Interviews · 5 min read
How do I calm my nerves before and during an interview?
Practical, evidence-based ways to manage interview nerves: preparation that lowers anxiety, what to do the morning of, and what to do if your mind goes blank.
The short answer
Some nerves before an interview are normal and even useful: they sharpen attention. To keep them manageable, prepare in a way that reduces uncertainty (know your examples, the route and the format), practise out loud with someone so the real thing isn't the first time you've said your answers, and use a simple breathing technique before and during the interview, such as breathing out for longer than you breathe in. Research suggests that telling yourself "I'm excited" works better than trying to calm down. If your mind goes blank, say so and ask for a moment, or ask the interviewer to repeat the question. Interviewers expect some nerves and rarely mark you down for them.
Key takeaways
- Preparation that removes uncertainty does more for nerves than any trick on the day.
- Practise answers out loud, ideally with another person, at least once.
- Slow breathing with a longer out-breath settles the body in a minute or two.
- Reframing nerves as excitement can help, according to experimental studies.
On this pageWhy preparation works best
Why preparation works best
Much interview anxiety is about uncertainty: not knowing what they'll ask, whether you'll find the building, whether you'll remember your examples. Every uncertainty you remove beforehand is one less thing for your mind to circle. Preparation also gives you evidence you'll cope, because you've already heard yourself give decent answers.
The week before
- Prepare five or six examples that cover the job's main requirements.
- Say them out loud, at least once to another person or on a video call.
- Find out the format, the length and who you'll meet.
- Plan your route or test your video setup at the same time of day.
- Choose what to wear and get it ready the day before.
The morning of
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Two hours before | Eat something; avoid extra caffeine |
| One hour before | Read your example notes once, then put them away |
| 30 minutes before | Walk for ten minutes if you can |
| Ten minutes before | Breathe in for four, out for six, for two minutes |
| Just before | Say to yourself: "I'm excited about this" |
During the interview
- Have water and your notes in front of you. Both are allowed.
- Take a breath before answering; it looks thoughtful.
- Slow your first sentence on purpose. Speed is a sign of nerves; slowing down calms them.
- If you stumble, say "Let me start that again" and do.
- Focus on the interviewer's questions, not on how you're coming across.
What the research says about reframing
In experiments by Alison Wood Brooks at Harvard, people asked to say "I am excited" before public speaking, singing or a maths test performed better, and were rated as more persuasive and confident, than people told to say "I am calm". The idea is that anxiety and excitement feel physically similar, so relabelling the feeling is easier than suppressing it. It won't remove nerves, but it can turn them into energy.
What happens to the gaps
Applying shows you what employers want that you can't show yet: a must-have your CV doesn't mention, or a question you couldn't answer well. Hand the job from OffLadder CV to Laddie, our AI coach, and it turns each one into three steps:
- Learn the skill: a short lesson on what the post asks for, starting from the basics.
- Try the work: a 15-minute task taken from the job itself, so you have a real example to talk about.
- Practise the interview: a five-question mock interview for that role, weighted to the parts you're least sure of.
The conversation stays in your OffLadder account. Once you've done the work, add it to your CV in your own words, and the next post you tailor for can point to it.
Questions people ask
- Is it okay to tell the interviewer I'm nervous?
- Yes, briefly and lightly: "I'm a bit nervous because I really want this job." Most interviewers respond kindly and it often releases tension. Don't apologise repeatedly or make it the theme of the interview.
- What should I do if my mind goes blank?
- Pause, take a breath, and say something honest: "Let me think about that for a moment," or "Could you repeat the question?" Glance at your notes. If nothing comes, offer to come back to it at the end. A ten-second pause feels long to you and short to them.
- How can I stop my voice shaking?
- Breathe from your stomach rather than your chest, slow down your first sentence, and keep water nearby. Speaking a few sentences aloud before the interview, such as reading a paragraph out loud, warms up your voice. Most interviewers don't notice a shake as much as you do.
- When is interview anxiety more than nerves?
- If anxiety stops you applying or attending interviews, causes panic attacks, or affects your sleep and daily life for weeks, it's worth talking to your GP or doctor. Anxiety is common and treatable. You can also ask employers for reasonable adjustments, such as questions in advance, if a condition affects you.
- Can I take notes into an interview to help with nerves?
- Yes. A single page with your example titles, a few numbers and your questions for them is normal and reassuring. Glance at it, don't read from it. On a video call, keep notes beside the camera rather than below the screen, so your eyes stay roughly level with the interviewer.
Exercises are practice, not evidence of career fit or a qualification. How to read our guides and report a correction.
Sources
- Get excited: reappraising pre-performance anxiety as excitement · Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, American Psychological Association
- Breathing exercises for stress · NHS
- Stress: how to manage it · Mind
How this page is written
Sources support the factual background, not a guarantee that an exercise predicts career fit. Fictional practice material is labelled. Dates record content updates; no independent expert review is implied. More about OffLadder.