Interview Day Prepping: Keeping Your Wits and Staying Calm

If the prospect of going on job interviews fills you with tension, then count yourself normal. What we've compiled here are some winning strategies to overcome interview-day panic and put in an Olympic performance.

1. Professional athletes visualize success. Before the game, they have a vision of winning the contest and performing successfully during the game. They don't visualize getting clobbered or outrun. Before an interview, visualize a successful outcome and visualize yourself successfully handling each part of the process: the introduction, the questions, and the conclusion. The time you take for mental preparation can mean the difference between getting an offer or getting sidelined.

2. Turn on the music. The right music can relax you and give you a mental boost. While one person enjoys something funky and loud, someone else goes for bluegrass, rock or a resounding concerto. We're not music pros here, but it does seem like common sense to steer away from sad ballads or mournful opera before the big event.

3. Remind yourself that no one will do better at this interview than you. That's right; you're the expert on yourself. No one else can interview more successfully on why you are the best candidate for this job.

4. Practice calmness. When you are calm, you can better respond to an interviewer's cues and questions. Relaxation techniques include deep breathing, yoga postures, and, our favorite little private tip, toe curling. Give yourself at least 10 minutes to practice calming techniques on the day of the interview. Some techniques can be done right in front of others without them ever knowing. You can do a few deep breathing repetitions while you wait in the reception area. If you feel anxiety building during the interview, you can curl up your toes and then let them go slack. This acts like a pressure valve, letting off excess steam.

5. Wear the uniform. Just as athletes get the benefit of pride of uniform, you can do the same. Wear what those already in the business are wearing, on their best day. Polished shoes will, literally, give you a polished appearance. A clean, contemporary, well-pressed suit with coordinating shirt or blouse, and tie for men, will convey a sense of organization and professionalism. Interview day, for most people, is not for fashion experiments.

6. Focus on the positive. If you feel dogged by doubt, visualize yourself stuffing the doubt in a bag and throwing it over a cliff. Insist on a positive thought by thinking of the contributions you can make to your prospective employer, the satisfaction you will experience on the job and the new adventures that lay ahead.

7. Re-check your driving directions and any parking details. Make sure your gas tank is full. Estimate the driving time and give yourself extra for any unplanned traffic tie-ups or wrong turns. The annals of interview failures are full of accounts of people never finding the right building, of cars running out of gas, and full parking lots.

8. Remind yourself as you head into the interview to focus on the messages you want to get across. You've already done your homework and dressed your best. Now's the time to show them what you know.

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