You’re not wrong for saying that interviews can be quite daunting and scary. It’s natural to feel a certain level of discomfort as the time grows closer. As human beings, the idea of not knowing what to expect can leave us feeling uncertain and apprehensive. Try as we might, preparing for an interview does not always equate to a job offer. Anything can happen on the day that is beyond your control, which can ultimately affect the outcome of your performance.
Preparation, research and practice are all great tools you need to use to ensure that you are putting your best foot forward to your potential new employers. What if that isn’t enough? What happens when the anxiety and nerves take over?
The last thing we want you to do is to put all this hard work into preparing for your interview to then losing out on what could be a fantastic opportunity just because of some nerves. So, we put our collective minds together to tell you some examples of how you can psych yourself up before your interview.
- Have your career highlights to hand
It’s seen as a job hunter best practice, to have your career highlights on a word document ready and waiting. It’s a good way for you to come up with some quick anecdotes to share during interviews, but it’s also a way to remind yourself of how great you are. So, have a read over the highlights the morning of your interview and remind yourself of the fantastic work you’ve done so far.
- Stay hydrated
We know you’re told this by everyone before, and ABL Recruitment would like to join this crowd as well. Stay hydrated, drink plenty of water to keep yourself from getting a dry mouth. Lack of water can cause you to become thirsty and may lead to coughing or spluttering. Avoid any of those things by just taking regular sips of and keeping yourself relaxed and calm.
- Quotes of wisdom
Before you laugh, there is some merit to this. How many times have you found yourself not feeing 100% and see a quote that you relate to? How many times in those moments have you suddenly felt better just knowing that someone else somewhere in the world feels the same as you, or seen something uplifting and getting that realisation that you can ‘do’ this. This is the time when you need a quick momentum boost, so either prepare some ahead of time or search for some relatable quotes to have a read over whenever you need it.
- It’s all about the smell
We remember back when we were in school and were advised to have a scented candle lit in the room while studying, were you ever told this too? Apparently, the familiar scent would trigger some cognitive recognition that would aid us in our exams. The same principle can be followed with interviews. If you have a signature perfume/aftershave, you like to wear for important meetings or special occasions – wear it to your interview. The chances are that familiar smell will give you a certain level of comfort and confidence without you even realising it.
- Smile
This is the best answer for how to psych yourself up for an interview. It starts with a smile. Countless studies have shown that if you smile, you surround yourself with positive energy that then affects your attitude and behaviour. If you smile out in public, people tend to smile back; it’s this infectious consequence from exerting positivity. So, try to smile, it may just trick your mind into forgetting the worries.
Give those tips a try and let us know how you get on—wishing you the very best of luck on your interview and if you want any more help on how you can be as prepared as you can be, drop us a message!
ABL Recruitment team
