Conquering Self-Doubt in a Job Interview
Problem: Lack of Self-Belief in Your Abilities
Are you someone who has the knowlege, skills experience necessary to get a particular job but doubts yourself and ends up underperforming at job interviews as a result of this lack of self-belief? If so try the following:
Job Interview: Self-Belief Exercise
Complete a table like that below. In the left hand column list the skills, experience, knowledge, personality traits and any other attributes that can help you to achieve your goal together with any supporting evidence. Start each sentence on the left in the first person 'I have...', 'I am...' etc:
Affirmation (I have.../ I am...' etc. |
Supporting Evidence |
| Example: 'I have the qualifications for the job' | I passsed the relevant training diploma four years ago and have done in-house training courses on relevant topics since. |
| Example: 'I have the necessary people skills for the job' | 'In my last appraisal my line manager highlighted my ability to work with people in a constructive way to get the best out of a situation and help people to feel valued.' |
Using the Job Interview Exercise
Once you have compiled your list, learn it and remind yourself of it on a daily basis in the build up to the job interview. If you find it difficult to believe what you have written in the Affirmations column then remind yourself of the supporting evidence which gives credibility to the affirmation.
When you get to the job interview, remind yourself of some of the relevant affirmations if you are doubting yourself. If you are asked a question which relates to one of the affirmations then state that you meet the criterion and give the supporting evidence as a way of demonstrating it.
Tip: If there is a job description or person specification for the job that you are applying for then you can look through that to help you decide what are the important aspects of the job that your affirmations can address to show that you meet them.
Remember: This exercise is designed for people who meet the criteria for a job but find it difficult to convince themself of that because of a lack of self-belief. If you genuinely find that there are some aspects relevant to the job that you don't meet, then ask youself in advance what you can say to show the interviewer that you have a comparable ability or skill or that you could acquire it with appropriate support, training or experience on the job.
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