Posted by:  Silvestre Trujillo, OSU Junior and Career Services Career Assistant

Being nervous before a big interview is very common, and something we all experience. Though nerves are natural, it’s also important to at least appear to keep our composure during the interview process. By keeping our composure we leave a good impression with the interviewer and give ourselves a better chance of obtaining the job. The good news is that there are several ways in which you can better prepare yourself so that you are not nervous before an interview—or at least less nervous.

1.  Practice makes Perfect. Practicing is the most important way in which you can be prepared for an interview. Practicing reduces the amount of errors that you could make during an interview and it helps you think quicker. Going over potential questions that you could be asked reduces the fear of the unexpected. By practicing you also help reduce minor uncomfortable things that come up during interviews. One example of minor uncomfortable thing is sweating.

2.  Don’t Sweat It! Sweating is a little extra added pressure when being interviewed. Sometimes during an interview we think that we are sweating profusely when in reality it is not noticeable to other people. When we thing that we are sweating a lot we get even more nervous and that tends to affect the rest of the interview. A couple of tips to keep in mind if you have this problem is maybe keeping a handkerchief with you in order to calmly wipe off the sweat and arriving early to an interview. By arriving early to an interview you tend to not be sweating because you are trying to run to the interview and this keeps you calm and collected.

3.  Prepare, and Talk Slow. Preparation will come a long way and it will help relieve some of the nervousness that we feel during interviews. By preparing you knock out a couple of problems that may arise such as sweating. Sweating could lead to talking fast which occurs during many interviews. Though we may not realize how fast we are talking it happens after a little thing things that make you more nervous come up. All we think about is finishing the interview because we feel that we are not doing well. This shouldn’t be the case at all, just remember to keep calm and be sure to prepare and you will be just fine.

If you’re interested in shaking off some of those nerves, be sure to schedule a mock interview through Career Services.  Just call 541-737-4085 to set one up!