How to calm your nerves before a job interview

Why reading your notes again does not help

Nerves come from the unknown. Reading prepares the content of your answers, but the unknown is the situation: someone looking at you, a silence after your answer, a question you did not expect.

The only thing that makes a situation familiar is having been in it. That is why a rehearsal out loud, with someone who reacts, lowers stress more than an extra hour of reading.

The week before

Prepare less, but say it aloud.

1. Choose five stories from your experience that can answer most questions: a success, a failure, a conflict, a tight deadline, something you learned.
2. Say each one aloud, in under two minutes. The first time will be clumsy: that is the point.
3. Rehearse the first minute, 'tell me about yourself', until it starts on its own. A good start settles the rest.

In the room

Take the time to breathe out before you answer. Two seconds of silence feel long to you and normal to the person opposite.

If you lose your thread, say so: 'Let me come back to the point.' Hiring managers see nervous candidates every day. What they remember is how you recover.