Affirmations are my secret for interviewing. Besides practicing and preparing for interviews, just repeating a few affirmations before my interview helps me reduce my anxiety.

My three pieces of advice: 1) Deep breathing and distracting your mind to something other than the interview while you are waiting to meet with the hiring committee (sudoku, a crossword puzzle, a zentangle) will actually calm your nervous system, helping those physical symptoms of anxiety (butterflies, shallow breathing, sweating) stop (or at least shrink!) 2) Remember that the people interviewing you are just that - people. They have interests, hobbies, personalities, and faults. They probably also get nervous in similar situations. 3) Try to reframe the interview in a way to try and see it as YOUR interview. You really should be using that opportunity to find out more about the organization and whether or not it's a good fit for you. Try to ask questions to see if your interviewers enjoy their jobs and what kind of work/life balance there is. Best of luck!

Great advise given from all! For me it’s good to have some anxiety, as it keeps you thinking and on your toes. It’s great that you did your research, so now you can practice your responses to frequently asked interview questions from a quick search. For me, I have found that being able to relax a little was thinking of every interview as a mock interview so that I don’t feel so much pressure.

You've taken the most important step, researching the company!!! It can be difficult to calm yourself no matter how prepared you are. If possible, 15 minutes before the interview close your eyes and practice "REALLY DEEP" breathing. Clear your mind and only focus on your breathing. This technique works well in any situation where anxiety wants to take control. Total Game-Changer! Hope this helps!

Sometimes it helps to understand that you're in the power position, because you often are. The people interviewing you are likely 1) in desperate need of help -- they want you to be the right person for the job, 2) not particularly skillful interviewers -- few people are, and 3) not as prepared as you are for the interview. It's easy to believe that you're walking into a situation where people are looking to find fault. But they're actually looking harder to find alignment.

Deep breaths and a last minute walk with my dog, Bella!

In a word: Practice. Especially with an interview coach - this will ramp up your nerves and allow you a safe space to be successful while also being nervous. Really good confidence builder.

My best advice is to actually practice interviewing. For me, interviewing/speaking got so much easier once I had done it hundreds of times. Research is great. But practice your interviewing skills with someone else can really help. If you have a friend, partner, or anyone who is willing to sit with you and give you feedback on your responses and body language, ask them to help. If you don't have anyone to help at the moment, if you have a camera, record yourself and then watch the video to see where you can improve. This will help you get out jitters before the interview itself.

Great advice here, one thing to add - Visualization! It's different than practice! Actually experience yourself walking into the office, getting through the introductions, doing an awesome job responding to some questions, maybe even visualize yourself recovering when you don't know something. And of course visualize yourself saying goodbye after the interview feeling awesome because you killed it in your interview! Visualization is powerful - look up how professional athletes use it. I promise it will help!

Anxiety is normal. Being nervous about a job interview is normal. You want to make a good impression. You want to land the position. That's a lot of pressure. My honest advice, and I give this to everyone I know, is remember, the people you are interviewing are just that, people. They do everything you do. Actually, what I say is, everyone poops. When you start to think about people from that perspective, you start to look at them differently, they are suddenly less intimidating. Also, you are interviewing them just as much as they are interviewing you. I can't tell you how many interviews I have been on where the position was offered, and I turned it down because it wasn't the right fit for me, or I walked out of the interview saying they can't pay me enough to work there. The more conversational the interview is, the more relaxed you will be, the calmer you will become, and you will land that job! You can't psych yourself out. Walk in confident, knowing you are a strong woman who can have a great conversation, and impress them with the dialogue you are about to have. And if they offer you water, coffee, or tea, accept it. When you start to get nervous, you can take a sip as a break and quick regroup. You got this!