Any Tips on nerves during interviews??

[Jessiemmc]

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Does anybody have some tips on how not to be nervous during an interview?? Or how to act like your not nervous? Thanks!

 

[sdnstud]

Smile 🙂

I think it is ok to be nervous during the interview. If you really f-up the first 10 minutes of the interview, stop, take a deep breath, and sincerely tell your interviewer that you're a little nervous and that you will try your best to unnerve. Most interviewer will say something to calm you down.

 

[Blue Scrub]

Does anybody have some tips on how not to be nervous during an interview?? Or how to act like your not nervous? Thanks!

It is OK to be a little nervous during interviews, I think most interviewers expect it, and most do try to say something to calm you down....the best thing I can say to do is practice practice practice...have friends, teachers, or others conduct mock interviews with you, and have them give you feedback......also this one is obvious, but look over your app and make sure you can explain what and why you did everything you listed for EC's....also read over your PS and know why you wrote what you did...a big thing to remember is to just try and be honest, interviewers can spot when you are lying, or when you're just saying something because you think it's what they want to hear....if you're asked a tough question, it's not so much what you say, but how you handle the question, and make sure you have your reasons for giving your answer....

Get the first interview out of the way, and it becomes easier with every one you go on, to the point where you almost get the hang of it....you'll be fine, good luck!!!

 

[dbutz02]

There was a thread a few weeks ago suggesting shots to cool the nerves

 

[Blue Scrub]

There was a thread a few weeks ago suggesting shots to cool the nerves

that's a good one too

 

[Larsitron]

I think the best advice I ever got was the fact that by the time you get to the interview stage, you're pretty much on equal footing (at least intellectually) with everyone there. So now's the time to let yourself go a little and let the interviewer see who you really are. Just answer the questions. There's no reason to go in there with an agenda, just be yourself.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

Smile 🙂

I think it is ok to be nervous during the interview. If you really f-up the first 10 minutes of the interview, stop, take a deep breath, and sincerely tell your interviewer that you're a little nervous and that you will try your best to unnerve. Most interviewer will say something to calm you down.

i can't tell you how many interviewers have told me to relax...and actually having them verbalize it and allowing you to take ownership of it and then control actually helps. after a few interviews it gets much easier

 

[Jessiemmc]

Thank you all for your advice. I've heard the best thing to do is to say your nervous at the beginning because it actually makes you calm down a bit. I'm not sure about the mock interviews...in my mind I know they are mock so I don't think they would help me much. Did you guys find that mock interviews helped? Thanks again.

 

[JohnBasedow]

Thank you all for your advice. I've heard the best thing to do is to say your nervous at the beginning because it actually makes you calm down a bit. I'm not sure about the mock interviews...in my mind I know they are mock so I don't think they would help me much. Did you guys find that mock interviews helped? Thanks again.

I didn't do any mock interviews, but the thing that helps me most before interviews is to tell myself that I'm just talking to another PhD or doc, not someone to be feared. Also, the vast majority of interviewers won't ask any hard questions, I think I only had one guy that was cruel and asked me about political stuff I had no idea about (this is out of 8 schools I've been to). Most of them just want a better idea of who you are as a person and why you'd be a good doc.

 

[indo]

take a couple shots then start saying things like, "i don't have anything against Jews, I just can't stand them."

 

[Amorphisgirl]

What?

 

[Psycho Doctor]

What?

don't listen to him; he's just playing with you. He's tellng you to take shots of alcohol and then make a fool out of yourself. 👎 Be natural and admit you're nervous if necessary; it does calm you down. As far as mock interviews, i actually did practice answering questions just so i felt comfortable talking about myself and to see how i would word things. I also had friends ask me questions and whereas it wasn't the real setting being friends, they sometimes threw things way out there which was a test of how i would respond to stupid questions, which sometimes does get asked. The more people you have throwing questions at you the greater diversity of situations you prepare for. Even if it doesn't totally help, it doesn't hurt. Best of luck.

 

[Madhatter]

i was also really worried about being nervous and jittery during the interview. but i decided not to do any mock interviews (b/c then things seem to rehearsed) and just do my best to be articulate when the day came. It is actually much easier if you just view your interviewer as someone you just met at work or in school and just have a casual conversation with them. dont be intimidated by them. that was my strategy and it worked really well.