9 Ways to Increase Your Confidence in Your Next Interview

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9-ways-to-increase-your-confidence-in-your-next-interview-thumbDo you have the qualifications for your next position on paper but underperform in the interview chair? Candidates who don’t give a good interview are unlikely to be hired if they can’t make a good impression on potential employers. If you’re looking to increase your confidence in your next interview, whether you just need a little boost or a whole new outlook, here are some tips.

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1. Phone a Friend

Having trouble coming up with reasons you’re great and are going to nail this interview? Phone a family member or friend who can pick you up and give you ten different reasons why you’re going to get the job. And if your interview is over the phone, check out these tips.

2. Remember What You’ve Accomplished So Far

Think back to a time when you were on top of the world, when you could do anything – maybe you had just gotten your very first job, graduated with your degree, or completed a long term project. Channel that feeling of accomplishment into your current situation. 

As you’re remembering your accomplishments, you may realize you need to add these successes to your resume. Here are four simple ways to update your resume

3. Take a Deep Breath

Anxiety takes blood away from the brain and to the other parts of our bodies that need it for fight-or-flight mode. Deep breathing – which can be as simple as breathing in for four counts, holding the breath for four, and then breathing out for four counts – will bring oxygen back to your brain and improve your cognitive functioning. 

4. Strike a Pose

It can be helpful to strike a power pose right before your interview to encourage confidence in yourself – maybe it’s standing with feet apart and hands on hips in the style of Superman or Wonder Woman, or maybe it’s a yoga pose. There’s no wrong pose, as long as it makes you feel confident and ready to impress!

5. Visualize Success

Visualization is a powerful tool for achieving success. Studies have shown that visualization has the same effect on your brain as doing the task you’re imagining. Before your interview, visualize what it would look like if it went really well: how would you feel inside? What would the interviewer say? What would you say to your friends afterward? All of these questions can help you put together a picture of success for yourself, and then all you have to do is emulate the visual in your actual interview.  

6. Take Perspective

The person on the other side of the desk is human (like you), and it can help to remember that. They’ve also interviewed for jobs, including the one they have right now, and maybe even in the very room where you are going to be. It’s okay to be nervous – they’ve been there before. 

7. Rehearse Answers to Common Questions

There are many routine questions that people will ask in an interview, so it makes sense to rehearse them beforehand. If you have the answers to these questions prepared, it will take less brain power in the interview to sound confident. On the other hand, you don’t want to sound like a robot who is reading off of a cue card. Know the major points you want to make, but don’t determine word-for-word what you’ll say, since the interview will be different for each job. 

8. Befriend Your Anxiety

Mindfulness teacher Charlie Morley recommends “making friends with your anxiety” rather than suppressing it: “Before an interview, think to yourself ‘Ah, my old friend anxiety. Thank you so much for coming. I know that you are there and I acknowledge you fully.’” If you’re aware that it’s there but you’re clear that it’s not going to derail you, you can coexist with it peacefully. 

9. Connect With Your Interviewers 

In addition to knowing you’re qualified, your interviewer also wants to like you. No one wants to hire an unlikeable person. Focus on finding a connection with your interviewer rather than impressing them. They would probably rather hire someone likable and personable with a little less experience than someone highly qualified but unpleasant to be around.

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If you want to find a great job, reach out to Liberty Staffing, Southern Ontario’s premier staffing agency. Let us know what kind of work you are looking for, and we can help you find an employer that’s a great fit and secure the perfect job for you.

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Megan Lacombe

Megan is a Media Communications professional at Liberty Staffing. She has experience working as a Freelance Writer for a variety of companies online. In her free time, she enjoys crafting, photography, running, and kayaking. An avid reader, she reads anything, anywhere. She puts creativity and passion into everything that she does. Her favourite quote is “Create the things you wish existed” by Anonymous.

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