Lack of Confidence: Jobs lost.
I am passionate about women getting the jobs and promotions they deserve. As a consequence I train them in job interviewing skills. During this work it has become clear to me that many women have a lack of confidence in promoting themselves, and talking about themselves in job interviews. This is to their detriment.
One day a male manager called me to say, "I’ve just interviewed a woman from my department. She’s an excellent member of staff and should have the job. Unfortunately, she had such a lack of confidence she interviewed dreadfully and we can't give it to her. Please, could you train her so next time so she doesn't miss out."
I felt so sad. Another woman misses out on a job she deserves. Not because she isn't capable or qualified but because of a lack of confidence. Why do we let this happen to us?
This story also says something about the selection procedures that are used to choose people for their jobs. However, while they may be far from perfect, we don’t necessarily have any control over them. In contrast, what we do have control over is how we present ourselves when being interviewed.
A lack of confidence can have clear and negative consequences. Why forfeit a job for which you are clearly well qualified, simply because your confidence is low? Wouldn't it be better to learn the skills you need to answer questions from a panel?
Some years ago research was conducted in the United Kingdom on the differences between men and women in job interviews, and their success rates.
It was found that the men were more likely to get the jobs ahead of the women, even if the women were equally well qualified. How could this be? Was it rampant discrimination? No. It was because of how the female and male interviewees talked about themselves.
The men talked about themselves and their skills and competencies with self confidence. Which is to their credit. The women didn't.
The women used language that appeared to indicate a lack of confidence. They'd make statements such as "I think I can do that", or "That's quite possible", or “Maybe.” The men would say, "Yes, I can do that".
One sounds far more convincing than the other, doesn't it? Which one would you be more likely to employ, all other things being equal?
Let Rachel teach you how to succeed in job interviews: "Job interview coaching".
Self-confidence in job interviews.
The good news is that I did agree to see the woman who had missed out on the job with her male manager. She was talented but totally unskilled when it came to explaining her strengths, or answering questions that required her to give good examples of her competencies at work.
We set about practising. She worked out ten strengths that she had. She then worked out an example that illustrated each strength in the workplace. Then she practised answering questions about her strengths, until she sounded convincing.
Slowly she gained more self confidence. Slowly it dawned on her that, yes! of course, she could do this. Of course she could sell herself at job interviews. She simply had not known how.
She went for a second interview and got the job. It only took a caring manager and a two hour training session to make the difference and overcome her lack of confidence and skill.
When you're in an interview do you let a lack of confidence undermine your credibility? If so, you'll be missing out on jobs you deserve.
Self confidence is a set of skills you can learn. It is quite a specific skill set that you can develop, practise and use. Build your self confidence and get the jobs you deserve. Make your job interviews easy.
What will you say about yourself at your next interview? What will you do to convey self-confidence?
Written by Rachel Green. Professional Speaker | Trainer | Job Interviews Coach | Author.
Copyright Confident Woman Australia, 2010.
Editor
Reader Comments (6)
Overcome a lack of confidence and apply anyway. Don’t make the decision not to apply. Let your self-confidence get you to an interview. The panel can then decide whether you meet their criteria or not. You don’t have to make a decision about the job until it is offered to you!
Blessings
Rachel.
Betty
Just keeping on doing interview after interview may make things worse unless you learn how to do job interviews differently. We do provide job interview skills coaching across Australia ... and it would be worth your considering geting this personalised help so your next interview is much easier and your self-confidence returns. There are ways to sell yourself in an interview and to control your nerves that I could teach you.
Go here for the full details: http://www.confident-woman.com.au/job-interview-confidence
or e-mail me: rachel@confident-woman.com.au
I am happy to help.
Let yourself shine
Rachel.