Everyone knows that job interviews can be stressful. Everything you do and say is being observed and judged. And sometimes the pressure can get to you. You may find yourself rambling or drawing a blank or making an awkward remark.

If you leave an interview with the feeling that things didn’t go that well, what can you do about it? There are a few actions you can take to try and limit the damage. First, though, keep in mind that your performance probably was not as bad as you think. We have a tendency to exaggerate in our imaginations. Here are a few tips on how to regroup.

1. Regaining your balance
During the interview, you may be more jittery than expected, and you find yourself rambling or giving disjointed answers. To help regain your composure, first, pause and take a deep breath, or several. This has a natural calming effect.

Try and shift the conversation back to the hiring manager by asking him or her a question about the job. You could, for example, ask about the challenges of the job or the company culture.

To avoid such meltdowns, preparation is important also. Before the interview, develop a message about yourself, your selling points that include skills and key accomplishments. Then, during the interview, if you find yourself getting off track, go back to your message.

2. Using the thank you note
If there is a question you believe you botched during the interview, use the thank you note to augment your answer. Use the note to follow up and add to your answer or to focus on your skills and accomplishments. Just don’t admit to making an error during the interview.

3. Use your references
If there are certain skills or accomplishments that you feel you did not talk about effectively enough during the interview, you can contact your references and explain the situation to them and ask them to emphasize those things if the hiring manager should call.

4. Provide additional material
Another option is to prepare a little presentation or some other materials as a kind of follow up to the interview, again highlighting your skills and accomplishments and how you might approach the job.

Job hunting is hard work. Help make it a little easier by having an experienced partner along for the journey, one who knows all about finding a job. That partner is Winston Resources. Give us a call today.