Do you find yourself stressed during job interviews? Self assurance is the key to standing out from the dozen or more other applicants. Here are some hints to feel (and appear) more confident.
Confidence is more about putting the interviewers at ease than impressing them.
Speak slowly and clearly
When you’re stressed or even a bit nervous, you can speak very quickly and use basic sentences. To appear confident, you have to speak slowly so the interviewer can clearly understand you. Feel free to take some more seconds to answer to any tricky questions. That will give you time to sort out your thoughts and build a coherent answer. Remember that the interviewer expects you address all questions.
Breath
To be confident means to feel relax. Breathing exercice just before the interview may help, calm nerves and lower the stress level. Anxiousness drains the blood flow away from your brain which can impact your cognitive functions. So breath slowly and deeply to get an oxygen shot.
Check your body language
Your body language is the first marker of your confidence. Always check your nonverbal communication because it can mean so much about you, in terms of positive or negative posture. Pay attention to your hands and keep the eye contact (but not too much). Stand and sit in open positions, don’t cross your arms and hold your back straight. And the most important: Smile!
Connect not impress
You need to build a rapport with your interviewers rather than impressing them. “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,” says Dr Gary Wood, chartered psychologist and author.
Boost your self-esteem
If you are not feeling yourself as successful, so will the interviewer. Believe you are the best person for the job. That doesn’t mean you should project too much confidence to the interviewer. You rather have strong confidence because you prepared and rehearsed this interview. There is no place for anxiety because you know your stuff.
