Top tips to ace that interview

The hours before a job interview can feel like torture. How can you spend that time in a way that enables you to arrive calm?

The hours before a job interview can feel like torture. How can you spend that time in a way that enables you to arrive calm and centred?

The need for pre-interview stress relievers is rising, as more college students and recent grads apply for serial internships, and more employees interview for internal transfers amid corporate restructuring.

Many of them are finding offbeat ways to apply some proven stress-relief tactics. Here’s a sampling:

Emma Valentiner lays the groundwork for tough interviews by donning what she calls ridiculous underwear.

Wearing comfortable briefs adorned with pugs or cactuses makes an invisible fashion statement, lending her a sense of presence and confidence.

“It’s like that Mona Lisa smile— a sign that I’m bringing something special to the table,” says Valentiner, 40, a content manager and search-engine optimisation specialist in Houston.

At the interview site, she stops by the rest room, steps into a stall and strikes a Superwoman pose.

Feet firmly planted, hands on her hips and shoulders back, she breathes deeply for a couple of minutes to fortify her confidence.

“I see these as tiny little vibrational reminders that I can do these things, I’ve got this,” she says. “They’re like rituals to prepare yourself.”

Warming up your voice is another helpful habit, equipping people to speak in warmer, richer tones during an interview, says Julian Treasure, author of How to Be Heard.

In one exercise, the speaker imitates a siren by wailing aloud, ranging between high-pitched and low-pitched tones.

Giovanni Gallo uses Treasure’s siren exercise in private before interviews, alternating between what he calls squeals and bellows.

“It has the added benefit of making you feel pretty silly, which can work wonders in calming your nerves,” says Gallo, 34, co-chief executive of ComplianceLine, a provider of compliance software and services.

Sam White wants to avoid going into an interview in a negative frame of mind, thinking, “I’m so nervous. What if this happens? What if that happens?” He evokes a contemplative state of mind instead by arriving early and finding a coffee shop to do breathing exercises and write a gratitude list. “Before asking for more, I think it’s important to remember what’s already great in your life,” says White, 34, a marketing executive.

Then he downs a quarter-shot of tequila and chases it with breath mints and seltzer water. It’s just a sip — too small to get him buzzed.

But “it’s a little shock of excitement”, sparking invigorating memories of past trips to Mexico, White says. He also gets fired up with Wu-Tang Clan or other hip-hop artists. He says they get him flowing “with the right amount of swag and introspection”.

Physical exercise also can change the way you feel, but building it into interview prep can be tricky. Krystal Covington runs the stairs or does push-ups at home before interviews.

“This helps me get some of the jitters out,” says Covington, 34, founder of Women of Denver, a networking group.

She arrives early, parks a medium distance from the office and takes a walk, repeating to herself, “you’re a great candidate”, she says.

If possible, she takes the stairs rather than the lift — but only for a maximum of three or four flights.

She once ran up six flights for an interview and had to explain why she arrived breathing heavily and a bit winded, Covington says.

She even does isometrics while answering questions, wearing closed-toe shoes so she can squeeze her toes together during anxious moments — such as if a senior executive joins the interview.

“Anything to release energy,” she says.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL