Interview Tips for Anxious People
By: Jordan Bucknor ‘22
For people who are socially anxious, even day-to-day conversations can be a bit taxing, so professional interviews are far from easy. Whether you struggle maintaining eye contact, controlling your fidgeting hands, or stumbling over your words, there are ways to improve your chances of scoring that dream job. From one socially awkward over-thinker to another, here’s how to ace your interview:
1. Research the Company
This one might be obvious to a lot of people, but I have to mention it anyway. Regardless of what job or company you are hoping to get into, you will need to know about the inner details of it. It is not unusual for interviewers to ask you about why you want to join their company specifically, if you can name successful alumni, or other questions to test if you know what you are signing up to be a part of. If you have already done your research and have a few unique facts about the company memorized, you will not have to obsessively worry about what you might say if that kind of question pops up.
2. Practice Interview Questions
There are not too many questions that an interviewer can ask that someone else has not asked before. A quick search online will pull up a handful of interview questions that your interviewer is almost certain to ask depending on what kind of job you are interviewing for. Spend some time beforehand researching questions and not only reciting your answer in your head, but writing down what your ideal response would be so you have a base to build from when you have to answer those questions in real life. As the saying goes, “Proper preparation prevents piss-poor performance.“
3. Record Yourself Answering Practice Questions
I’m not going to lie, this will feel awkward and a bit silly, but it is so helpful. There are many small body language quirks that we have, but are not aware of and recording ourselves allows for those things to be seen and corrected. It also allows you to correct your speaking speed, facial expressions, or anything else that pops out at you. It makes you aware of what you are doing and reveals exactly what the interviewer will see when they ask you questions.
4. Power Pose
Harvard professor, Amy Cuddy, gave a famous TED Talk on the benefits of “power posing.” Power posing is generally understood to be changing your body language in ways that can make you feel more confident. One of the most popular power poses is “The Wonder Woman” pose where you stand with your feet apart, your hands on your hips, and your chin tilted upward. If you have two minutes to spare before your interview, it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try!
5. Talk Slowly
Interviews are not races! The one who gives the quickest answer will not be the one who gets the job, it will be the one who gives the most thoughtful answer. If you are someone who struggles with stumbling over their words or talking fast in general, think about each word you say as it comes out of your mouth and it might help slow you down a bit. Take your time, breathe, and focus on each word that comes out of your mouth. (Extra Tip: If your voice is a bit shaky before the interview, stick out your tongue as far as it will go, and try to say the Humpty Dumpty nursery rhyme out loud. This will open the back of the throat and your voice will hold more authority.)
6. Reduce Stressors That are in Your Control
While there is no doubt that there are lots of things that can happen in interviews that can make you nervous or knock you off your game, there is also a handful of things that you can effectively control. From locating your exact interview location a day before, arriving at the location ahead of time, getting enough sleep, and just dressing in a way that makes you feel comfortable and confident — all of these things play a part in reducing your stress. You already have to worry about the actual interview, so there is no point in piling on additional stress on top of that.
7. Focus on Eye Contact
Making consistent eye contact during interviews can feel a bit uncomfortable, but avoiding it can convey a lack of confidence or trust. Even if it is something you need to mentally remind yourself constantly throughout the interview, maintaining eye contact will give forth the impression that you are self-assured and friendly. If looking people in the eye is a bit too much for you, try looking in the spot between their eyes or the spot between their eyebrows. They probably will not be able to tell the difference.
8. Say Positive Affirmations
Affirmations get kind of a bad reputation, but an affirmation is really just anything you say or think. For a lot of people, those thoughts tend to stray on the negative side and it can affect the way people experience things. However, if a conscious effort is made to think positively that energy will carry through and translate into confidence in the interview. Repeating “I will answer the questions efficiently and calmly” will do you much better than thinking “this is going to go terrible.” Visualize and speak your success into existence.
9. Control Your Body Posture
I know, telling anxious people not to fidget can be like telling someone not to breathe, but body language can play a huge part in how you are perceived. Try to keep your back straight, head up and hands in your lap. If you feel the need to let out some nervous energy, try to do something less noticeable than fidgeting with your hands and wiggle your toes instead. (This tip might be a bit weird, but if you find yourself so nervous that you are physically shaking, squeezing your buttocks or thigh muscles should help. It is almost physically impossible to have shaky hands if your butt or your thigh muscles are clenched, so doing so will calm you down a bit.)
10. Practice Breathing Exercises
it is probably no surprise that anxiety is linked to your heart rate and that a high heart rate can send you into a crazy panic. If this happens before or during the interview, take a deep slow breath through your nose (count slowly to three while you’re doing it), then slowly breathe out through your nose. Repeat this until you feel yourself feeling a bit more calm and centered.
Interviews are stressful, but I have found that the absolute best thing anyone can do, even more than the tips listed above, is focus on why you want the job and how much it truly means to you. Genuine passion can be seen and it will leave a lasting impression. Even if by some chance you don’t end up getting the job, you can walk away knowing you put your best foot forward.
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