Confidence while job searching
How to be more confident within yourself while job searching
Applying for a new job can be both exciting and stress inducing. If you’re looking to switch up your career or advance into a higher role the journey can sometimes be long. Weeks of searching and applying to different roles can take a toll on your self-confidence. Let’s have a look at some important things to take note of so maintain your confidence while job searching.
Work out your strengths
When starting a difficult task such as searching for a new job, start with something that makes you feel good. Once you are feeling positive about yourself, it is easier to continue working towards your goal and keeping confidence while job searching.
Have a think about what positives you bring to the table. When you’re thinking about your strengths think of the first things that pop into your mind, then go through your previous roles and analyse what skills you brought to the role (i.e. what you were hired for) and what skills you learnt and improved on while you were there. However, don’t focus your thoughts soley on skills you have presented within the workforce.
Frequently the activities we participate in outside of work can also have benefits that cross over into our professional lives. Skills learnt through activities such as volunteering, mentorship, or running a side hustle can bring so much growth to our lives and this can be translated into skills useful within your job. These positive qualities that you think of can be practical, for example a particular program you have in depth knowledge of, or a big project you have successfully completed in the past, or they can be soft skills such as team management, or creativity in your ideas and approaches to your work.
Resume
Once you have thought of the positive qualities you have, take a look at your resume and see if you have them listed down. Often, we can undersell ourselves without even knowing it, especially if we have had the same resume for a long time. Therefore, it’s a good idea to have a think about what you see as positives within yourself, and then cross reference this with your resume.
It can also be a good idea to ask some of your trusted friends and even your colleagues what strengths they think you possess. Hearing your strengths from an outside source can not only give you new thoughts and perspectives that you hadn’t considered, but even if you are told of strengths you have already identified for yourself, it can be extremely validating to hear these things from an outside source. Once you have collaborated the information on your strengths, make sure to add them to your resume and commit them to memory so that they can be easily recalled within an interview situation where you have to think quickly on your feet.
Learn how to improve upon your weaknesses
Now that you have identified your strengths you should also consider your weaknesses. Sometimes during a job search it can be easy to focus solely on your weaknesses. Wondering why you haven’t landed your desired job yet can leave you feeling as though your weaknesses are greater than other candidates. This therefore lowers your self-confidence. However, the only way to overcome something is to work through it so it’s important to address your weaknesses and assess what can be done to improve them.
One typical issue that job seekers come across often is finding that knowledge of a particular program or skill is necessary for the next step in their career advancement however they have not been trained in this area. Having such easy access to a wide breadth of knowledge through the internet, it really has never been easier to teach yourself that program or skill that employers are looking for. It may mean some extra study and may come at a cost but it’s well worth it for your growth.
Framing
When assessing your weaknesses there may be some things that stand out to you that you cannot particularly change. Such as a large gap of time unaccounted for in your resume or many different jobs within a short time. Although these things cannot be changed, they can be framed in a way that makes them sound more positive. During the time between jobs, did you work on your skills, grow as a person? These are the kinds of things that will turn your weaknesses into positives and not hinder your opportunities moving forward.
Now that you have a greater understanding of your weaknesses and how to overcome them. Whenever any of them come to mind, reframe your thoughts to focus on the positives; what you have done or can do to overcome them, and what you have gained from them.
Practice
Practicing is an important part of mastering any skill, and job hunting is no exception. You will get practice simply from applying for jobs. If you want to go the extra mile you can practice for interviews with friends or family. Better yet record yourself with your phone or laptop so you can see yourself how a potential employer would. Although the process of talking while recording yourself may be awkward at first, it can really give you beneficial information as to what you do well, and what can be improved. Once you watch yourself back and complete this exercise multiple times you are bound to feel more confident within yourself with the knowledge that you can answer interview questions confidently and in a way in which you want to present yourself.
Another thing you might like to practice is visualisation. Our minds are so much more powerful than we give them credit for and the simple act of visualising yourself in your dream role will help you to believe that it is possible, which of course it is as long as you put in the work required.
Don’t give up
Although you may have been searching for a new role for weeks or months, remember good things take time. The process may feel lonely if you are the only one in your circle that is searching. This feeling of isolation comes from the fact that we do not have anyone else to discuss our process with. People who can relate to our situation, at this particular moment. Keep in mind however, that you are not alone in this process. There are hundreds of people like you who are applying for the same roles, within the same industries. Although reflecting on this can be daunting as it leads us to think about the competition we are up against. It also helps to show that there are others going through the same process as you.
To put a positive spin on the many applications and interviews you may face, see them as a learning experience. There is so much you can learn from amending your resume, writing cover letters, and attending interviews. If you apply for a job and are not selected for the position, take the time to contact the person who interviewed you. Ask for feedback if they did not give it directly to you previously. This kind of information is invaluable to your growth as a person and keeping confidence while job searching.
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