career
How to build up your confidence before a job interview
Job interviews can be tough regardless of your circumstances. As a Coach, I often hear from my clients that interviews are terrifying because they don’t know how to speak about themselves and their experience while being confident in their abilities. What they also need to consider is that apart from preparing answers to the interviewer’s questions, candidates should prepare their own questions for the recruiter regarding the position, the environment, and the company itself.
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Below are 5 tips on how to master the job interview and build up for your confidence:
1. Practice and prepare answers to potential questions
Learn how to speak about your strengths, accomplishments and weaknesses without sounding extreme or overqualified. Identify your skills and sort them into three groups: knowledge – based skills, transferable skills, and personal qualities. Write a list of your achievements and make connections to the job requirements. Read recent news articles about the company for the past year, look at the company’s most recent financial report, familiarize yourself with their product and services.
Prepare answers to potential questions using relevant examples of your work that prove your skills and competencies. Prepare and practice your smart stories even before being invited for an interview. In this way, you will feel more relaxed and confident in your presentation skills and it will help you that you make a positive impression when a recruiter first calls you for an interview.
2. If you are a job seeker, don’t let your current job status define you! Keep in mind that you are much more than your job!
People who associate losing their job with a sign of failure are less likely to stay future-focused and concentrate on their job search than those who believe that their job loss is a temporary circumstance that gives them the opportunity to develop their self-awareness and re-evaluate priorities. Your unique characteristics, values, skills and passions go beyond your job! It could be also the case that, due to economic or socio-political forces beyond your control you experienced the job loss. Remember that the unemployment status is not a permanent state of affairs, but rather it is temporary. Even if your situation sometimes may feel endless, through perseverance, you will get the job you target! Staying positive and confident in your skills will allow you to attract more opportunities despite the setback.
Make a list of your strengths. When negative things come to your mind, revisit the list and swap out each negative feeling or thought for a positive affirmation. Practice regularly and you will feel more confident in your skills!
Ground yourself in worthiness. Stay focused on the progress you are making and you enjoy the journey to achieving your goals. Capitalize your progress by celebrating small achievements along the way. As Tracy Eliss Ross stated, “I am learning every day to allow the space where I am and where I want to be to inspire me and not terrify me.” Have confidence in your commitment and believe that the effort you put in setting healthy routines is worth it.
3. Use visualizations!
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Picture yourself being successful! Before going for the interview, imagine going into your room motivated to get the job, answer all the questions with confidence, and envision yourself as a professional ready to become part of your targeted company and team.
By strongly believing in your abilities, skills and proven expertise in your field, recruiters will also sense that they are talking to a best-fit candidate who is ready to take charge and onboard in their team successfully. On the contrary, being nervous and stressed will also make recruiters feel uncomfortable and unsure about your answers and motivation to start working together, which consequently, will reduce your chances to get the job.
4. Aim to build rapport with the interviewers
Instead of focusing on impressing interviewers, try your best to put yourself at ease. Don’t appear desperate and remember that recruiters are human beings too! They have invited you to the interview because they saw potential in your skills through your CV and cover letter, and would like to learn more about your experience and check if your professional goals match their strategic goals as well.
Keep in mind that a professional relationship is mutually beneficial, so act as you have something valuable to offer that the employer would want.
Prepare for the questions, focus on your body language, feel good about your appearance and overall experience accumulated over time, and be as natural as the professional environment allows.
5. Prepare your own questions
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Interviews are a two-way street. The interviewer or the hiring manager is asking you questions about your experience, skills and motivation for the job. In return, you also need to prepare questions to ask the recruiter about the role, management style, working environment, and the company itself in order to ensure that this is the right position for you.
Your potential employer is asking you questions to learn more about you and your skills. In return, you need to prepare questions to ask your interviewer about the position, your boss, and the company in order to be sure that this is the right job for you. Not preparing your smart questions, you risk diminishing the chances to get the job because the interviewer may assume that you haven’t prepared for the interview and you are not interested enough to get the job.
Building your interview confidence follows good preparation, and understanding some simple confidence-boosting practices will revolutionize the way you come across in interviews.
About the author:
Adelina Stefan – Career Coach, Intercultural Facilitator & Executive Consultant
Adelina is a licensed Career Coach and Intercultural Facilitator specialized in the areas of International Human Resource Management and Intercultural Communication. She helps expats professionals achieve clarity in their career goals, enabling them to increase their self- and intercultural awareness and formulate their unique career blueprint. Adelina is a dual citizen of Greece and Romania, and has lived in Zürich, Switzerland for the last five years. Holding a Master Degree in Sociolinguistics and Intercultural Communication, she also specializes in translations and interpreting, being fluent in English, Greek, Romanian and German.
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