Going into a job interview is a situation full of emotional irony. On the one hand, this is an important moment for you and your career, and there may be a lot riding on this. You may feel nervous, twitchy, perhaps even afraid because the results of this job interview are so important to you. On the other hand, displaying any of these traits is the last thing an interviewer for a job wants to see; they want someone that comes into the room and displays confidence.
So why is confidence so important?
Calm Under Pressure
Let’s get the obvious reason out of the way first. Confidence is always a desirable trait in a person, especially during a job interview, because it’s a good indicator that this person can remain calm, affable and in control even during a situation that may be considered stressful.
This shouldn’t be confused with apathy, where it’s clear a person who just showed up doesn’t care about a job at all. Confidence means not showing that nervousness and fear are in control. You should be attentive, and it’s perfectly fine to be thoughtful and a little slower and methodical in your answers. But you should not appear afraid or defensive.
Honesty
Being confident in an interview means also being honest about yourself, and this is meant in both the good and the bad way. It’s not unusual for an interviewer to ask the interviewee to give an assessment of both strengths and weaknesses. Confidence means giving honest answers to both that show the interviewer you’ve given this a lot of thought. To try to be modest and say you have no strengths, or, worse yet, to lie and say that you have no weaknesses do not indicate either modesty or confidence.
Being honest is an act of confidence. And it can make a big impression on an interviewer when done calmly and sincerely.
Real Confidence
Perhaps the most important thing about developing confidence for a job interview is that you should cultivate it all the time. Developing confidence in yourself will carry over to all your activities. It shouldn’t be something you “act out” only when you go in to a job interview. If your confidence isn’t real, it’s probably not going to convince a job interviewer if you haven’t convinced yourself. And that can hurt your chances at getting a job when others don’t have the same issue.
