A An interview is a professional, business meeting and you must behave accordingly. There are a number of ways to avoid appearing too relaxed.

Demonstrate to the panel your interest in working for the company over others in the field. What is motivating you to apply for this role?

What are the challenges you face in this role and how will you meet them? This will allow you to move a little from the strict questions and answer format while keeping the content very relevant. Remember, this is not an oral exam.

Be very clear on what your skills are and what can you bring to the role. What examples are you going to use to sell these skills? Tell the panel what you have learnt from these experiences. How will these experiences help you going forward? Rehearse these answers, be comfortable saying them aloud. By doing this you will avoid trailing off at the end of the answer which to a panel can seem like a lack of enthusiasm for the role.

Ensure that your posture and body language is not letting you down. Sit up and back into the chair. Make eye contact with the person asking the questions. Dress appropriately . . . conservative, neutral coloured suits with minimal jewelry and make up.

When you know what you want to sell about yourself and have the evidence to back it up, you will appear calm and confident, rather than relaxed and disinterested