Confidence - What it means to your career success

Even as a young child I had a sense of what confidence meant. I was too young to understand all the implications of low self-esteem but I could see how everyone seemed to gather around certain children or people and hang on their every word. These children would let nothing stop them – they seemed fearless and always able to succeed. A protective bubble seemed to surround them – they were looked up to, respected and chosen for all the best parts in a play. Then there were those that were scared of failure or backed away from attention and being put in a position where they knew there might be a risk of being judged. They were rarely noticed and their voices never seemed loud enough to be heard and acknowledged. I found this disconcerting because all that happened was, the confident children often became stronger and ‘bigger’ in some way while, the other children became weaker and even ‘smaller’.



After years of observing, I finally discovered the secret of those children and people for whom everything seemed to fall into place – their weapon against life’s challenges. It is all about being confident. I never would have thought that one word could mean so much. It is often the difference between success and failure; it is the difference between overcoming a difficult situation and accepting defeat; it is the difference between making friends and forming social networks easily and shying away from life; it is the difference between living our dreams and reaching our goals quickly versus dreams remaining unattainable and dragging our feet on the ground hoping to be successful one day – it means so much.




Very few people can claim to have complete confidence in their abilities. It is natural to have fear when confronted with a challenging or uncomfortable situation like an interview, a test or jumping out of a plane. The difference between the people that make the most of these situations and come across as if nothing could put them off their stride is not that they are not scared like many others, but that they have a level of confidence which allows them to overcome that fear. They have learnt or have always had the tools required to push their fear aside in order to make a moment count and make the most of the opportunities that they have been given. Consequently, their level of self-belief is higher than those that cannot overcome their fear because they are confident in their abilities to deliver and do not let their fear dictate the path their life should take.




Often these people are referred to as ‘lucky’ because everything seems to work out for them. However, it is not luck which decides our fate – it is our level of confidence, our optimism and our desire to achieve our goals. If you are someone who lacks confidence or has always had low self-esteem then it is time to do something different. Change your perspective, seize opportunities, stop thinking you are different and cannot face life’s challenges. Equip yourself with the tools and knowledge required to put aside fear and anxiety, set yourself some short and long term goals, get whatever help you need to broaden your opportunities through learning how to grow your confidence and focusing on the positive aspects of life and your ability to succeed. If you want to move your career forward and you are tired of being overlooked then find out what you need to know by getting those that do know to share their knowledge and help you develop the tools you need to succeed. After all, “life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage” (Anais Nin). Truer words have never been spoken.



© Copyright 2008, Christine Connors, Interview for Success

Interview Guide - Prepare for Success

If you are looking for an affordable alternative to hiring a personal interview coach, then consider purchasing my easy to follow, very effective Interview Guide - Prepare for Success ebook. The book is a step-by-step program that covers:

- how to address fear and anxiety
- preparing a personal statement
- determing what an interviewer is going to ask
- developing behavioural interviewing skills
- answering commonly asked questions
- how to answer 'hard' questions
- preparing questions to ask the interviewer
- presentation and grooming
- the importance of a post-interview assessment

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The Importance of Being Unique

You are faced with a very competitive market place where employers have the upper hand in most industries. They are able to interview as many candidates they choose to in order to get the ‘best’ candidate for the position. The number of people seeking jobs outnumbers the jobs that are available.

Even if you get an interview, how are you going to differentiate yourself from all the other candidates who may be just as qualified or even more qualified than you are for the position?

It comes down to being prepared with a succinct and confident personal statement and a strong focus on what makes you different or unique. You need to be able to clearly explain what makes you the person for the job. Your preparation will mean you have done your homework, understood what they are looking on and focused on your strengths or attributes that will absolutely deliver.

Go through the job advertisement in detail and make a list of the skills and experiences that they require. Then, think about and identify your five strengths. These will include your transferable skills such as: time-management, communication and interpersonal skills, negotiation, conflict resolution, customer service skills. The list will also include the personal traits that make you unique such as: taking initiative, a positive attitude, good judgment.

With the five personal strengths you have identified, write down examples of when you had to demonstrate these skills and how they helped you achieve positive outcomes in a work environment or if you lack work experience, on a project at university or something similar. You need to be able to prove the skills you are communicating to the employer have been adequately tested and the result is something they would like to mirror in their organisation.

With the job advertisements in mind, divide a piece of paper in two and on one side place all the skills you believe those ads are communicating are required and on the other place your five strengths and what you have to offer. This will help you identify any skill gaps and also determine what you should focus on when you are being interviewed. You need to effectively articulate how you ‘fit’ or match what they are looking for and guide the conversation to your five strengths and other traits that make you unique.

Your stories or ability to give examples of when your skills and personal traits led to successful outcomes will give you credibility and you will move from being just another candidate to someone who is able to effectively and confidently set themselves apart. It is so important that you tell the interviewer things which will make an impression (a positive one) and help him/her remember you. Become the benchmark and make the most of your opportunity.

Christine Connors is a personal interview coach with Interview for Success. For more details on how she can help you realise your potential visit www.interviewforsuccess.com.au
© Copyright 2008, Christine Connors, Interview for Success