Power skills | Confidence
UNLOCK YOUR POTENTIAL
Building unstoppable confidence at work
Confidence is not an innate skill that we are either born with or not. Anyone can build their confidence by adopting a growth mindset.
Having a growth mindset means believing that basic abilities like confidence, adaptability, and resilience can be improved upon with effort. You don’t just accept that you get what you are given at birth or in childhood, and that is it. There is a process you can follow to build these power skills.
What makes a growth mindset?
Through continuous learning and having different experiences, we can grow our confidence. By intentionally putting ourselves outside of our comfort zones and trying new activities, we can become more self-assured and find it easier to do things that we may have been too shy to do in the past. It's important to try to acknowledge and celebrate your progress as your benchmark will keep moving and it will be hard to see for yourself how far you’ve come. Praise and recognition (whether that’s of yourself or by other people) are essential to developing power skills like confidence.
The confidence to get your first job
How you can approach your job interview with confidence
Qualifications and experience are important when applying for roles, but the most experienced person doesn't always get the job; it's often the one with the right attitude. Recruiters will look for people who are keen and really want the role, those who are willing to learn and will be proactive.
You might get very nervous at job interviews but thrive in the workplace, so you will need to employ some tactics to allow you to approach your job interview feeling assertive and present the best of yourself.
5 tactics for approaching job interviews with confidence
1
Do your research
Get as much insight as you can. Go through all the points on the job description, read the company’s website and social media accounts and any news about them. Talk to someone at the company if you can — at worst they will say no, at best, you will get some great info and it will make you look keen.
2
Look the part
Dress in what you think is suitable for the role (always err on the side of being too smart or ask beforehand if you want to) and how you feel your best.
3
Arrive early
You don’t want to be flustered or panicking about being late. Leave plenty of time to get there and find the place and then have a cup of tea nearby. Arrive at the interview five to ten minutes before its time.
4
Focus on being confident for 20 seconds
Emily Jaenson talks about ‘being confident for 20 seconds’ in her TEDx Talk on 6 Behaviours to Increase Your Confidence. Of course, you don’t want to come across as arrogant or a know-it-all, but you do want to come across as confident, even if you have to pretend (fake it till you make it).
5
Leverage your strengths and weaknesses
Interviews are not the place for modesty and self-deprecation. Be confident when talking about your skills and achievements, but realise you will probably also be asked about your weaknesses. Choose something and talk about how you know that this is where you need to learn more, ask for help, and team up with others. Have answers prepared and practised.
5 QUICK TIPS
Building your confidence
1
Remember, everyone started somewhere
Don’t compare your chapter two to someone else’s chapter 25. Everyone did something for the first time once, and nearly everybody gets nervous about things.
2
Break down tasks
If something is making you nervous, don’t think about it all at once; break it down into small, manageable tasks.
3
Don’t be afraid of failure
Failing at things is inevitable, and there’s no shame in it. It’s all part of how we get better, providing you take time to review what you could do better next time and learn from your mistakes.
4
Get and give support
People really want to help other people. Offer your support to others and if you’re not sure how to go about something, ask somebody to help you — it’ll make them feel good too.
5
Ask for feedback
Ask others who you respect and trust to give you some honest feedback.
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