Confidence

Most people look for a job when they feel they must find a new job. Few people if any start the process and begin to interview until either something happens or they see that something is about to happen. These then are, generally, trying times – times when you are not necessarily feeling your most confident. Yet this is a time where you are marketing yourself and are expected to exude self-confidence. How then do you project this confidence? 

Past Achievements

One way to feel confident about your self and about the future is to look at the things that brought you to where you are. Your career accomplishments - these are things that would not have happened without you – you can argue that someone else may have executed those same things – but I say you need to believe that they would not have done so as well as you did. In the end you were the one that created these things they exist because of you and your hard work.

Look at the people you have touched and the impact you have had. Think about the people you have mentored, coached the people on whom you have made their lives better in some small way. If you have not done this up until now – start now – try hard to have some small positive impact on the people around you.

Focus on the things you have learned, your academics, your certifications, your on the job training, and the life experiences that make you who you are. You are unique in your life experience and the perspectives you bring to the table because of them.

Fake it till you make it

There are countless studies that detail the benefits of dressing well and paying attention to personal grooming. Fundamentally you absorb the image you are projecting. There is also studies that show how you hold yourself can instill a sense of confidence this TED Talk  is worth watching. If you smile a lot you will feel happy in that same way if you pretend to be confident you will feel confident.

Thoughts and actions

Focus on positive ideas and things that make you feel better about tomorrow and kill the negative self talk. This is not the time for introspection and learning from past mistakes. This is the time to leverage past victories and to build on them. To construct a reality in which you are super person. Then act like you are super person – do things that reflect this new you, be helpful to people, extend yourself, give of yourself. Shift the focus from you to outside you – a wider lens helps bring perspective.

Slow down – speak slowly and move a bit slower. This gives you more time to think and it reduces the ahhs and umms and that alone creates the impression that you know what you are talking about and have your act together. Confident people know that what they have to say matters and that others are willing to wait to listen to what they have to say.

Situation

By the time you actually get to talk to someone or meet someone in an interview that company has already some confidence in your ability and in you. They are looking to confirm their bias – that you are the person they want to hire. It is up to you to help them confirm what they already believe. Knowing that they already think you as capable should make you feel confident. In the words of Stuart Smalley: You are good enough, You are smart enough and doggone it, people like you! Believe it.