Why You Become Nervous In Interviews & What You Can Do

By Perminus Wainaina

In the course of my six years career as a recruiter I have had a chance to interview over 3,000 job seekers in Kenya. The candidates vary from entry level candidates seeking their very first job, to those looking to advance in their careers to senior positions and even some at their highest level of their careers be it general managers or directors.

In my experience as an interviewer, candidates fall into any of these three groups. The first group is made up of candidates that dread interviews. While they are qualified (hence the reason you invited them) they usually struggle to sell themselves. Majority panic and you can tell they are uncomfortable. Some find it hard to maintain eye contact which makes it hard to trust or believe them and you therefore lose confidence in their ability. With this group, communicating their point across is a major struggle. It’s like you are forcing words out of their mouths. For them, a job interview is like torture. I sympathize with them because no matter their skills and experience level, convincing an employer through a standard interview will be a near impossibility.

The second group and this is where most of us fall is where our performance varies based on the person interviewing you or the set up. With this group, interviews can go either way. If an interviewer is respectful, nice, and gives them enough time to express themselves they will be confident and really sell themselves. However, if the interviewer is aggressive or the panel is difficult those in this group have the potential to lose their cool and make a mess of themselves. The good thing is, with a bit of practice they can be confident regardless of the situation. It is natural for one to be nervous in an unfamiliar setting and a well trained interviewer understands this. You also have to realize that in some customer facing jobs like sales, client service and customer care, most interviewers will put you under pressure to see how you will respond.

The final group is made up of candidates who are confident, articulate and manage to keep their cool regardless of the situation. It’s made up of cool, calm and confident individuals. This is the group that makes it to the second, third interview and ultimately gets the job. For an interviewer, interacting with such a candidate is like a breath of fresh air especially if they have been meeting candidates from group one. With the third group it stops being an interview and becomes more of a conversation.

So, what does it take to move from the first group to the third group where you are confident and articulate?

The major reason why most candidates are not confident during interviews is lack of preparation. In fact the only preparation that majority of the candidates do is to know the location of the interview and deciding on the clothes to wear. Knowing the matatu to take is not enough.

Preparation should be in three ways.

Number one is to know yourself. Assuming you have the CV and cover letter you used to apply the job, this is the time to go through it in details. I’ve been in situation where a candidate has been asked something on their CV and they put a blank look. In such a situation you not only embarrass yourself but your self esteem suffers. Number two is to understand the job description. At the back of your mind you must be absolutely clear of the employer’s expectations before you enter the interview room.

Understand each entry in the job description. Look for similar jobs adverts in the same industry and see whether there’s a match. Compare your CV with the job description and identify the gaps. Have ready answers should an interviewer delve into this. If you go through the job description and compare it with your CV and by putting yourself in the shoes of the job holder I can guarantee you that you are 70% in becoming confident and overcoming nervousness.

Another way to prepare is to research the company. You can know a lot about an organization by performing a Google search, talking to friends, reading news article etc. Ensure you get as much information as possible. Visit their website, listen to gossip, research, research some more. Any information you get will be helpful at this stage. If you know the title of the person who will be interviewing you check their LinkedIn profile.

The third and most important part of the preparations is to practice on possible interview questions and answers. Analyze your profession and industry and identify the common interview questions and the best way to approach them. Practice with a colleague or friend. Ask them for honest feedback on the quality of your answers, body language and confidence.

Having reached at this stage there’s no way you can be a nerve wreck. Granted, you can never eliminate to a 100% the fear, stress or nervousness that comes from attending an interview. It is human to experience those emotions especially when the person seated opposite you has the potential to determine your career. And like I said before it is normal and the interviewer expects a bit of discomfort on your side.

However, you will not be like the majority who do not prepare for interviews and it shows. Remember how you were in primary school when you hadn’t done your homework? The situation is not very different.

If you expect to have it easy with job interviews then you have to prepare. Take two or three hours to really understand yourself, the job and the company. If you still find yourself nervous consult us for interview preparation service where we take you through common interview questions and possible answers in your profession and how to package yourself.

David Rudisha and other Kenyan athletes are famous for wining major tournaments and marathons across world cities. What we don’t see is the months of preparations and practice that it takes to make it as a star athlete.
The secret to wining and maintaining your confidence during in an interview is preparation.

Perminus Wainaina is the Managing Partner & Head of Recruitment at Corporate Staffing Services Ltd. Email. Perminus@corporatestaffing.co.ke.