3 Tips to Build Confidence for a Job Interview

So you’re planning to have a job interview, huh? How do you feel? Are you excited?

Oh, what’s that?

You’re nervous? You probably didn’t do well in your last job interview and you’re afraid to fail again?

It so often happens when candidates bomb (=fail) their interviews because they:

1. Don’t research the company.

2. Don’t prepare their elevator pitch that explains why they’re a good match for the position.

3. Don’t know how to handle (=deal with) unexpected questions.

4. Don’t think about small things in advance — such as what outfit they’re going to wear, how they will manage ice-breakers and small talk, etc.

Lucky for you, you can always get better with practice and preparation.

Here are the 3 tips you need to follow in order to always be prepared and confident.

1. Think about your “genius zone”

We all have one.

What is a “genius zone”? It’s a unique set of abilities and skills that only you have. So get a piece of paper and a pen and write down everything you love doing, everything you do well, your achievements and unique skills — everything that sets you apart (=makes you different) from other people.

Don’t just think about your hard skills and technologies you know. Think about your soft skills and abilities as well. Are you good at working under pressure? Are you able to respond to change quickly? Do you enjoy solving problems and mitigating (=managing) conflict? Note everything down.

Knowing what you like and what you’re good at will make you a lot more confident in a job interview.

2. Prepare and practice

This one makes sense, right? Think about it.
If you had to record a Youtube video for the first time in your life, you would probably feel very nervous. Yes, you could read tips on how to record videos and watch tutorials, but when it would be time to actually do it, you would be a bundle of nerves (=feel very nervous) just because it’s your first time.
Same thing with interviews — you’re gonna feel nervous if you haven’t practiced. So get a friend, a coach, a mentor, etc., and practice answering job interview questions with them.

3. Engage in small talk

Small talk happens in those first minutes of the interview when you meet the interviewer.

If you don’t make small talk or respond to small talk, you will most definitely look and sound scared or rude. If you want to look and sound confident, make sure you engage in a little bit of small talk. You don’t need to be super chatty or talk about personal stuff, you just need to show a willingness (=a desire) to communicate and set a positive tone for the interview.

For example:

Bad answer

Interviewer: Hi! How are you doing today?

Interviewee: Hi! I’m ok.

Good answer

Interviewer: Hi! How are you doing today?

Interviewee: I’m doing pretty good. I’ve very excited to be here today and speak to you about your company and the position.

As we said earlier, the most important thing is practice.

That’s why English For IT has created an intensive Job Interview Crash Course where you will improve your speaking fluency, practice answering interview questions, and boost confidence!