It takes courage to apply for a job. The idea of sitting in front of someone telling them why you are the best employee they can hire isn’t easy.
It takes confidence to believe in yourself enough to take that risk. But without taking that risk, you won’t get the job. So it’s a bit of a catch 22.
The best way to get the job is to just go for it and, if you have to, fake your confidence. Better yet, improve your confidence now and land that job for sure.
Here’s how:
1. Take a Course
There are many online courses that you can take to improve your confidence in the areas that count.
Whether you feel like you need to improve your communication skills or face your fears, you can count on finding a course available online.
FutureLearn offers this course and more. Nothing builds confidence more than gaining a skill!
2. Know Your Strengths (and Weaknesses)
To confidently walk into a job interview and answer all those profound questions such as, “Why do you think you would be a good fit here?” or “What sets you apart from the rest of the applicants?” you have to know yourself truly.
Butchering those questions is a fast way to put your resume at the bottom of the pile. So take some time to find out your best and worst parts.
If you find it hard to do so much introspection, you can ask those who know you the best. Hopefully, they can be honest (and gentle) when delivering their thoughts about your strengths and weaknesses.
3. Always Be Honest
Nothing kills confidence quicker than a guilty conscience. This is why it’s essential never to lie or exaggerate about your skills and work history to get a job.
If the interviewer asks you about an untruth you put on your resume, and you cannot corroborate it to their face, they will know they caught you in a lie.
I guarantee you won’t be hearing from them for a second interview.
4. Practice, Practice, Practice!
Just like an actress or actor practices their lines to feel confident on the stage, you must practice answering common interview questions before you walk into the interview.
The more you practice, the more confident you will feel when interview day arrives. You can practice alone, in front of a mirror, or with a friend.
Try answering some of these questions to the best of your ability and take the constructive criticism others give you to make your answers even better.
5. Don’t Be Overconfident
Confidence is good, but like any good thing, too much of it is bad. When applying for a job, you can come off sounding obnoxious if you are too confident.
Head hunters are looking for an employee who is more than just a person with a great resume. They want a person they know will fit nicely into their team and help their company grow.
This means that you will not only have to have the skills but also the personality to thrive in their company culture. Most company cultures wouldn’t include arrogance on their list of inclusions.
So be sure you tamper your confidence with a little bit of humility. Just relax and be genuine.
6. Know Your Market Worth
In many industries, the demand for certain positions fluctuates, as do the leverage that professionals who hold those titles have when applying for a job.
An excellent example of this is the different types of locum tenens jobs in the medical field. You can learn more about the pros and cons of these here.
Knowing your market worth at the time of your application can help you to gain confidence. If you know you’re in demand, you’ll feel much more valuable when you walk into your interview.
7. Perfect the “No, but….”
There may be some skills or experience included in the job posting that you don’t possess. This doesn’t necessarily mean that an interviewer will write you off.
If you get an interview and they bring these up, you can always answer with, “no, but…” and finish with a skill that you do have that can compensate.
For example, they may ask you if you have any work experience in the same position that you are applying for.
You can answer that with, “No, but I did volunteer at X company and complete an internship at Y company. Both positions allowed me to gain valuable experience in this field.”
Conclusion
When you put these tips to work in your professional life, you’ll notice that your interviews go much better, and your prospects for work drastically increase.
