Job interviews

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I graduated college in May 2015 and just finished up doing a service year with AmeriCorps. I’m finding it extremely difficult and discouraging to find a job. I had an interview last week and tried my best to prepare for it, but it didn’t go well. I never do well with interviews and don’t really know how to improve. When the interviewer asks me a question I usually blank and stumble to say something. It takes me a little bit to process what’s being asked and formulate an answer, but obviously I can’t make an interviewer wait for me to think of an answer. I’ve also been told I look nervous during interviews when I think I look fine. I have no clue how to better prepare and not look nervous when I don’t even realize I look nervous. Any suggestions on what to do?

My suggestion:
I think it is okay to make them wait. An interview is different from other types of conversation, there's an expectation that you might need to think for a moment before you answer, so there's more lenience with long pauses. Take all the time you need to give a measured, confident response.

Sometimes what happens is if you pause too long, the interviewer will think you don't know the answer and jump in and prompt you, which can just make things confusing. So if that's happening, when they ask the question, say something like "can I have a moment to think" just to buy yourself time. That way, they'll wait for you.

It actually comes across as confident, that instead of rushing to answer you let them wait for you, and you ask for any time you need.

Oh, yeah, and the looking nervous thing. I get that a lot, but not as much as when I was younger.
It's a body language thing.
If you're like me, you might not be able to make steady eye contact, but at least try to sit as still and relaxed as possible, and look towards the interviewers face as much as you can handle.

Oh, I had the same problem. The first step for the successful interview is your self estimation. Believe in yourself.

This is normal for shy people. It's OK not to have an answer the second after the question is asked. One thing you can try is repeating the question, like this:

Q: In this position, you'll be working with some very tight deadlines. How to you manage tight deadlines?

A: How do I manage tight deadlines? Well, I... (spend some seconds thinking)... I like to plan them and I make priorities, because it is important to know if one deadline is more important than the other.

I hope this helps you. Job interviews are never much fun, but if you come prepared, you can succeed. Practice makes perfect, so do some rehearsals in the mirror, and later on with friends or family. Best wishes!