4 ways to instantly relieve stress before a job interview
No matter how confident you are, certain situations will likely make you nervous, and a job interview falls firmly into that category. Even if you know you’re qualified, answering questions about yourself can feel intimidating.
Fortunately, there are a few things you can do before you walk into the conference room or get on a call that will reduce your anxiety in the moment, says Richard Newman, author of Lift Your Impact.
“Feeling a little nervous before an interview is completely normal,” he says. “However, if you go into it with a mindset of fear and doubt, it can hamper your performance.”
To improve your odds of nailing the interview, consider doing these four things, which immediately reduce stress:
Check in with Your Values
Research led by J. David Creswell of Carnegie Mellon University found that affirmation of your personal values can help reduce the stress response. In a study that was published in Psychological Science in 2005, the scientists conducted an experiment with two groups of people going into important meetings.
The first group was asked to spend 15 minutes writing about the values they’ve used to guide their lives. The group that had not focused on their values before going into the interview had higher heart rates and increased levels of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline.
“Focusing on your values allows you to escape the challenge we all face in an interview, which is looking for external validation,” Newman says. “If you’re going into that meeting thinking, I really hope these people see the best in me and approve of me, you’re going to feel off-balance. You may leave thinking, That wasn’t the best of me. Or even worse, you could end up getting a job because you’ve adjusted yourself to be what you think they need.”
Newman suggests spending 15 minutes thinking about your top three values. Write down how they’ve guided important decisions for you. And then create a code word that helps you remember them.
Try Box Breathing
Breathwork can be good for reducing stress. Newman suggests emphasizing the exhale as a way to calm down.
“Traditional advice is to take a deep breath,” he says. “While this is good intent, it doesn’t work because when you’re tense, you perform clavicular breathing, which is shallow.”
Instead, you need to shift to diaphragmatic breathing, which can be done through an exercise called “box breathing.” Start by inhaling for five seconds. Next, hold the breath for five seconds to process the oxygen. Breathe out for five seconds and then hold for two seconds.
“The process helps you reset yourself,” Newman says. “Over a period of around about 90 seconds, you’ll slow your heart rate and highly oxygenate the body. Oxygen in the system allows you to chemically burn off adrenaline. You can shift yourself from the sympathetic nervous system, which is the state of fight or flight, across to the parasympathetic nervous system of rest and digest.”
Use Visualization
The act of visualizing something can turn the present into history, which helps calm your nerves.
“Anxiety is essentially imagining a negative version of the future,” Newman says. “You can flip it upside down. Instead of imagining a negative version of the future, imagine the situation where you’re acting and reacting in a way that makes you feel proud. If you do this often enough, you set up neural pathways that tell your brain, Oh, I know this situation, I’ve done this before. This is where my mind needs to go as I act and react.”
Visualization only works if you’re focusing on your actions and your reactions, and not those of others. Ideally, Newman says you should practice visualization first thing in the morning or the last thing at night because your brain will be more receptive to it.
“Do it for at least 15 minutes for two weeks in advance of an important event,” he says. “Even just doing it once will give you an advantage, but the more that you can do it the better.”
Check in with Your Inner Voice
Professor Steve Peters, author of The Chimp Paradox, has written several books on the “monkey mind,” which is a survival mechanism that kept humans safe in the days when we were in danger of being attacked by wild animals. Today stress comes from much tamer situations, but the brain’s response is the same.
“These days, we might feel stressed because we’re about to go into a job interview,” says Newman. “The chimp [in our mind] notices that stress response and says, Oh, you could die in this situation, there’s probably a saber-toothed tiger sitting in there.”
To counteract the monkey mind, you have to understand that it’s going to check its surroundings. For example, if you tell yourself to calm down, the monkey mind will double-check and find that you’ve got a high heart rate, you’re doing clavicular breathing, and you’ve got sweaty palms. It’s going to tell you that you’re definitely not calm.
Another popular phrase people tell themselves and others is “You’ve got this.” Newman explains that “the chimp is going to hear that and think, What do you mean? I don’t know if I’ve got this. Suddenly it starts to panic about the situation because there’s no proof that it’s true.”
Instead, reframe your internal dialogue. For example, instead of thinking I’m nervous, tell yourself, “I’m excited.”
“The monkey mind will find that your heart rate is high, and you’ve got clavicular breathing, and sweaty palms,” Newman says. “Those same things align with excitement, and your brain will tell you that means you’re going to have a good time. Suddenly it relaxes and allows you to go and perform well in that situation.”
You can also tell yourself phrases like, “I’m in the right place.” As Newman explains, “By saying that, the chimp can instantly prove that it’s true. The subconscious message you’re giving yourself is, I deserve to be here. I am worth getting this job. If you’ve prepared for the interview and you are well-qualified for the job, then the monkey mind can double-check and validate. Choose a phrase that is true and makes you feel good. Then the chimp will relax and you can go into that interview and be your best self.”
Breathing and visualization exercises paired with the acts of knowing and acknowledging your strengths can help you go into any stressful situation with more confidence.
“These strategies can transform how you communicate,” Newman says. “You’ll be able to walk out of the interview knowing you did your best to land the job.”
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