11 Oct 09 Confidence and Job Interview

Who needs more confidence to get the work done: an interviewee or a salesperson? The correct answer is both, but as we are discussing about the job interview, we will concern ourselves with the confidence of an interviewee. But before doing that let’s face this question: How many of us have felt the sweaty palm and restless mind when entering the interview room?

I bet each one of us has faced this situation once or more in our career, but some of us go through this many times in their career, and more often than most of us. I think I know why they go through such ordeal every time they are in there for the interview, and thus I am writing this post. I believe this guide will help them do away with interview syndrome, once and for all.

How to remain confident in an interview

• Do not lie: The major reason why people feel less confident during interview than they actually are because of the lie they tell to the interviewer and the lie they wrote in the résumé. There is no point in lying because even if you get the job by lying, you will not be able to do justice to the work assigned to it, therefore, you will provide poor work, which will translate into bad review followed by firing. Now, what’s better: no job, or a résumé with a small black spot?
• Reach the venue 30 minutes in advance: Not everyone lies in the interview, but most of us are susceptible to another flaw, which is equally harmful. Always reach your the interview venue 30 minutes in advance and familiarize yourself with the surrounding, so that you can feel at home.
• Research the company: You are expected to know a bit about the company you are into. The knowledge shows your interest in the work, and the absence of it suggests that the company you are in at that point of time is just one of the many companies where you just dropped in with a hope to get hired. No one likes to have discarded employee.
• Know your stuff: If you do not know your stuff then you should not go to the interview table. Your interviewer is your prospective employer, so he will ask you all sorts of questions related to the work you will handle in his company. If you fumble in answering to his satisfaction, consider the interview over, and do not wait for any call because there will be no call.
• Be yourself: I will not ask you to put a broad grin or ear-to-ear smile on your face, and I will also not ask you to sit too straight and crush the interviewer’s hand with the sheer power of your palm just to say how confident you are. By doing all this, you will sound nothing but just an idiot who does not know manners. Hence, I will suggest you to forget what you have learned from the success coaches and be yourself. Do not try to be anyone, you will never succeed. Oscar Wilde once said, “Be yourself, everyone else is taken.”

Tags: 30 Minutes, Absence, Bet, Career, Confidence, Correct Answer, Interview Room, Interview Table, Interviewee, Interviewer, Job Interview, Ordeal, Restless Mind, Salesperson, Sweaty Palm