by Deborah S. Hildebrand

Created on: November 19, 2008   Last Updated: October 20, 2011

There's something about the job interview process that makes most people's knees quiver and palms sweat. Whether it's nerves or out and out fear, when it comes to sitting face-to-face with a potential employer, many of us seem to fall apart.

Every interviewer has their own style and list of questions that they like to ask, so trying to guess which ones will come up can be a daunting task. Instead, you need to focus on making you the best interviewee you can be.

If you are one of those people who seem to lose their confidence during the job interview process, here are five suggestions on how to make your next job interview go just a little bit easier.

Be Prepared

Yes, it's true, you cannot prepare for each and every job interview question; however, you should be familiar enough with your own work history to be able to speak to what you have accomplished over the course of your career. That means taking the time to inventory your work experience.

Make a list of each job you have held in the last 10 years (the suggested maximum number of years to include on your resume) and write down one sentence for each of your major projects or accomplishments while in each position. For example, say you migrated over 1,000 users from local servers to corporate UNIX servers in one month and served on the EDI Implementation Committee which reduced merchandise flow through the warehouse from five days to 48 hours. These would be key contributions to remember, to include on your resume and to mention during your interview.

Be Self-Aware

This is a tough one for a lot of people because while we seem to be able to look at others and point out their good and bad qualities, we don't always take the time to look at ourselves. In order to be able to talk about yourself and what you bring to an organization, you are going to need to be introspective and consider your best and your worst qualities.

Depending on your ability to self-identify, you may also need to speak to those closest to you as well as review prior performance reviews to help you understand your strengths and weaknesses. Come up with a short list of your best and worst qualities. Then for your best qualities come up with a time when you demonstrated each of them on the job, and for your worst qualities explain how you are working to correct them.

Be Concise

One of the worst ways to let your nerves show through during a job interview is to ramble on or lose your train of thought when you are responding to a question.

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