Don’t get me wrong, I get nervous, but after the initial hellos and once I find my rhythm I always feel I make the most of the adrenalin surge.
If you’re right for a role and have some great experience to share how you perform on the day simply comes down to confidence.
- You can confidently arrive in the (virtual) room
- You can confidently present your best self
- You can confidently give brilliant competency based examples
- You can confidently stop talking, knowing you’ve answered the question well
- You can confidently follow up afterwards without cringing
So here are my top eight tips for creating confidence for interviews:
Firstly, congratulations on getting the
interview. You’ve already done so well. Big (socially distanced) hugs and pats
on the back. Try to celebrate all the small successes during your job search.
2. The interview is where you bring that CV to
life. You can show your personality and all the soft behavioural skills that struggle
to shine through on paper. So remember to smile, make a bit of small talk before
the formal bit begins, ask them how their day has been. All of these will give
them a great feel for the real you and will hopefully ease the nerves.
3. Do your homework. Review what you actually wrote
on your application. Get the JD and highlight what you think will be their
priorities for the role and therefore, questions in the interview. Sometimes the person description outlines essential
and desirable skills and attributes so don’t ignore this, it’s there to help you. You need to match
up an example from your experience for every single competency. Research the
company and the person interviewing you. Look on their Twitter feed for their
most up to date news.
4. It’s
time to get specific. Generalised waffly answers aren’t going to cut it. Think
about projects you been most proud of and what was it that you specifically to
make it a success? The STAR format is well known as a framework for responding to
competency based questions. It stands for situation, task, action I took and result. I
like to add an 'I' at the end for Impact. What impact did this all have on your
or the business? Write these STARI stories down and then practice saying them out loud
either to yourself or a willing volunteer. Record yourself and watch it back
noticing how many times you say ‘um’ or ‘kind of’ and then practice it all again.
I then suggest you make a simple one page crib sheet of these stories that you can stick on the wall in front of your monitor (assuming it’s
an online interview) for reference.
5. Fit
is often a word used during a recruitment process. A recruiter is looking for someone
who is a good fit for the role and the team. You can enhance this expectation by telling them what you will 'add' too. What are you bringing that
they might not already have? What skills or experience do you have that is interesting or unique?
6. Choose something comfortable to wear that makes
you feel amazing. I’d also recommend trying on some colour. Colour psychology
is fascinating and can work wonders both for you and those interviewing you -
red can symbolise energy and strength, yellow warmth and positivity. Blue is
the world’s favourite colour and can symbolise trust and can be very calming.
You don’t have to go head to toe in colour. Just something to help you stand out on screen and be more memorable.
7. Follow
up with an email thanking them for their time and that you’re looking forward
to hearing back from them. You’ve got nothing to lose and it might just be the
thing that tips the balance in your favour.
And
finally for nerves and mindset I highly recommend two things – having an affirmation to motivate you and visualising the interview going brilliantly. Both can play a really positive part in the whole preparation
process. See my recent blog all about affirmations here
and learn all about and download my free guided visualisation
here.
Good
luck with your preparation! If you'd like some extra help then check out this page
and get in touch if you'd like to hear more.
If you enjoyed reading this blog then here are some more
What makes a great CV?
What is a vision board and how does it work?
What is coaching and how does it work?
How to use STAR to answer interview questions brilliantly
If your CV needs updating find out more about working with me here
or join the wait list for CV Club.
