How to calm your nerves before a job interview: the night before and the last 10 minutes

TL;DR. Nerves before an interview are normal: the stakes feel high and the outcome is partly outside your control. You do not need to remove the nerves. You can make them more useful. Prepare a few concrete stories, write down your worries beforehand, try to read the arousal as energy and slow your breathing in the last minutes.

Why interviews feel so charged

An interview is evaluation by strangers, with a time limit, on something you want. The body prepares for a challenge: faster heart, tense muscles, dry mouth. These sensations are uncomfortable. They are not dangerous, and they do not mean you will do badly.

A plan in three stages

The night before: prepare, then stop

1. Pick three stories from your work that show your skills.
2. Write each in four lines: situation, what you did, result, what you learned.
3. Say each aloud once. Then stop.
4. Lay out clothes, route and documents.
5. Set a time to stop preparing. Go to bed on time.

Concrete stories calm nerves because your mind has something to hold on to. If your mind races once you are in bed, see how to stop racing thoughts at night.

The morning: write the worries out

In one classroom study, students who spent ten minutes writing about their worries before a high-stakes exam did better (Ramirez & Beilock 2011). That was an exam, not an interview, but the idea carries over. Write: "What am I afraid will happen?" and then "If it did, what would I do?"

The last 10 minutes: reframe and breathe

Instead of "calm down", try telling yourself "I am excited". In experiments, people who said this before a stressful task felt more excited and performed better than people who said "I am calm" (Brooks 2014). The arousal is the same, but the meaning changes.

Then slow your breathing. Breathe in for 4, out for 6, for two minutes. Slow breathing tends to lower arousal (Zaccaro 2018). The free breathing timer can pace it, and breathing exercises for anxiety explains what the research does and does not show.

In the room

• Pause before you answer. Two seconds feels long to you and normal to them.
• Say "let me think". It is fine.
• It is OK to say you are a little nervous. Interviewers have seen it before.
• Ask a question back. It turns a test into a conversation.

What to avoid

• Cramming until midnight. Sleep helps more than another hour of notes.
• Rehearsing disasters. If your mind drifts there, return to your three stories.
• Judging yourself afterwards for a long time. Write down one thing to improve and stop.

Free tool

For a full routine before any event, try the free pre-event routine. It walks you through the last hours and minutes. For a talk, a concert or a longer lead-up, see How to calm your nerves before a performance, exam or presentation.

When to seek help

Please talk to a doctor or psychologist if:

• fear of interviews or evaluation makes you avoid applying for work you want;
• nerves come with panic surges, fainting, chest pain or trouble breathing;
• worry about the future takes over most days and affects sleep and work;
• you feel low for weeks, or thoughts of harming yourself appear.

If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, contact emergency services or a crisis line now. These lines are free and confidential:

Free, confidential crisis lines by country are listed in the box below. See the crisis lines ↓

More options are on our Get help page.

FAQ

Should I try to hide that I am nervous?

You do not need to. A little nervousness is normal and rarely harms your chances. Slow speech and a pause usually help more than hiding.

Does reframing nerves as excitement really help?

In experiments it helped some people. It is a simple trick, not a guarantee, and it works best when practised.

What if my mind goes blank?

Say "let me gather my thoughts", take a slow breath and return to the question. It is a normal moment.

What about online interviews?

The same plan works. Test your camera and sound the day before, and keep a glass of water nearby.