Confidence

Looking for a new job or changing careers is an overwhelming undertaking that can cause one to look critically at their image as well their skills.  Between reading job descriptions, measuring ourselves against various organizations expectations, and being faced with incoming rejection letters, one area that may begin to suffer is our confidence.

Confidence is of the utmost importance when looking for employment.  While a flashy resume or cover letter and a well placed phone call will get your foot in a door, (or ear on the phone), for an interview, securing the job is ultimately about how your interviewers feel about your responses to their questions and the image you project to them.  Maintaining a confident and capable demeanor is one way to communicate to a prospective employer that you will fit comfortably into a new role at the organization.

When there seems to be many more applications completed, than call backs for interviews, it is easy to begin to feel unsure of yourself and the talent or skill you could bring to a position.  Below are a few tips to help keep the right perspective when conducting a job search:

• Stay up to date on the latest updates and news in your career field.  This will ensure your knowledge is current and also keep relevant information at the top of your mind.
• Know your self.  Know how to describe in a few sentences what you are looking for in a job, what you are able to bring to a job and how you plan to use your expertise when you find a job.  Know these things well and understand that if you don’t believe them when they roll off your tongue, no one else will either.
• Avoid reading the sad stories on job boards.  Your job search, is your job search.  Do not let the negative experiences of others impact how your view yourself and your skills
• Set a goal for how many applications you are going to put in each week and stick with it.  If you want to do more than your goal, go or it, but never do less. This will keep you both actively looking for employment and in the habit of reading between the lines about what employers are looking for so you can present yourself better and better each time.
• A rejection letter says you are still looking, not that you need to quit.  Many of these letters are templates or auto generated.  They are not personal. File it and move on to the next application.
• Take a break!  If you find yourself grumbling at the computer after combing the want ads for three hours, walk away. Unemployed, or employed and looking are probably the hardest jobs you will ever have.  Make sure your disposition is not programmed to negative when facing this daunting task.

Of course there are many other ways to help maintain your confidence when looking for new employment.  Feel free to post your ideas or suggestions in the comment section below.  You never know who could use the extra boost!

Amber.

Tagged as: aspirations, confidence, job search, work