Introduction
We all wait for interviews in our lives to get a job. An interview is an opportunity where we can showcase our skills and secure a job more easily. However, interviews are not always easy, and in today’s time, they have become even more difficult and highly competitive. And become difficult to stay composed in high-pressure interviews.
Sometimes interviews feel easy, but at other times the situation becomes quite tough, making interviews feel high-pressure. However, this does not mean that we cannot clear pressure-filled interviews.
In this article, we are going to learn how to stay composed in high-pressure interviews easily.
Why Interviews Become High-Pressure Situations?
It is not necessary that interviews always feel high-pressure or stressful. Interviews start feeling stressful when candidates are asked to present their personality, skills, and confidence within a limited amount of time. Due to this time constraint, pressure builds up on the candidate.
Another major reason is the fear of rejection. When candidates think that a wrong answer or even a small mistake might lead the recruiter to reject them, they start feeling anxious and pressured. Because of this anxiety, they are often unable to explain their answers clearly.
There are a few other reasons as well, such as high expectations, power imbalance, unexpected questions, and self-comparison. All these factors make candidates feel pressurized during interviews, which prevents them from presenting their answers and themselves effectively.
How to Stay Composed in High-Pressure Interviews?
1. Preparation as the Foundation of Composure
The first and most important way to stay composed in an interview is preparation. Preparation is essential for performing any task effectively and achieving good results.
When we prepare ourselves well before an interview—especially for interview questions—we can easily stay composed. Proper preparation helps us answer all the questions confidently and increases our chances of clearing the interview.
There are a few things you can do as part of your interview preparation. Research the company and the role deeply, practice common interview questions, understand every detail of your resume, and prepare examples or stories from your past experiences.
If you want to practice common interview questions before your interview, you can visit our other blog, which will help you prepare for all the commonly asked interview questions.
2. Mental Techniques to Stay Calm in High-Pressure Interviews
Another effective way to stay composed in high-pressure interviews is using mental techniques to stay calm. No matter how challenging the situation is—whether in an interview or in life—if we remain calm and handle the situation thoughtfully, we can manage it more easily.
If you panic and fail to stay calm, you may answer without thinking. This can lead to irrelevant or completely off-topic responses. In moments of confusion, it becomes difficult to understand what to say and what not to say, and because of panic, we often speak in a hurry.
There are several mental techniques that can help you stay calm during a high-pressure interview, such as deep breathing, positive self-talk, visualization, and focusing on the present moment. All these techniques help you stay calm, think clearly, and take well-considered actions in any situation.
3. Handling Tough and Unexpected Questions
Many candidates answer a question even when they do not fully understand it. They do this because they think that asking the recruiter for clarification will create a negative impression and may even lead to rejection.
But this thinking is completely wrong. If you answer without understanding the question and without clarification, it automatically creates a negative impression on the recruiter. The recruiter may feel that you are more interested in giving memorized answers than actually understanding the question.
So, if you do not understand a question, always ask the recruiter for clarification. Only answer after you clearly understand the question.
When you ask for clarification, it actually impresses the recruiter. It shows that you want to understand the question properly, you value the interview, and you take your answers seriously. This also increases your chances of getting hired.
4. Managing Body Language Under High-Pressure Interviews
Another important tip is that if you want to end your interview strongly and effectively, you must maintain positive body language till the very end.
You should not do this: in the beginning you are very energetic, answering effectively, actively listening to the recruiter, and then slowly your motivation goes down. By the end of the interview, you become very quiet, do not answer properly, and start feeling bored.
If you do this, it creates a negative impression on the recruiter and reduces your chances of getting hired, no matter how well you performed at the beginning of the interview. The ending of an interview matters a lot.
5. Staying Composed During Silence or Interruptions
Another effective way to stay composed in high-pressure interviews is to explain your thought process.
Explaining your thought process means sharing how you are thinking, not just what your final answer is. When you explain your thought process step by step, you show the recruiter how you analyze a problem, consider different options, and make decisions.
You can also read “Techniques to Answer Unexpected Interview Questions”.
6. Emotional Control When Things Go Wrong
Even if a candidate is well prepared, there are times during an interview when they may not know how to answer a question or what exactly to say. As a result, they may become silent or feel awkward.
Many times, situations arise where a candidate forgets an answer, gives an incomplete response, or faces critical questions for which they did not prepare. However, in such moments, there is no need to panic. You just need to remember one thing: one imperfect moment does not define the entire interview. Manage your emotions, recover quickly, and continue answering with confidence.
7. Communication Skills That Signal Composure
One of the most effective ways to stay composed during high-pressure interviews is to communicate clearly and calmly. Speak slowly, understand the questions properly, focus more on listening than speaking, and present your answers effectively.
You can structure and present your answers clearly by using the STAR method.
- S – Situation
- T – Task
- A – Action
- R – Result
You can give structured answers to interview questions with the use of the STAR method.
Basically, STAR means Situation, Task, Action, and Result.
In a Situation, you have to explain the context or problem, the Task means what is your role or responsibility. The third one is Action, which means what steps you took to solve the problem, and the last one is Result, in which you have to share the outcome or learning.
This method makes your answers concise, clear, and impactful, and the interviewer can easily understand how you will perform in real situations.
If you want to practice and examples of interviews, then platforms like Best Job Tool provide you with tips and guides for mock interviews, which helps to improve soft skills and communication.
Conclusion
An interview is not something extremely difficult; it is simply a part of your successful career, and you can clear it easily if you stay composed by following the tips shared in this article.
Many candidates attend interviews without proper preparation, which leads to several difficulties. However, if you carefully follow the tips mentioned in this article, you will be able to perform well in your interview.
You just need to remember one thing: stay calm no matter what the situation is, present yourself professionally, and do not let small mistakes demotivate you.
