how to come across more confident.

right, well i've got a job interview tomorrow for part time work. its the first interview i'll have had for a job, as previous employment havent interviewed.

anyway, i'm a pretty shy person and i dont know how to appear confident. i do amateur dramatics, so can come across confident on stage if i have to, but in social situations i tend to blend into the background.

obviously, this will have a major effect on whether i get the job or not, so does anyone have any ideas of ways to appear confidence / good strategies for job interviews?

any help will be much appreciated.

thanks.

Reply 1

FFCrusader

early this week i was told by my employer at work exp that he could tell i wasnt a confident person from my handshake :s-smilie:

so...when you shake someones hand, to appear confident i think you need a "firm" handshake, or along those lines

Reply 2

Collegegurl

look them in the eye.

Reply 3

Collegegurl

Try not to fidgit a lot.

Reply 4

Skipper

Sit slightly forward in your chair, not slouched back. Maintain good eye contact but don't stare without breaking it every so often. Elaborate on the answers to questions that they give you, no yes/no answers. As others said, don't fidget, just keep your hands rested in your lap. Also dress smart but comfortable and arrive with plenty of time to relax yourself before you go in.

The other tip (yes it sounds very odd) that I read in a book about offers for med school is "Wear a blue tie. Gold/Yellow portrays power and wealth which is not what you want. A red tie is subconciously aggressive which you also don't want"

I dunno if any of this will help or is true but I tried to stick to it and I got an offer. Personally I think it was the blue tie that swung things :wink:

Good luck

EDIT: Sorry my brain temporarily stopped working...perhaps, like other have suggested, don't wear a tie :wink:

Reply 5

Ten Green Bottles

Smile, it increases your confidence by 10%. It works, believe me, it got me a job editing our school's student newspaper.

Also, keep eye contact for 75% of the conversation (100% of the time's just freaky) and maintain an open body posture, don't fold your arms or cross your legs, and sit at a slight angle on your chair, lean forward slightly and keep your back straight, don't let it hollow.

Make sure you expand your answers and speak in a measured, level voice. This is important, as the tone of the voice convey's almost as much as the content. Don't speak to quickly or sound like anything you're saying is off by heart, speak as you usually would, remembering to breath and not let it get too high pitched without forcing it down incredibly low.

With regards to the handshake, keep it firm but don't squeeze too hard, smile and keep eye contact throughout it, but be careful not to stare fixedly into the depths of their eyes, it'll put them on edge.

Good Luck. :smile:

Reply 6

Vohamanah

I agree with advice above, although I think a tie may be a little overboard for a female applicant of a first part time job :smile:

I'd add take your time and don't feel obliged to rush into answers. A pause is good, and helps you gather you thoughts before you answer.

Make sure you are dressed smartly enough so you feel confident and can walk comfortably in your shoes.

Reply 7

Rutter knows best!

sitck your chest out walk with a swagger hold your head high.

works for monkeys and its works for us . fact.

Reply 8

Mernard

From the title I was going to suggest a little bit of alcohol, but perhaps not for an interview.

What someone mentioned above is a very good point; your handshake. Perhaps there's something wrong with me, but I get downright disgusted when I receive a limp handshake. Firm is always best.

Simple things like eye contact, speaking at an acceptable level of volume, speed and tone, and just generally feeling (or at least looking) relaxed. But not too much, haha.

Reply 9

L i b

If Trainspotting taught me anything, it's that a dab of speed before a job interview works wonders...

... well, assuming you don't actually want it.

I'm rubbish at advice.

Reply 10

ßlαcksωαn

For my first and only interveiw, I was fully prepared, I kept practicing and role playing with a couple of mates before hand. Like write down potential questions and memorise answers for these. Yeah they can through some weird questions at you, but just breathe and go along with it, if you don't know an answer just say that or make up something. Be prepared with your resume and referces or whatever other paper work you need also. Dress well also. Think about what could be the worse thing to happen, not get the job? don't worry, try again...It worked for me, I got the job :wink:

Reply 11

Consie

Just dont over prepare. Be prepared, but to the extent that you just have a framework to work off in regard to what questions you're asked. That way, the thinking on your feet you're forced to do, even if it doesnt make you feel comfortable, probably makes you come across as quite confident in that what you say will probably be more fluid and conversational in manner than a rigid pre-thought answer. You always mess up pre thought answers too I reckon.

Handshake wise, be firm and look them in the eye (EDIT: ha, I meant eyes, unless theyre a cyclops!), but dont grap it with the intention of making them grimace and dropping to their knees.

Straight back without looking like your holding in a turd is pretty essential too. Wont go over the other advice people had posted, since most people have pretty useful advice here.

I think the key is to think of it as a game or an opportunity to show how much of a legend you are. You've got to have more substance than style (unless your a master bull****ter) but you still need a bit of style.

What type of job is it?

Reply 12

Font

Consie

Just dont over prepare

i dont prepare at all! - too lazy, just intelligent bull**** - and improvise - thats what i do and it works fine :rolleyes:

um.... read the times every day for two years? - develop some vocabulary? learn to speak with a posh accent - it naturally happened to me when i was in university :s-smilie:

- posh oxonians gave me their scummy accent! - always good for interviews i suppose :rolleyes:

to the positive repper - thanks for the rep :wink:

- i guess i will keep the accent - American women apparently love the posh london accent anyway - might use it to my advantage, muwhehahahaha

Reply 13

Consie

If you're going to get a legitimate grilling though, winging it just makes you look like a fool. Even though being talented at winging is looked upon as like 'ehhh, hes one of the lads him', and it is undoubtably good to have that skill, its probably more impressive to show that you can genuinely bitchslap everything a job has to put to you. At least at interview anyway, once you've got the job just realx :P.

Reply 14

Font

Consie

its all about honesty really - i'm not winging anything - just pissing around as usual :rolleyes:

Reply 15

rachd_22

thanks guys!
had the interview and im hoping it went ok. should find out today or tomorrow, either way if is all i did, ive improved my interview technique.