How to Manage Anxiety Before a Job Interview

You’ve been sending out resumes left and right, applying for jobs in your sleep, and now you finally got the call and have a job interview set up. After lining up the interview, you might discover that you have a lot of emotions, including anxiety. Perhaps you’ve been looking for a job for a while and have started to feel a little desperate to return to the workforce.

Of course, you know that to perform your best in the interview you’ll want to manage your emotions.

Here are a few ways to manage your anxiety before the interview.

Recognize how you feel. Don’t bother denying how you’re feeling about the interview. Your emotions are not right or wrong. If you’re feeling anxious, nervous, or worried it’s necessary to acknowledge how you’re feeling so you can implement some strategies to better manage your anxiety.

   

Discuss how you feel with a friend. Take some time to share your feelings with a friend, spouse, or partner. It can help to manage your feelings simply by acknowledging them to another person. When we hold our emotions in or try to bury them, they can feel more oppressive and difficult to handle.

Get some good sleep. Of course, you want to get good sleep before your interview. Don’t stay up late watching television, perhaps take a hot shower or bath, and read for awhile to help you relax.

Avoid alcohol. Do not drink the night before your interview. You might think it will help you relax and fall asleep, but alcohol actually impairs your ability to fall into a deep sleep. And it should go without saying that you don’t want to drink in the hours before your interview.

Meditate and self-talk. Take a few minutes to meditate the day of your interview and develop some phrases for positive self-talk, such as “I have the skills necessary to do this job well” or “I will perform well in this interview.”

Breathe. When we’re feeling anxious, we can sometimes neglect to breathe properly, and this can increase our feelings of anxiety. So, take some time and breathe deeply, while repeating your positive self-talk phrases and you’ll do just fine in your interview.