by Kate Flaxx

Created on: November 21, 2010   Last Updated: November 22, 2010

Job interviews are one of the hardest occasions to sit through. Knowing exactly how you’re going to go is an uncertainty. Knowing how many interviewers you will have to face and exactly what questions you’re going to have to answer is equally uncertain. What if you prepare for questions that are not even asked? What if you’re being interviewed by three or four people?  What if you say the wrong thing?  What if you’re so nervous that nothing you say is relevant or makes sense...relax and breathe. Try going for a walk before your interview.

Going for a walk before a job interview really helps to calm your nerves and clear your mind. The best thing to do is arrive at the place of the interview a little over an hour before the interview.  From here, set your watch or your mobile phone alarm to go off in thirty minutes, now pick a direction and walk.

While you walk, you can think.  You can imagine how you’re interview will go and what questions might be asked.  Walking will help you recall points you need to remember such as your prepared research and other information you may need.  As well recalling important information, you can also rehearse responses or give yourself little reminders such as questions you wish to ask the interviewer/s.  

Remember that alarm you set earlier?  It should be going off pretty soon.  When the alarm sounds, set it again for 30 minutes, turn around and make your way back to the place of the interview but this time, concentrate on what’s around you, not the interview.  If you dwell on the interview for too long, you’ll probably feel more anxious as you approach it.  Concentrate on the things you missed while walking for that first half an hour.  Are there houses in that street?  Are you in a city?  Take a look at buildings or businesses, have you been here before?  What can you see on your way back that you missed while you were thinking of the job interview?  Are there any small shops on the way?  Are you going to stop to grab a packet of gum or a takeaway coffee?  Making your way back is to completely relax yourself.

You’ll find that when you arrive at the place of the interview, you will be relaxed.  You’ll find it easier to communicate with the people you need to communicate with because you haven’t arrived with a bunch of nerves or fear and haven’t spent hours wondering how the interview will go.  That first half an hour of walking helped you figure out everything about the interview right down to how you’re going to introduce yourself and the approach you were going to take. 

Going for a walk before an interview is one of the most relaxing things to do.  It helps you clear your mind and prepare what may happen at that interview.  You should feel confident and relaxed, especially after that hour.  Aside from that if you arrived more than an hour early in the first instance, this means you're early for your interview; you’ve started well already.

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