How to feel more confident in interviews
I was chatting with a candidate this week who was not feeling confident going into a first interview. If the thought of sitting across from a hiring manager gives you butterflies, you’re not alone.
But don’t let your nerves get the best of you! Try these actions that will help you to prepare and go in feeling calm, cool, and collected – or at least make you appear that way:
➤ Practice. Your ability to interview effectively will improve with practice, so no need to use live interviews to make your mistakes. Ask a friend or relative to run over some questions with you.
➤ Record your video session. Typically people will be uncomfortable watching them speak but I guarantee you’ll spot some things you should work on.
➤ Prepare examples that you can use for situational questions. Have your best examples ready like a bookshelf, so you can pull the right book off the shelf depending on what’s asked of you.
➤ Prepare answers for the common questions such as tell me about your strengths. Not every strength needs to mind blowing. Examples include, showing up everyday with a great attitude or always being relied upon to get the job done are super valuable!
➤ Find a buddy that can coach you and get you in the right frame of mind ahead of an interview. It’s amazing what a smile and some self-belief can do for your chances.
We often get the idea that confidence is about holding court whereas it’s more to do with putting people at ease. It helps to focus on connecting with people rather than focusing on the performance. Hiring managers in my experience really want you to do well!
Declan Bird, Head of Canada
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