Can You Market Yourself:
Self-Confidence or No Confidence?
Having worked with young adults in
a supportive role, assisting them to get their foot on
the career ladder, it has become evident that generally
speaking the one thing they have in common is a lack of
confidence. At the other end of the scale, in my role as
a sales manager I have come across some extremely
confident – in some cases, even arrogant – candidates.
Neither of these situations is ideal.
In order for a prospective employer
to hire you, they have to believe that you will be
competent in the position. Before, the can believe in
you, you must believe in yourself, otherwise, you will
not be able to convince them that you can do the job.
The key to self-belief is to know
that you are capable, that you will be an asset to the
employer, and to truly believe that you will be an
invaluable member of the team – They need you!
Grow
some Thick Skin!
Once you believe in yourself, and
are able to present yourself confidently to employers,
you then need to work on your resilience. In the event
that you are not chosen for a role you worked really
hard for, it can be demoralising if you don’t keep a
healthy positive attitude and aren’t able to bounce back
and pursue your career with consistent excitement and
vigour.
And, should this happen more than
once, it is even more important that you remind yourself
how good you are and treat each application as a new and
fresh opportunity, approaching it with the same energy
and determination as you did the first.
Every
sales person gets rejection:
It helps to remember that rejection
happens to each and every one of us at some point – or
points – in our lives. It should be viewed as an
opportunity to tweak the sales pattern: that is
invariably what we are doing when we apply for a new
position, we are selling our professional selves. And
that is of course, much easier said than done. It can
be a daunting task. Even the most successful sales
people don’t necessarily find it as easy to sell
themselves as an employable commodity as they do another
product or service.
Confidence or Arrogance?
Whilst it is important to remain
confident it is equally important to refrain from being
too confident. This is likely to put
many-an-interviewer off instantly. They will be
thinking about how you will fit into a team or how
customers will view you. If you walk into the room with
a swagger and a misguided air of importance about you,
they could automatically assume that you will intimidate
colleagues or customers alike.
There is a fine line between
confidence and arrogance. It is vital that the latter
is not portrayed.
Prepare for Interviews:
There are a number of things you
can do to help you prior to being in the interview
situation. The most obvious probably being connected
with your appearance. If you look good you really do
feel good. You can also prepare for the interview by
finding out as much as possible about the role and the
organisation. If the company doesn’t have a website –
there are still some that don’t – then contact them by
phone, find advertisements and get a feel for what they
do, what their unique selling points are, their
customers, the size of the organisation, how long they
have been established, their goals etc.
From this research you will be able
to anticipate what the companies expectations of you
will be and then think about how you can match (or
exceed) these expectations. Just as a sales person
would prepare for a sale, learn about their product or
service’s selling points and then consider your selling
points, ensuring that you match them to the employer’s
needs.
Be
Realistic:
If you already do all of the above
and you still have a feeling of inadequacy be sure that
you are not aiming too high too quickly. Set yourself
realistic goals, a structured career path. After all,
it’s no good applying to be a doctor if your background
and studies have been in the field of say, hospitality.
Remember though, that it is good to be a little
nervous. The chances are you are applying for the role
that will shape your future career.
So whether you feel you could do
with some work on your confidence, either because you
are too submissive or too aggressive, remember that
somewhere between the two lies assertiveness. If you
are assertive you will automatically give the impression
that you are confident and that you really do believe in
yourself.
