Last week The Jobseeker offered his tips for keeping calm before and after an interview. I may be a student now but I’ve had my fair share of job interviews so I thought I’d share my own tips for preparing and keeping cool during the interview. 

Prepare…

You’re not invited to interview just to regurgitate your CV – the interviewer has already read that. Instead you should think about how you will bring your employment history to life with specific anecdotes, achievements and lessons learned.

Dig out the job advert and remind yourself of what they’re looking for. For each required skill or responsibility, prepare an example which shows how your previous work experience will be useful for the job.

Identify the holes in your CV and be prepared to explain them. Remind yourself of your strongest skills and achievements and think about how you can use them to answer difficult questions.

Have your outfit washed and laid out the night before (I’m remembering one interview I rushed to wearing a still-damp shirt and another I attended in a panic-bought dress with security tag attached). Print off a map of the area plus your CV and any other material you might need. Get a good night’s sleep. In the morning, leave twice as much time as you think you’ll need to get there.

… and breathe…

Once you’re in the interview, take a deep breath and adopt a pose that makes you feel – or at least look – calm and confident. I always sit back in my chair with my shoulders open, cross my legs and fold my hands in my lap. Even if you feel like crying, give your interviewer a big, broad smile – somehow it tricks your brain into chilling out.

Speak to your interviewer like you would speak to your favourite tutor or your girlfriend’s mum: friendly, chatty and positive but always polite, respectful and thoughtfully articulate. Don’t watch trash TV for a week beforehand if that will stop you punctuating every phrase with ‘like’.

Most importantly, pause and THINK before every answer. You can even ask the interviewer for a moment to collect your thoughts. Hopefully this is where your pre-prepared examples will come into play. Never panic and launch into a meaningless answer only to tie yourself in knots.

You shouldn’t pretend to be someone you’re not in an interview; if you do that and you get the job then the chances are you won’t be suited to it. A good interview is one in which you present your best achievements and attributes in the best possible light. So prepare and keep calm – you can’t do much more than that. Good luck during interview season!

Have you had an interview recently? Have you any tips to share with your fellow wannabe hacks?