So first of all, give yourself a break and stop telling yourself this is a major problem.

Next, use the following approach to deal with it – to calm those nerves to an absolute minimum.

Aside from experience which is obviously another major factor, I believe the secret to success in interviews is twofold: preparation & mindset.

Key 1: Preparation – Interview Checklist

Use this simple checklist to do the following a day or two before the day of your interview:

• Do some background reading on the company (as you get a little more experienced and confident in interviews, it’s also useful to add to this finding out a little about the interviewers but this is not necessary for your first few interviews).
• Make a list of questions you think you may need to answer (and prepare answers to these questions).
• Make a list of questions you want to ask.
• Check out realistic salary levels for the role you are going for (at your level of experience). Without deviating too far from this range, work out your target/ideal salary for the role as well as the minimum you would accept.
• Prepare some (2 or 3) pertinent stories about yourself or your experience – these could be things that showcase aspects of your character, where you’ve triumphed over adversity/overcome hurdles, showing some technical expertise related to the job, projects or just interesting stories. You can decide this based on what you want to say about yourself, the type of interview/role you’re going for, how formal or informal it is and the type of company you are applying to. As you get more experienced doing interviews, these ‘stories’ will be second nature to you – you’ll have lots of them.
• Practice the interview with a friend or relative – role playing an interview may feel a little strange at first but it can be very effective.
• Research the interview location – do you know how to get there and how long it takes? Make sure when answering how long it takes to get there you are considering that for the time of your interview (e.g. if in a rush hour/lunch time/morning the journey may take a little longer). Perhaps make a test journey beforehand.
• Get yourself in the right mindset for the interview (see key 2 below). If you still feel you are not after all this prep, go back over this list to check you’ve covered everything.

Key 2: Mindset

Do this on the day of the interview.

Set aside 20-30 minutes before the interview to get yourself in the right frame of mind.

This should be a calming moment. If the interview is a long way away or at a new location, aim to get there 20-30 mins early, find a nearby place you can relax for a bit and get yourself in the right frame of mind before going to the interview.

I have found this works really well for two reasons, first of all it acts as a buffer preventing me from being late to an interview and secondly it is a mental kick up the backside that gets me in the perfect mindset (or as near as possible) for the interview. Thoughts can bounce around a bit but always seem to end up in the right place. I use this time to chase away silly stressful thoughts (because I’ve prepared well – remember key 1?) and reassure myself I’ve got this.

Final Thought

Interviews can stress us out, it’s normal and in my experience, the more I’ve wanted a job, the more nervous I am about it.

That’s also something that we can use to help us – if you really want something then why not prepare well for it? – and if you still have a little tingle of nerves left over, it’s going to be a lot less and at a healthy level. Reassure yourself by reminding yourself that the interviewer expects a certain amount of nervousness, it shows you care about getting the role and that’s a good thing.

Beyond that, try to be yourself, try to enjoy the process and smile. Making a connection with the interviewer is going to make the whole thing go a lot better and the interviewer almost certainly wants it to go well just as much as you do.