“I’VE APPLIED FOR A PROMOTION AND HAVE AN INTERVIEW COMING UP. HOW CAN I OVERCOME MY NERVES?”
By Career Clinic, , , , ,
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It’s perfectly natural to feel pre-interview nerves and anxiety, truth be told, most managers would rather meet a slightly nervous candidate than one who’s over-confident, after all, you are only human!

Remember that an interview is just a conversation. You can take confidence from the fact that you’ve been picked for an interview from a list of applicants. They must believe you are capable of doing the job and are now looking to find out if you’re right for the role, the team and the company. Read on to understand the best way to go about preparing for a job interview to calm those nerves and anxiety.

If you fail to prepare, be prepared to fail

This is a well-known saying, and with good reason. Thorough preparation makes all the difference in any interview, and I often hear that people looking for internal promotion don’t put enough time and effort into this. They know who’s interviewing them, they know the role they’re applying for and they feel they can just wing it.

Don’t forget that other people will be interviewed for the role, and external candidates will have done their research. Even if you’ve worked with the company for a long time, don’t assume you know everything about it. Read up about it as you would for an external interview; what’s been written in the press about your company? Where are they going in the future? How do their plans align with your career ambitions?

Highlight your skills

It’s not unusual for people applying for internal promotion to be doing part of the job already. Think about your current job and work out which aspects of the new role you’ve been covering, and for how long. Note down some examples that show how well you’re doing and why you deserve this promotion. Work out what will be involved that is new to you, and how your experience can give the interviewer confidence that you will cope well with this next step.

An example of this is when you’ve never managed people but will need to in the new job. Look into what that involves, the relevant skills you have now, and the support you will need.

Lastly, don’t forget the basics:

  • Make sure you have a good night’s sleep before the interview.
  • Arrive in good time. If you’re travelling by public transport, allow time for delays.
  • Dress the part. Avoid over or underdressing by looking at how your managers dress for direction.
  • Take a copy of your CV and any notes or questions you may want to refer to.
  • Be the most charming version of yourself and even if you’re nervous, make sure you smile.

These are our tips regarding the best ways to prepare for an interview to minimise the nerves and anxiety, if you have any further questions or suggestions for our Career Clinic, please contact us.

First published in Pure Beauty Magazine, January/February 2020