Video interviews can cause nerves and anxiety for job seekers, just as an in-person interview can. Even though the dilemma of meeting the employer in person is taken out of the picture, you still have to present yourself and see them through video. For some job seekers, not being able to be in the typical atmosphere of an in-person interview may make them feel more anxious. The truth about job interview nerves is that much of it is mental. Job seekers have the possibility of having a successful video interview when they put themselves in the right mindset. Here are some tips to boost your interview confidence before and during the video interview.
Before the interview takes place, relieve the pre-interview jitters by telling yourself positive things about the upcoming interview. There are a number of things you can say to yourself before a video interview to get your confidence going. Tell yourself that you can do this, that you are that right candidate for the job. Being 100 percent prepared for the video interview is a great way to increase your interview confidence. This means doing research on the company and coming up with some great questions to ask. If you feel like your nerves will get the best of you and you’ll forget, don’t worry because unlike an in-person interview, you can have reference cards near. Have the list of questions you want to ask beside you. In order to avoid looking like you’re reading off the questions though, make a good effort to already have them memorized. Having the interview questions there at your side will hopefully relieve the nerves you have of forgetting.
Aside from being prepared, it’s important to focus on your verbal and non-verbal communication during the video interview. As My CV and Me states, you want to come off as enthusiastic for the job, but there is such thing as too enthusiastic. You don’t want to go into a nervous rant. On the other hand though, you don’t want to silence yourself and give a lot of awkward pauses. There needs to be a good medium amongst your conversation with the interviewer in your video interview. One thing that can help is to imagine this video interview as a conversation between you and a friend. Take yourself out of the stiff environment of a formal job interview and make yourself more at ease by approaching it in a casual manner. Having this mindset allows you to be more relaxed and it’ll show in your body language.
Body language in a video interview is just as important as an in-person interview. It’s a big component of how the job interviewer will judge your interview performance. Job seekers should do their best to look relaxed and confident. Again, think of it as you’re having a conversation with someone you already know and are comfortable with. Avoid negative body language like crossed arms or slouching. Always keep good eye-contact.
Lastly, avoid doubting yourself. It’s easy to fall into the trap of over-analyzing and doubting your capabilities as a job seeker. Block out all the negative notions you have and think positively. This will be a big confidence booster. Even if you feel inexperienced for the job, look for ways to make yourself look experienced. If you go into your video interview prepared, confident and enthusiastic, you won’t come across too many surprising questions or troublesome resume spots.
How do you show confidence in a video interview or an in-person interview? Do you sometimes have to fake it? Let us know in the comments section below!
IMAGE: Courtesy of Flickr by comedy_nose
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