Confidence is critical in many aspects of life! Self-confidence is a mentality of knowing you can do something, and do it well. If you aren’t confident, more than likely you will not be successful in what you are trying to accomplish. Although confidence and success correlate in many areas in life, confidence is critical when looking for a new job, and during an interview. Being confident from the moment you walk through the door will give you a better chance of acing the interview and landing the job. Here are some ideas on how to show or improve your confidence before and during the interview.
Positivity
With all the negativity in the world, some people tend to focus their energies on the negative things that happen. Despite buckets full of positive experiences, it only takes one or two nasty comments to knock someone off their high horse. In fact, meanness is at the root of all confidence issues. To overcome negative experiences in life, focus on the many positive ones. At the end of each day, remind yourself of five positive things that happened to you during the day. During an interview, questions about confidence may come up in behavioral interview type questions. Be ready to respond appropriately with a positive experience of confidence.
Being Prepared
The key to confidence when interviewing is coming prepared. Know the job description and what the employer is looking for in their candidate. If you do not have knowledge about specific areas of the job description do your research, or read how to answer specific interview questions. In addition to being prepared, you want to be fully connected, and fully engaged in the process and what you need to convey about yourself. Be sure to connect with your interviewer by providing helpful answers to questions and being actively interested in what they have to say. Being prepared, connected and engaged will give you additional confidence about the role you are interviewing for, and potential questions that may be asked.
A Little You Time
What makes YOU feel more confident? Having a nice fresh shave, freshly painted and manicured nails, a fresh haircut, a long workout at the gym? You may not need all of this pampering done to make you “feel good” but when you feel better about yourself you will exude more confidence. I am a firm believer that exercise makes you feel better about yourself, and it also relieves stress. Before an interview take a walk, head to the gym, try and get some form of exercise in. Both pampering and exercise will give you more confidence, relieve stress, give you more energy, and makes you feel better about yourself.
Body Language
Studies show that standing in a posture of confidence, even when you don’t feel confident will make you feel more confident. This is due to hormonal changes. Additional research on this topic concludes that changing your body positions influences how others see you, and even alters your body chemistry. In 2012, Amy Cuddy presented a Ted Talk about body language and power poses. Amy states, “These poses can impact your performance, as well as your success at work, with clients, and in your relationships. Many of the poses involve opening your body and taking up space, making you feel more confident and powerful.” To listen to Amy Cuddy’s full talk on body language click here.
Look The Part
It is said that confidence and attractiveness are correlated to each other. Your attractiveness comes to the forefront when you are confident, and when you look attractive, you feel more confident. Multiple studies conclude that “attractive” candidates receive more offers and make more money. Attractiveness is not measured by beauty, but is measured by specific actions in an interview that made the candidate more attractive. Actions such as a comfortably firm handshake, direct eye contact, good posture, relaxed but passionate communication style, and a genuine smile. These qualities will give you the upper hand because it shows your confidence.
The more focused you are on what you trying to accomplish the less room there is for insecurities, nervousness, and self-doubt. Being confident is critical to your interviewing performance and success
