Job interviews are stressful for everyone involved. It is obvious that the candidate interviewing for the job will find it stressful but the person conducting the interview will also find it stressful.
Here are a few tips from our years of experience as an executive search firm.
Interviews are stressful from both sides of the table since everyone wants to make a good first impression and everyone wants to make sure that they make the right decision.
Most interviewers are great at performing their jobs but may not have much experience conducting interviews. The candidate and the interviewer begin by preparing a list of questions and reviewing materials such as resumes and websites until they feel prepared.
During the interview, each person tends to judge themselves harshly and then tries to self-correct by altering their behavior. Pauses may seem too long, we may find ourselves talking too much, sentences may come out awkward and body language seems nervous. We often leave interviews thinking we gave the wrong impression because we were simply too nervous.
We can prepare by recording a practice interview. It is very easy to do this because now most mobile devices and computers are equipped with a video recorder.
Whether we are the interviewer or the candidate, we can record our opening statements, our questions and our possible responses. Many professionals record and review important presentations so that they know exactly how they look and sound. By the time the big day of the presentation arrives, the person has practiced and is comfortable; they know what they will say, how they will say it and how to control their body language.
When you review the recording of your practice interview, you may find that you do much better than you expected. You can also have trusted friends or advisors review your recorded practice interview to get additional feedback. You will hear and see any problems in advance so that you can correct it for the actual interview.