Relaxation and Confidence Boosting Techniques

Anti-nervousness techniques — including breathing exercise and mental imagery techniques — work for some. Here are some that we’ve seen work wonders for nervous candidates:

Power Posing — Did you know that a simple 2-minute body language trick can instantly boost your confidence and improve your interview performance? “Power posing” is all about posing like a superhero for two minutes before your interview.

You can go with the “Wonder Woman” or “Superman” and simply stand stall and strong with hands on hips and legs confidently apart (for more high-power poses and the science on how and why this technique works, I highly recommend Amy Cuddy’s awesome Ted Talk on body language).

It may sound silly, but it works. A recent study found that power posing led to significant increases in testosterone (the dominance hormone) and drops in cortisol (the stress hormone). This technique literally changes your body chemistry.

A follow-up experiment looked specifically at job interviews. The “high-power” posers were overwhelmingly chosen by the interviewers as hiring material.

Try it right now and see for yourself. Just remember to do your posing in private before the interview.

Visualization — It may calm your anxiety to visualize a successful interview. Picture yourself in the interview room making a fantastic impression and try to vividly imagine the strong sense of positive confidence that you will feel. You’ll get the best results if you combine the visual with the strong positive feeling and associate the two. It’s a fast and easy way to focus your thoughts and get a burst of confidence.

Breathing — You might also want to explore anxiety-reducing breathing techniques to help you center yourself before the interview. Once you’re in the interview, remember that a pause and a simple deep breath can do a lot to calm any jitters or sense of panic. Anxiety leads to quick, shallow breathing, which can affect your body language and your voice. Sometimes we forget how important it is to just stop and breathe.

Pacing Yourself — If you find yourself stumbling over your words, it’s likely that your anxiety has taken over and you’re talking too fast. Nervousness tends to make you speed up your mannerisms and your speech. It can also prompt you to speak before you consider the question properly.

Slow down and don’t be afraid of the pause. If you race to fill every silence too quickly, you’re likely to blurt out something you’ll regret.

Don’t feel self-conscious about pausing. Interviewers expect you to pause and think before answering complex questions.

If your pause starts to feel awkward, it’s okay to say something like, “That’s a great question. I just need a moment to decide on the best example to share.”

Redirecting Questions — You aren’t going to know the answer to every question, and sometimes that’s intentional on the part of the job interviewer. Some interviewers ask stress questions just to find out how you react.

The best way to deal with these tricky questions is to gracefully redirect the question toward a similar topic you are familiar with, preferably underlinng your strengths as you do it. Whatever you do, stay calm and collected. Don’t let one tough question change the tone of the interview. Focus on handling the next questions well and ending the meeting on a positive note.

If you follow our advice and put in your preparation time, we promise that your nerves won’t sabotage you during your moment of opportunity. Feel the fear and ace your interview anyway!