Interview phobic?

Do you struggle with interviews?

Many people leave an interview feeling that they have not had a chance to present themselves as they would have liked. It is a horrible feeling and there are some ways to prevent this from happening.

Nerves before the interview

• Planning helps to dispel these nerves. Busy yourself preparing as well as you can and there won’t be time to wind yourself up!
• Make sure you know as much as possible about both the job and the school and if possible about the people who will be interviewing you.
• Prepare some questions to ask. You may think of others in the interview but if you don’t you can rely on the ones you have prepared. Asking questions at the end of the interview makes you look more interested and committed and is also a chance to show that you have done some preparation, for example; ’I see that you have a good pool and a sports hall, what type of extra curricula activities do you offer?’

Nerves during the interview

• If you find you clam up or tend to babble during an interview you may find that relaxation exercises practised beforehand help. Recruiters know that you are probably nervous but its hard to make nerves look good!
• Take your time when answering questions, take a few deep breaths if you are stuck. Don’t worry about a few moments of silence, if they interrupt you ask for a minute to think. Its better for everyone if you have taken the time to think about a response rather than blurted out a first reaction to it.
• Interviewers do have their own techniques. It might be good to keep in mind that if they seem to be giving you a particularly hard time this might just be their way of seeing how you deal with stress. The ’good cop/bad cop’ scenario can be very unsettling but if you see it for what it is, ie. just a technique and nothing personal, then you might find you can handle it better.