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eLearning Series: Self Confidence
How Do I Improve My Self Confidence?
( 50 articles in this series )
Self
Confidence:
Unemployment and Your Job Search
Being
unemployed can certainly be a blow to your self-confidence. That doesn't mean these feelings should
get in the way of a successful job search.
The first step to feeling confident about your job search
is to let go of any lingering bad thoughts from the past. If
you left your last position under unfavorable circumstances,
don't let this get you down. You should certainly look to your
past mistakes to avoid repeating them, but if you truly want
to change, it's possible. You'll never find your next new job
if you let a former unpleasant experience influence your view
of yourself, though.
If you feel like you have lingering problems that will get
in the way of successfully finding a job, consider
visiting a job counselor, career center or job bank. You'll find professionals
who can give you an honest assessment of your skills and abilities.
They can set you on the right track to improvement and confidence.
As you set out on your job search, consider
taking a class or learning a new skill for a boost of confidence. Now, just
learning something new is enough to make you feel intelligent
and vital, but it's even better if your new endeavor is relevant
to the field in which you would like to work. That's not to
discount the personal growth that can come from simply becoming
more educated, but the benefits are more obvious if you can
take Japanese language classes and then find a job with a tech
firm with offices in Japan. You'll feel more confident, and
you'll also create another selling point for yourself as a
potential employee.
Your
resume is the first step to creating a
confident image as it's the first impression potential employers
have of you.
You have to have faith in your past education, experiences
and accomplishments. While you must always be truthful in a
resume, this is not the time to be modest. Bragging about yourself
requires a certain about of confidence, but it's essential
to getting the job. Employers want to see specific results,
like "increased sales 75%," from your past positions.
Your word choice is important when constructing your resume
as small doubts can come to light as lackluster wording and
passive verbs.
You also must be careful with your word choice
in the cover letter. Self-confidence is essential in selecting
the right
words to create your best image. Don't say that you "would
like to be a part of [the company]" when you can say that
you "are the perfect person for the job" because
of your relevant experience. Avoid words that hedge, like think,
seem and appear. Companies don't want to hire someone who "thinks" he's
perfect for the job, they want the candidate who is perfect.
Of course, confidence is also the most valuable asset you
can bring to an interview. One concrete thing you can do to
increase your confidence before an interview is to prepare.
If you're in college, try to set up a mock interview through
your career center, and if you're already in the workforce,
see if you can convince a friend with hiring experience to
help you practice fielding questions. At the very least, find
or create a list of common interview questions and think of
potential answers and relevant examples from your experience.
Once you arrive at your interview confident in your preparation,
make sure your body language shows it. Don't slouch or fidget,
and make eye contact with your interviewers. Draw confidence
from every little nod and sign of encouragement. If you find
yourself giving the interviewers a mediocre answer or not having
much to say in response to a question, don't let it ruin the
rest of the interview. Keep moving forward and do you best
to make them forget your less-than-perfect answer.
If you don't get the job you interviewed for, don't let it
stop you from jumping right back into the job hunt. There are
other jobs to be had, and your ideal position could be just
around the corner. Look back on the positive aspects of the
interview and the questions you thought you handled particularly
well, and draw on them for confidence in the future.
Whether you're looking for your first job straight out of
college or your fifteenth job, you'll enjoy better job search
results if you can approach the search with confidence.
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SolveYourProblem.com
: 2006
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