw you a curveball question. You don’t want to get rattled by this. 

Let me show you a great way to practice answering questions you may not have considered yourself.

Mock Interviews

To feel more confident in the question-and-answer phase of the interview, you should practice mock interviews.

Mock interviews mimic the actual interview process. In AI-generated interview simulations, you receive a steady series of unique questions based on your résumé and the posted job description you’ve applied for. 

With Interview Buddy, available at our website AiApply.co, you get exactly what I’ve just described.  Using your current résumé or CV and the job description text, you get a constant stream of questions to practice on in your own time and tempo.

When asked a question, you supply your answer by typing it into a field on the webpage. Our AI Interview Buddy judges the answer against your résumé and the job description and gives you a numerical score on how well you did. 

Improving your question-answering skills in this measurable way builds confidence in your ability to answer any question thrown at you. This skill is crucial to feeling good about the interview process and yourself.  

If you feel confident in your mock performance, you will feel equally confident during your interview.

Perform at Your Interview

When the day comes for your interview, dedicate time to getting ready for your performance.

Getting ready physically

Eat well and healthy on the day of your interview. Make sure you get enough sleep the night before. Some light exercise may wake you up and focus your concentration. Stay hydrated.

Getting ready mentally

With good concentration, your mind doesn’t wander into anxiety-inducing thoughts.

As I said above, you want to focus your concentration on the interview. 

Stay concentrated on the topics you’ll discuss and not on your feelings of nervousness or anxiety. If you’ve researched and practiced diligently, you know you’re ready. 

When negative feelings arise, take some deep breaths. 

Visualize successfully answering all the questions you’re asked. Visualization is a powerful way to control your mind and emotions.

In the hours before the interview, you might listen to music on your headphones. This helps you block out the negative feelings by concentrating on something other than yourself.

And never forget:

You can do this.

Final Preparations

Arrive early for the interview. This gives you a chance to relax and acclimate yourself to the location.

Dress comfortably and appropriately. Ensure that your clothing is suitable for the position you’re seeking. Always look professional. 

Continue to concentrate on the topics, not your feelings. Allow any nervousness to power up your performance rather than detract from it. Use the adrenaline to your advantage.

And don’t forget to take deep breaths to clear your mind and body of stress.

Winning the interview

Here’s what to do during the interview:

• Always listen carefully. You know you’re ready, so focus on the interviewers, not yourself. Be sure to hear and understand what they’re saying to you.
• Don’t feel the need to hurry up and answer a question quickly. Take a breath, take a beat, and answer clearly and deliberately. Pace yourself. Remain in control. This behavior is impressive to anyone watching. 
• Be honest. Don’t be afraid to say, “I don’t know,” if it’s true.  A truthful answer is respected much more than something made up and blurted out in panic.
• Rely on your research and practice to keep your anxiety out of mind and out of your interview.
• Be relaxed. Be happy. Smile. 

That’s the way to feel confident during your interview.

Celebrate Your Success!

Regardless of the interview’s outcome, you can celebrate your successful interview performance.

Congratulations! You did it!

Think about the good things you said and did. There will be time later to reflect on anything that didn’t go the way you planned.

Now, take some time to do things you enjoy. You’ve earned it.

Relaxing after the interview subdues any post-performance stress you’re feeling. A little anxiety is likely, but now you know how to control it. 

So, say goodbye to job interview anxiety. 

Simply have a good time.

(After you do your homework.)

Looking Forward

Our service, AiApply.co, offers a completely automated AI job search platform. Use the best state-of-the-art job search technology to elevate your chances of success.

At AiApply, you’re supported throughout the job search process. 

We offer a vetted job board, targeted résumé and cover letter generation, mock interviews, and résumé translation with hosting. Professional headshots are also available.

Plus, you can try us out for free. 

Visit AIApply.co today.