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In most cases, it is up to the candidates to make the interview a success. Everyone has learnt the basic rules and knows that you shouldn’t be late for an interview, you should look neat and businesslike, know everything about the job and the company, and don’t forget about your achievements. However, there are not so obvious nuances that actually have an impact on the employer’s decision. That’s why we’ve compiled ten tips that will help you successfully pass any interview.

Stay calm

It may sound rather trite, but you should remain calm during the interview. After all, it is often excessive excitement, when you are trembling with fear, your mouth is dry, and you are short of breath that can “knock out” all the prepared phrases about your achievements and answers to the most common questions. But even if you are able to say everything, the employer will notice your anxiety and suspect that you are either hiding something or are emotionally unstable and will give preference to another candidate.

If you don’t know how to get your nerves back to normal, try this:

1. Drink water. Swallowing movements help you to come back to normal.

2. Press your feet to the floor. This will literally give you the opportunity to feel the support under your feet, and you will feel more confident.

3. Use a talisman. If you have a thing that reminds you of your successes, or you just think it’s lucky, take it with you to the interview and feel its support when you start to get nervous.

Control your speech

According to psychologists, the first impression of a person is not based on WHAT they say, but on HOW they say it. This includes the clarity of speech, facial expressions and gestures, and confidence in pronunciation.

Here are three tips to help improve your pronunciation:

4. Speak clearly and confidently. It’s trivial advice, but you need to get rid of the speed of pronunciation, swallowing letters, lingering “ehhh”, etc. that are common in everyday speech. You need to speak clearly, confidently, and at a steady pace.

5. Keep a positive attitude. An HR specialist can easily scan your emotional state. Therefore, it is better that they see that you are positive and seem to be smiling from the inside. However, you shouldn’t smile all the time, but only in appropriate situations.

6. Control your facial expressions and gestures. You don’t need to wave your arms excessively and go overboard with different facial expressions. But behaving like Buckingham Palace guards is also wrong. It’s enough to find a pose in which you feel comfortable and remove gestures that betray excitement.

Remember the nuances of self-presentation

You will definitely be asked to talk about yourself and your career path. We’ve already mentioned that you need to prepare your self-presentation in advance. But let’s add a few more nuances that will make it hit the mark:

7. Find the points of contact with the employer. Show your potential boss that you share his or her passion for the brand, profess the company’s values in your personal life, and share all the rules introduced here.

8. Meet the requirements. Your experience and skills should match the requirements of the job posting, and the more they resemble the ideal employee for the position, the better.

9. Be proactive. Don’t wait until the employer asks you about your weaknesses or the reasons for choosing their company for employment. Weave answers to these questions into your presentation. At the end, for example, you can leave a short story about what brought you to this particular company.

Be prepared

Yes, you have to be prepared to answer even the most unexpected questions at the interview. Therefore, the one thing you shouldn’t sacrifice 100% of is preparing for the interview.

10. Get ready for the different types of interviews. In addition to preparing for the interview, you need to be prepared that it may be conducted using a stressful, situational or biographical method. Read more about these interviews to get a general idea and not get confused at the crucial moment.