Tips to Stay Calm During an Interview

Facing interviews is a challenge, you have to impress your prospective employer and secure your job. Irrespective of your qualifications, your conduct and presence of mind during the interview, are probably the most influential factors in determining the fate of your interview.

Maintaining your calm and composure when you are being bombarded with questions is not easy, but those who manage to keep their cool and answer questions without fumbling, are successful.

The fundamental characteristic of any interview is its 'unpredictability'. You can never predict accurately the questions that you are going to face. This fact triggers nervousness and makes you restless. We will suggest you a few ways to stay calm and unperturbed during interviews.

Be prepared before you go for the job interview - this is a cliche which you cannot ignore. How can someone ever be fully prepared for an interview, when the questions in an interview cannot be predicted?

Well, you are the best judge here, if you think that you are prepared, then it will give you the confidence to face the interview. Once you have the confidence, you will not hesitate to answer the questions and when you do not hesitate, you stay calm.

Spontaneity is good, but you may tend to make invalid points, and when you say irrelevant things the interviewer will have an unpleasant expression on his face, and if you notice such an expression, you will lose your confidence and become restless.

Before you answer any question, take a deep breath through your nose. This will give adequate oxygen supply to your brain, and will also give you time to frame your answers. Composing your answers before saying them, will help you to keep their relevance intact.

You are being interviewed so that your interviewer can understand your true personality. If you pretend to be someone else, then you will be under constant stress while trying to suppress your true character. On the other hand, if you be yourself, then you will be more relaxed. So, we recommend you to behave in the way you normally do.

Your posture is a clear indication of your level of confidence. Changing a posture continuously is a sign of restlessness. If you maintain a correct posture throughout the interview, you will feel more relaxed. You become more nervous if you are constantly conscious about your posture.

So, we advice you to settle into a comfortable posture within a few minutes into your interview. By comfortable, we do not mean that you slouch! See that your posture enhances your confidence.

Believe in yourself, and realize that if you have the potential to make it this far, you can surely move ahead and achieve your goal. When you have complete faith in your abilities, you will have the confidence to face any challenging situation and this will keep you calm and composed.

Realize that, this interview is not the end of your life, you will surely find more opportunities in the future, even if you unfortunately miss out on this one. Your interview may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and you might desperately want to perform well in it, but your anxiety and desperation might spoil your interview.

Do not put too much pressure on yourself even if you go wrong at a certain point in your interview. Reassure yourself that you will do better in the remaining interview. This will help you to maintain your composure.

In addition to this, each individual usually has a unique way of easing tension, if required, use your personal method to relax, but be sure that your interviewer does not notice it.

The fear and anxiety that you experience while facing an interview is normal. This anxiety will be more, if it is your first interview, or if you are facing an interview after a long time. Whatever may be the case, the tips mentioned here will prove beneficial and help you stay calm during an interview.