Name: Nervous About Interviews? 6 Steps to Build Confidence
Uploaded: 2025-11-12T18:24:15.000Z
Duration: 9 min 42 s
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Sweaty palms, nervous laughter, butterflies in your stomach, hesitant body language, or just plain not feeling sure of yourself are all signs that you need to work on your interview.

Confidence if nerves are getting the best of you leading up to an interview, this video is for you.

Drjubal medschoolinsiders.com whether it's for medical school residency, a scholarship, or a job, an interview invitation can cause even the most confident among us to second guess our own skills and qualifications.

And that's because you know how much first impressions matter.

It's vital that you enter every interview calm, cool, collected, and confident.

Let's break down six tips to manage nerves and help you both appear and feel more confident.

The first way to improve your confidence is to be prepared.

Sorry, but there's no magic trick or quick fix here.

The most critical part of confidence is being prepared, and the more preparation, the better.

Confidence doesn't just happen, it takes work.

Luckily, as a pre med or medical student, you know all about work.

Draft what you want to say in advance so that you don't freeze like a deer in headlights.

Don't memorize your responses word for word, as you don't know for sure how the questions will be phrased.

Plus, if you lose your place or get tripped up, it will be difficult to recover during the interview and any confidence you may have built up will melt in an instant.

Once you know what you want to say, practice saying it in the mirror in front of trusted friends or family and record yourself so that you can evaluate your own performance.

Figure out what time you're waking up, decide what you're eating for breakfast and prepare it the night before.

Determine how you're getting to your interview and warm up your vocal cords and facial muscles.

the more you prepare and the more unknowns you account for, the more confident you will feel.

If you're preparing for medical school interviews, read and save our Med School Insiders guide to 21 medical school interview questions.

Link in the description Our second strategy to prevent interview nerves is to test yourself under pressure.

Practicing your answers out loud is an absolute must, but

practicing alone in the comfort of your own room doesn't accurately simulate the intimidation factor of the interview environment.

To do that, you're going to have to step outside of your comfort zone as you practice on your own.

What happens when you are surprised by a question?

How can you adapt your answers to suit differently worded questions.

While preparing your answers is vital, memorizing your answers will make you sound robotic and it will be harder to adapt on the fly.

Simulate the stress of a real interview so that you can answer with confidence even when the unexpected occurs.

Medical school interviews are a lot of pressure, so the more pressure you add to your practice, the better.

Practice in front of friends, family or mentors and ask them for feedback.

You can't improve your performance without constructive feedback, so tell your audience not to spare your feelings.

Of course, this is easier said than done.

The most effective place to hone your interview skills is mock interviews, as they are as close as you can get to the real interview experience.

Your mock interviewer is there to give you honest feedback so you don't have to worry about them holding back.

Med School Insiders offers mock interviews conducted by former interviewers with admissions committee experience who provide objective feedback on your performance.

Learn more about our mock interview opportunities in the Description the next strategy is to ensure you dress the part much of Feeling good is looking good.

Put care into your interview attire to ensure you feel confident in what you're wearing.

You aren't doing your confidence any favors by wearing something you don't like and don't feel good in.

Make sure to test your wardrobe well in advance so that you feel comfortable in whatever you choose to wear.

If you can't stand up and sit down comfortably or walk very far in your shoes, interview day is going to be a real challenge for you.

Wear your outfit around the house and record yourself responding to questions in it.

While it's vital that your outfit makes you feel confident, keep in mind that interview date is not the time for your fashion sense to stand out.

You should look sharp, but keep it professional.

Avoid low cut shirts, short skirts, flashy colors, eye catching jewelry, or overly busy ties.

Don't wear anything that will distract your interviewer from the content of your answers.

It's also important to think of your attire as an investment.

Invest in one or two outfits if you can't afford to.

One medium to high quality suit is much better than multiple low quality suits, but

more importantly, a cheaper suit that fits properly looks far better than a more expensive suit that doesn't, so make sure you budget for tailoring.

Don't wear anything including makeup and hair products that you haven't worn or used before.

If you've never tied a tie before or haven't in a few years, don't leave it for the morning before your interview.

It's one more hiccup that could distract you from your confidence.

For a detailed overview of what to wear, read our guide to medical school interview attire, available in the Description.

Our next critical strategy is showing up early, not just on time.

Give yourself way more time than you need.

Plan out how you're getting to the location of your interview the day before.

Figure out these details ahead of time so that you're not scrambling the morning of your interview.

If time allows, go to the campus or interview location ahead of time to get a lay of the land.

Set plenty of alarms and make sure it's set for am, not pm.

Make sure your phone is fully charged and isn't on silent mode.

And if you're staying at a hotel, schedule a wake up call if you have trouble waking up.

It may also be a good idea to have an accountability buddy to check in on you by text or phone to ensure you're awake.

You need time to wash, dress, eat a light, healthy breakfast, and get in the zone.

You can't do these things if you oversleep, so do whatever you can to ensure that doesn't happen, including getting to bed early.

Pack and prep everything you need the night before so that you can focus exclusively on the essentials in the morning.

The next tip to build your interview confidence is to manage your body language.

Poor body language can make you appear timid, annoyed, tired, bored, nervous or cocky.

And what do all of these things have in common?

They give people a bad impression of you.

Let's say someone approaches you, they're slouching, they can't look you in the eye, and

Do they seem like they'll handle themselves well in a high pressure environment?

Poor body language, whether it's conscious or unconscious, negatively impacts your confidence level.

Slouching makes you look shy and unsure of yourself and and it makes you feel that way too.

Even if you do feel confident, fiddling with things or failing to make eye contact with the people around you will make you appear less confident.

Your body language speaks volumes to everyone around you.

Practice standing in front of a full body mirror so that you can properly gauge your posture and hand gestures.

Wearing your interview attire, moving around in a T shirt or pajamas is a lot different than moving around in a suitable if you don't feel confident, fake it till you make it.

Stand up straight, put your shoulders back, keep your chin up, and smile authentically.

Practice maintaining eye contact with people and nodding your head as these nonverbal cues.

Let the person you're speaking with know that they have your undivided attention.

Ask trusted friends, family, and mentors about your body language.

Lastly, prepare your body, face and voice before any interview, just as you do before exercising or playing sports.

It's important to warm up before an interview.

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Nervous About Interviews? 6 Steps to Build Confidence

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