Interviews are uncomfortable, intimidating, and just plain SCARY! If you agree with this statement, keep reading this blog. I have some tips for you.

Many of us wish that we could go through life without ever sitting in front of someone (or group of someones) to “sell” ourselves. Interviewing is so unnatural. We are taught to be more modest than that, aren’t we? Very early in life, we’re told that bragging about what we do well is a turn-off to others. To a degree, this is still true. No one likes a bragger who is always trying to “one up” the next person. Even in an interview, you don’t want to come off as conceited or obnoxious. But you DO want to come across as CONFIDENT.

You need to be:

Confident in your education.

Confident in your experience.

Confident in your skills.

Confident in your ability to get the job done.

Confidence is a very attractive quality in a candidate. Every successful candidate has confidence. The question is: How can you develop confidence? I’m glad you asked! Here are some tips that I have used with clients over the years to boost perception. (I think my years as a cheerleader helped me out here!)

• Review your resumé! A large number of job seekers have written or at least contributed to a resumé. However, not many actually review it. Review it with a career coach, significant other, or friend. Talk about the various experiences you have had and what you were able to get out of each experience. Remind yourself of why that information was worth including in your resumé in the first place. If you determine that it isn’t worth the ink on the page—take it off! But if it is worth having there, be able to explain WHY.
• Make a list. What are your skills? (HINT: If you’re having a hard time coming up with a list, go back to my first suggestion in an earlier blog post on transferrable skills. Your resumé may need some help if it doesn’t mention skills—they are much more important to the job-seeking enterprise than the titles you’ve had, positions you’ve held, and jobs you’ve done). After you’ve made a list of your skills, make another list of the skills that you know will be required or valuable in the position for which you’re interviewing. If you’re not sure about this, review the job posting, go to the company Web site, talk to colleagues who have compatible experience, or look up that occupation on an occupational Web site (I suggest the O*NET online). Once you have these two lists, cross-reference them. How many skills match? Are there any skills missing from your list that you can acquire? If so, you’ve got the answer to the age-old question “What are your weaknesses?” You can say, “While this isn’t necessarily a weakness, something I’m currently working to improve is _________.” No one likes to have weaknesses, but think of a weakness as a challenge or opportunity for growth.
• Practice. It may not be true that practice makes perfect; but practice does make you more confident. Consider some interview coaching, or at least some role-playing with a colleague or friend. You will have an edge if you have heard interview questions before; that will give you the chance to think about your answer well in advance. You won’t have to deal with that silence that fills a room while you’re flipping through possible answers in your head. Another bonus to this is that you’re less likely to pepper your responses with “Umm …” or “like ….”

The trick to developing confidence is reminding yourself of how great you really are. You’ll be surprised at how much you know and what you’re capable of accomplishing when you take the time to remember your experiences and how they relate to your career path. That surprise will turn into confidence that you can get the job done and should be the successful candidate.

Watch out INTERVIEWERS—here we come!

Have any great interview stories? Some advice or ideas to share? Or perhaps a question for our Career Services specialist? Leave us a COMMENT.

CHRIS—Read more about this editor

Ask someone you know the following question: “What do you do?” More than likely, you’ll get a list—sometimes a very long list—of where the person has worked and what positions s/he held there. Does that tell you about skill level? Does that explain what s/he has to offer in any new situation? No, it does not.

In a job interview, the standard first question asks the interviewee to describe him/herself. I call this your “60-second commercial” opportunity.  All too often this is an opportunity wasted, when it is answered with yet another list: “I’m dependable, trustworthy, hardworking, and honest.” I guess the interviewer is supposed to take the word of the complete stranger sitting in front of him as fact: “You say that you’re honest and work hard. Ok—you’re hired!” If only it were that easy.

These two examples show what I refer to as laundry lists: lists of information that don’t communicate much at all. We tend to use words and titles that have had some level of importance in our past lives. We list our job titles instead of the transferrable skills we possess because of the positions we once held. We use those ever-popular adjectives to describe our skills, but forget the actual skills entirely! This is the trap that many job seekers fall into. The key to being the successful candidate in the job search is to put your laundry list aside and refocus attention on your true skills—more specifically, your transferrable skills.

Transferrable skills are those that you have acquired through education and/or experience, and which you will be taking with you to the next position you hold . . . and the next . . .and the next. I suggest that we be selfish with our time and get the most out of every experience—make our experiences valuable for a lifetime.

When gathering information for your resumé or interview, do the following two evaluations:

•1.       Evaluate your education:

• Did I create or work on any projects, research, or presentations that are related to this next step in my career?
• Would the reader or interviewer be interested in this information?
• Does the reader or interviewer have to assume anything (degree/school/minor), or am I being clear?
• Why is my education any better than that of my competitors for this position?

•2.       Evaluate your experiences:

• Are my professional experiences related to the specific position for which I am applying? If so, how?
• Are the descriptions of my experiences focused on what I am able to do versus what I was expected to do?
• Do I have any volunteer work or unpaid experiences that are related to my career?
• What about my experience makes me an excellent candidate for this particular job?

After you have had the chance to evaluate these important details, you are ready to start a conversation with yourself and potential employers. You will be able to begin talking about what you can offer to a new situation instead of focusing on the laundry list of titles you have held in the past.

When I am asked, “What do you do?” I say, “I assist individuals in their search for a career fit. I use assessments and one-on-one interviewing to identify strengths, skills, and areas for improvement.”  I could have said, “I’m a career coach. I talk a lot. I’m a people person.” But while the latter answer is just a laundry list without much meaning, the former sincerely describes what I can offer to the new position I seek. And in the end, the employer is not so much interested in what you have done in the past as in how your past experiences point to what you can do in the job you now seek.

Do you have a question or thought you’d like to share with our Career Services specialist? Leave us a COMMENT.

CHRIS—Read more about this editor