Confidence in the job search matters more than you realize

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When it comes down to choosing a candidate for an open role, companies are usually deciding between a slate of very qualified candidates. No one makes it to the last round if they don’t have what it takes to do the job. Most of the time, the final choice comes down to something less tangible, not a certain skill or experience but rather an attitude or a trait. 

This is where confidence comes in. We guide many candidates through the job search process and support companies as they decide between three or four great candidates. One common interview mistake candidates make, especially senior candidates, is that people tend to spend too much time talking about past experiences, qualifications, and why they’re equipped to do the job. While these things are important, they often aren’t as important as expressing that you believe you can do this job well. In a sense, we’re telling you to play offense, not defense.

At the end of the day, everyone in the running for a mid-senior level job is qualified. You can safely assume that the person interviewing you believes that you are qualified to do this job. So what you need to convince them of is not that you are qualified, but rather that out of all the other qualified contenders, you’re the right choice. So what we encourage is a shift in your messaging from “I believe my experience scaling teams and pursuing new clients will help me meet the objectives of this role” to “I’m looking forward to scaling this team and bringing on new business for Company Y”. This kind of subtly conveyed confidence can influence the way your interviewer thinks of you. 

Hiring at mid-senior levels is so difficult, and companies usually make final decisions based on soft signals from candidates rather than any tactical differences between them. When you exude confidence in the job search process, you’re sending them signals that you’re the right person for the job. When job seekers hear the word “confidence” they often fear coming off as arrogant or egotistical, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Here are three things to think about when you’re trying to convey confidence in the job search: 

(1) Interest

The best thing you can do in a job search is to make an effort to show your interest in your interviewers, their business, and the work you’d be doing if you landed this job. This is a way that you show confidence as well. When job seekers focus exclusively on themselves, their experiences, and how good they are at what they do, it can actually make interviewers less confident in your ability. By all means, toot your own horn in a job interview, but make sure you also ask good questions about the company, the job, and their business goals as well. You’ll come off as cool, confident, and genuine. Better yet, they’ll get the impression that you really understand them.

(2) Positivity

Positivity inspires confidence as well. Avoid negative phrases and topics like disliking previous companies or colleagues, expressing that your skills or capabilities are “better” than others', or speaking poorly of competitors. Instead, turn each of those scenarios into positive ones. Didn’t like your old boss? It doesn’t matter, and it is none of your interviewer’s business. Rather than focus on the negative, talk about what you achieved in that role, what you learned from it, and how it helped you expand your skill set. Remember that you want your interviewer to come away from the interview feeling positive about you. An easy way to do that is keep your tone throughout the interview upbeat.

(3) Enthusiasm

Lastly, aside from interest and positivity, expressing enthusiasm is a great way to inspire confidence in your interviewers. And this doesn’t have to be over the top eagerness, just a subtle enthusiasm about the opportunity you’re interviewing for. At the end of your interview, rather than saying “I believe my ten years of software development experience make me qualified to lead a team to build your new payments platform”, say something like “I’m really looking forward to bringing the vision for this new payments platform to life. It is a really exciting opportunity to bring together my years of software development experience and my passion for building new products.” Do you hear the difference? Expressing enthusiasm about the opportunity shows interviewers that you’re really interested in this role. Excitement is also contagious. When you’re excited about something, other people will be too!

In conclusion, we see people get jobs (or get passed over for jobs) for all kinds of different reasons. Most pieces of the job search process are out of your control. However, how you show up, the language you use, and the tone you set in your interviews are well within your control. Confidence is so influential in the job search process, especially at mid-senior levels. Take some time this week to go through common interview questions like “tell me about yourself’, or “why do you think you’re right for this role” and practice answering with confidence, interest, positivity, and enthusiasm.

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