Facing Tension at Interview

I've seen many bright candidates don't do well in interviews just because they become to nervous during job interview. Well, can we control our nervousness and face the interview with smiling face and confidence? Let's find out -

1. What makes us nervous?
- There are several reasons. I don't want to touch upon them. But the basic cause of nervousness during any job interview, in my opinion of course, is the fear of failure. We constantly keep convincing ourselves with the negative outcomes. We tell ourselves that the interviewers are going to ask the world's toughest questions to us and laugh at us if we don't answer them. The negativity surrounds us and that causes the fear of failure.

2. Reality?
- So, are the interviewers really eager to find a chance to harass you? Or they're there to select the right candidate for the job? You know the answer.

Trust me, any interviewer or a panel of interviewers just want answer to ONE SINGLE QUESTION: If I/we select this candidate will I/we be happy working with him/her?

Yes! That's what every interviewer wants to know. This single question involves everything: Your technical knowledge, your attitude, your smartness, your overall personality etc. No one would love to work with a dull, clueless, less-informed person.

3. So what should you do?
- First accept the fact that we all have our own limitations. No matter how much you study, there's always scope for more knowledge about any topic. Having said that, you should -

- Be happy with whatever you've learned at your earlier, current job or school/college.
- Tell yourself the fact that success/failure in one interview won't make/break your life.
- Cool yourself by avoiding repetitive thinking about what makes you nervous.

4. Facing the interview: Ultimate tip:
You might laugh at me after reading this tip. But it works if you use it properly. It'll take away all the nervousness out of your mind and make you relaxed during an interview.

Tip: While facing any interview, consider the interviewer as your distant relative!

Now, how'd you talk to a distant relative, say older than you? You'd talk naturally with a smile, won't crack unnecessary jokes and not be 'too' serious as if every mistake of yours will get punished! Would you be nervous if your distant relative asked you a question you don't know the answer? Of course not, you'd simply ask for more information and see whether you can answer it, if not, you'll simply say you aren't aware of it! It's that simple! Interviews aren't very different from a natural conversation.

That's how it works and it's worked for me when I appeared for interviews. All my interviews offered a very nice experience and I cracked all of them with this simple trick. Because at the end of the day, the my interviewers were selecting their younger brother for the job; it's a different story that we had never met before.