The interview is your time. It’s the part where you stop being words on a page and become a human being in the room (or on the phone, this is the 21st century after all). This is where you’ll sink or swim, stand on your own two feet and successfully perform a few other metaphors. So relax, be confident, be funny, be professional, say the right things, read the right books and for God’s sake pick the right tie but no pressure, right?

Truth is, we talk a lot about interview preparation but not a lot about the act itself because it’s all about you. The interview is about picking the right person and that has a lot to do with fit. We know you’re qualified because otherwise you wouldn’t be sitting in the chair. So now we want to see if you’re the right person. And the emphasis there belongs on ‘person.’

That said, how can we here at RG help? With a bit of advice on how to let that awesome person come out.

1) Nerves will happen. Formal studies of stage fright have found that the physical symptoms persist throughout a performer’s career. No amount of preparation or practice or experience changes that. Being nervous doesn’t mean that you can’t do it or that you’ll do it poorly. If you’ve been nervous in past interviews then you probably will be in the next one, so expect it and move on. Don’t worry about being worried, down that path madness lies.
2) Expect ambiguity. No job is purely cut and dried. You’ll have to make judgment calls in the job, so the interviewer is likely to hit you with an unclear situation. This will likely be hidden in a traditional sounding question, so be careful. Think back to your early math classes and ask yourself if you’ve been given sufficient information to solve a problem. If not then ask some questions. Get the information you need before answering. That’s part of why interviewers ask trick questions.

3) Listen. As simple as it sounds, many people (myself included) have a hard time with this. I get caught up in an idea and start going off on some tangent that doesn’t answer what’s being asked. I don’t show anything except that I’m a bit scatterbrained.

Fortunately, listening skills are rare enough that if you practice them you’ll make a good impression.
Adapted from original article written by Ryan/jobsblog.com (http://jobsblog.com/blog/interview-prep-part-3/)