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Confidence is the Number One Factor to Having a Successful Interview

If you walk into an interview feeling good about yourself, it will exude from every pore. The one thing you cannot fake is passion.

I am going to give you three steps to take starting 45 minutes before an interview. Step 3 may sound a little crazy but stick with me.

Step 1

Arrive 45 minutes early for your interview and find a quiet place. This could be just sitting in your car. It could be sitting in the lobby of the company where you are interviewing. It could be a bathroom stall. Bathroom stalls have multiple purposes in life!

I want you to sit quietly with your eyes closed and go back in your mind to a very happy experience. This could be a great vacation, a winning moment in a game, getting your acceptance letter to college, college graduation, accepting an award at work…

Sit there for a full 10 minutes and soak up those good feelings.

Do you feel the confidence growing?

Step 2

If you have a close friend who is willing to help, call them and ask them for a pep talk. If not, give yourself a pep talk.

Do not do this in your head. I want you to say out loud that you are good, no… you are damn good, no… you are damn *&^%$ good! Customize this to how you would say it, but I want you to hear the words.

Do this for ten minutes. Yes, if you are in a crowded area like a busy street, some people might think you are crazy for talking to yourself. Well, I talk to myself all of the time! I am one of the most interesting people I know!

Do you feel the confidence growing?

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You are now 15 minutes from your interview. We are ready for step 3.

Step 3

Step 3 is based on the premise your body shapes who you are. Amy Cuddy was a TED Talk presenter and in her video Amy Cuddy: Your body language shapes who you are, she explains that, when you take on powerful and winning body shapes, it will increase testosterone and cortisol levels in the brain.

You will feel more confident.

For this activity, you will probably need to go into a bathroom stall. Stick your hands up like Usain Bolt when he won the 100-meter dash at the Olympics. Keep them up for two minutes and soak in that winning feeling. If you still do not believe me, read her paper, Power Posing.

Yes, I know this sounds crazy but it does work!

Follow these three steps to feel more confident walking into your next interview.

This post is part of a weekly series on the Personal Branding Blog.

You can read the original post on the Personal Branding Blog.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mike Martin says

    I must say that I couldn’t agree more. The night before my interview I had a dozen 5×8\s of possible questions and answers for my position. I spent exactly 45 minutes in the car with my questions before I went in.exuding confidence and passion. Marc’s assessment helped me realize what I was reallh passionate about. I know this sounds like a commercial but a career pivot was the best move for me.

  2. Jim Adcock says

    I would also add the following to the routine:

    Either as a part of or in addition to Step 1, spend time specifically focusing on past work successes (or other successes specifically applicable to the job you are interviewing for).

    This does two things for you – first, it reminds you that you are the RIGHT PERSON FOR THIS JOB (and WHY YOU ARE THE RIGHT PERSON)! Second, it refreshes your memory of your stories for the interview itself. You’ll be trying to communicate to them why you are the right person, and you have to have a narrative at the ready to make that communication.