Naturally Nervous/Awkward

I think you should get advice from your parents on how to not be awkward, because I don't think they taught you anything about that. Believe me, the people that are interviewing you will pick up everything, so practice not being awkward, I.e., if you school has mock interviews or something like that, do that. It will help you not to look and feel awkward.

Good luck.

try rushing for a fraternity

Take a xanax

lol both good suggestions

This is going to get you dinged almost immediately, maintaining composure when you're nervous/uneasy is an absolute must in any client-facing role. Keep in mind that most people are nervous (to some extent) in high-pressure situations and/or job interviews but you need to not let that be visible by the other party. Go out more and strike up conversations with random people or rush a fraternity and meet a ton of new people at parties/mixers/socials/swaps. Being confident and social is like any other skill, it's learned over time and is only perfected with practice.

Practice practice practice.... seriously getting experience with interviewing and networking will help you more than anything else could.

I know it's not as simple as this sounds, but the biggest difference between awkward and confident people is awkward people are more likely to be thinking about what they're doing versus watching what the other person is doing. If you're too focused on yourself, you're going to miss the subtler social cues that instruct how you should interact.

Ask your doctor to prescribe you propranolol - look it up, it’s a beta blocker but is widely and safely used to suppress anxiety in public speaking / interviews

I can testify to it’s effectiveness. I no longer need it but in my early days it really helped calm the nerves, keep the heart rate down, stopped me getting flustered and get my point across more coherently in interviews / public speaking

Your doctor should prescribe it no problem if you explain your problem

This might seems like a bigger deal than it actually is (possibly due to your nervousness). I'd expect prospective interns to come across as slightly nervous, if not I wonder if they're taking the interview seriously. For a more senior role it would be a bigger issue, but interns are never going to get real client face time anyway.

The best cure I've found for interview nervousness is interviewing. Get through a few, realize they're not that scary as long as you're well prepared, and the fear will subside. It's OK to bomb as long as you make sure you don't bomb for the same reason twice.

I am the exact same way. I used to physically turn red during interviews once the first question was asked regardless of what they were asking. I got over this by practicing and putting myself in situations that made me uncomfortable. My theory was, if I can find a situation where I react similarly to an interview, and practice my reaction, then I will get over it. After a few months of doing this and prepping, I got over it.

the only and best advice....Fake it Till You Make it

I helped a friend out with this who was interviewing for Med Schools. Super nervous and just couldn't get it together, but normally was just fine talkin to people.

My solution was to use Tinder to go on dates and "practice" talking to strangers and asking questions. Went on about 10 tinder dates over teh course of a few months, and it really worked to help him calm the nerves.

Happy to report he did very well in his med school interviews with no nerves and ended up getting the school of his choice.

I'm naturally an introvert and remember being nervous recruiting out of college. I kicked @ss in school and didn't have issues making friends, but something about the importance / pressure of getting a good job created a lot of anxiety for me. Didn't help that I had pretty much zero experience interviewing. I worked through it, and over time I've accumulated a list of things that have helped me personally control anxiety / awkwardness when interviewing:

1. Do your homework. If you don't know the firm that well, or aren't really qualified at all for the job you're interviewing for, it will show. Some people have a talent for BSing through this stuff, but we've already established that's not you. Think practice models, bulleted talking points for how to answer typical qualitative questions, know your resume, etc.

2. Get to know your interviewers. You often get tipped off on who your interviewers are. Either they'll tell you in advance, or you can call someone low-level at the firm (like an analyst), do the typical informational interview, and at the end ask who he thinks is running the process / you might be meeting later (aka interviewers). I like to do a quick LinkedIn search to see what I can find on my interviewers in advance of meeting them. Personally, having a face already linked to a name and knowing a little about someone before I ever meet him helps me feel a lot more comfortable.

3. Establish dominance. It helps to feel good / confident in your interview surroundings. I find that working out the morning of (or a few hours before the interview if it's not in the AM) does wonders. I really come in feeling energized with the endorphins / testosterone flowing, and I'm ready to kick @ss and take names. Also, what establishes dominance better than taking a crap at the office? Just arrive there 15 minutes early and drop a deuce. Make it two if you're feeling ambitious. There's something really satisfying at a subconscious, primordial level about marking your turf.

So now you know what you're talking about, who you're talking to, and feel comfortable in your surroundings. You're ready to interview with confidence.

Higher level, this is a recipe for interview success, but if your nerves extend to clients, banking may not be right for you. If you're planning to go buy-side eventually, hedge funds or something else that is more analytical / results-focused and less communications-heavy may be a good bet.

Maichiavelli:

I'm getting ready to start interviewing for internships soon and I'm wondering if anyone else is a naturally nervous and awkward person, and how do you think that impacted your job prospects?

For me, I only appear nervous when I am (such as interviewing). So over time that part will disappear, but I'll always be awkward... just confidently awkward.

There are a few things that combat nervousness and have to do with knowing who you are and confidence in general.

1. Be confident in yourself. In who you are, in what you want to do, who you want to be. These things are established over time. Have a talk with yourself about your path, where you want to go and how this interview fits into all of this.

2. Dress for success. Get a suit that is cut well. A cheap suit cut well will look better than a pricer suit that doesn't fit. Get a nice pair of leathers and shine them. Match the belt to the shoes (obviously I hope) and learn how to tie a tie, well. I prefer a very tight double windsor that looks like a single with a perfect triangle and a dimple. French cuffs are nice sometimes if that's your thing (I wear them sometimes depending on the interview). I think a collar without buttons is classier and more professional as well.

3. Some people like to meditate or do yoga or hit up the gym prior to a big meeting. I generally prefer heavy cardio prior to interviews. It releases a massive amount of endorphins in the brain and these chemicals will naturally reduce anxiety.

4. If you need something more, you could see a psychiatrist to get a benzo prescribed for an as-needed medication. Someone mentioned Xanax, which is mainly geared toward panic attacks. That could help, I don't know, but try it before the interview a few times if you are prescribed. I'm thinking Ativan or Valium might be a more appropriate solution if you go this route as it honestly sounds kind of light. Ativan is less acute than Xanax and Valium is kind of like a slow moving cloud to relieve anxiety as its half life is the longest. In your case, I doubt this will be a long term prescription, but hopefully something to get you past interview jitters. Once you go to a bunch of interviews, you probably won't be that nervous anymore. An interview is really just a meeting between two people, like dating, to find out if you both want to make a long term commitment with each other.

5. Be very comfortable with your resume in the interviews, including your background and experience. If you have some sort of demons in your past that you are afraid if they come up in the interview, make peace with it and think of a way to answer it appropriately when the time comes.

Interviews naturally make everyone nervous to some degree. Diligent preparation will turn to confidence and this is the best/only remedy. Once you get into the interviews and realize how ready you are to answer anything they throw at you, the nerves will go away.

Sorry for hijacking this post a bit. So I am in quite of an opposite situation. I feel like I'm really confident in 1-on-1 interaction such as interviews but I am really awkward on social gathering. Because of this, I couldn't get much out of networking event/conference since I just stopped greeting new people and talked to my friends there.

So do you guys have any advice/tip on this?