Whenever you are going to be interviewed by a company’s hiring authority, you automatically think about how you will perform. If your performance is good, you have better than 50/50 odds of being called back for another, more in-depth interview or maybe even a job offer. If your performance is less than good, your chances of being called back diminish unless the pool of candidates is small or inadequate.
One aspect of the interviewing process where you need to concentrate is your personal confidence. If you go into an interview with less than strong confidence, your will probably appear that way to the interviewer. Your level of confidence directly affects the questions that the interviewer will ask. For example, if the interviewer asks you a question and you answer it head-on without hesitation and with confidence in the answer, the interviewer may re-consider what questions to continue asking you if they feel you are more than adequate in that area – and maybe go on to another subject.
Confidence is derived from several sources, but before I get into that, please consider this: a company is calling you for an interview for a position based on a referral by an individual, someone that you know or knows you, or based on an evaluation of your resume. More than likely, the call for an interview came about after a review of your resume. This call in itself should instill you with a degree of confidence because the company called you. They must have seen something about you that enticed them to call and they want to find out more about you.
The next thing that builds confidence is your ability. You would not apply for a position unless you thought you could perform the position (or at least you should not apply and waste everyone’s time if you are not qualified). The fact that you believe that you can do the job is a belief that should permeate your personality in the interview.
Finally, confidence emanates from preparation. Before going into an interview, find out as much about the interviewer, the company, the job, the culture of the company and its employees as is all together possible. Research on the Internet. Call anyone you know at that company or anyone who knows someone at that company. The more prepared you are to answer the questions, the more confident you will be.
Treat the interview the same way that you would before studying for a big test. Try to anticipate the questions and answer them in your mind. Your confidence will show as you answer the questions in the interview and that confidence will reinforce the reason that they called you in the first place: they believe that you are a good match for the job.
Proverbs 3:26
