How can I improve my confidence in apprenticeship interviews

Hi guys,

I had feedback from an unsuccessful interview today. I was told that I was very approachable and answered all the questions perfectly. They said that the only thing that let me down is that I had low confidence as I tend to get quit nervous which can tend to make me stutter a little bit. Apparently there was 12 candidates with three going through and two in the maybe group which I was in which frustrates me even more

I was wondering if anyone had any advise to sound and feel more confident as this seems to be the only thing that is letting me down as this is the third time this has happened and it's really getting me down.

Reply 1

Martinnathalie9

Hi,

I'm in the same boat, I have been to numerous apprenticeship/internship interviews. It's hard to fake confidence, but if you just try to relax then it's more likely you'll come across more confident. It's funny, but just preparing as best you can for an interview is the best technique.

If you're nervous about being thrown a tough question, don't be afraid to say 'I'm not sure' if you don't have a solid answer.

I won't go so far as to practice in front of the mirror, but I will think through what I'm going to say beforehand and visualise how I want the interview to go. I don't know what else to tell you, but don't let it get you down! It happens to the best of us.

Reply 2

A.Hopkin

Oooh, I'm naturally a shy and introvert person but for some reason in every single interview (phone and face to face interviews) I've always been told I'm really confident and friendly.

What I tend to do is just research about the business first of all, either the day before or a few days print off information about what the business does, their background etc. (this is always essential in my books! I think it looks really bad when people turn up to interviews without even the most basic idea of what the business does), make sure you have all the necessary documents for the interview if you need them, that way you are prepared and everything is ready which means there is less for you to worry about. Also, I ensure that I am prepared for difficult questions, such as your weaknesses, strengths etc. so you won't stumble when they ask questions. The more prepared you are the less you should hopefully panic on the day.

Before interviews everyone is pretty much nervous, I tend to feel physically ill before interviews! haha. Get to the interview early, about 10 minutes before the interview just sit down and try to calm yourself, I always talk to myself whilst waiting in the car outside the interview building (I look crazy whilst doing this I'm sure) just tell yourself that you have the skills for this job, you have a good personality, you are ideal for the role and most of all that you can do it! (this may not help everyone but it works for me)

The key is to just believe that you can get this job, if you think you can't get it then why should the interviewers think you can? Just keep repeating the mantra in your head "I can get this job" and hopefully you can trick yourself into believing it, it's all about positive thinking! haha

When you actually get into the interview take things slowly, think through what you are going to say (obviously don't leave awkward pauses whilst you are thinking, as that will be strange lol) remember to smile, you want to appear friendly, if you can smile and act calm they will think you are confident (even if you are ****ting bricks in the interview :tongue:

).

Obviously different things work for different people, but just remember, there are always more jobs out there, so if you don't get this one, what does it matter? maybe it was meant to happen and there's an even better job just waiting out there so don't be scared of rejection, it happens to everyone and be proud that you managed to get through to the interview stage (as I am sure many other people were rejected even before this stage, so you should be happy about your achievement OP, as you have done well already :smile:

).

Maybe try watching a few funny youtube videos or something that makes you laugh just before the interview, it will help take your mind off things, laughing helps you to relax and makes you feel good :smile:

How can I improve my confidence in apprenticeship interviews

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