Self-confidence is how we feel and our perception of ourselves. Having high self-confidence can help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, which can help you when creating and achieving your goals. However, having low confidence can make you doubt yourself and what you are doing. Low self-confidence can become a roadblock between you and what you want to achieve (What is Self-Confidence, University of Southern Florida). Having low self-confidence can also interfere with your interviewing abilities.
Having confidence in yourself is a key factor when going on an interview. Part of the reason is that if you can’t believe in yourself and your abilities, how is your employer supposed to? If you go into an interview with confidence and knowing what your strengths are, you can better showcase yourself and your experiences and achievements.
Most people can recognize how confident a person is based on their body language. Body language cues of having high self-confidence include keeping your frame open, making eye contact, firm handshakes, speaking clearly, and not fidgeting. On the other hand, people that have low self-confidence tend to cross their arms and look downward or fidget with pens and the chair they’re sitting in. Unfortunately, the body language people have when their self-confidence is low is similar to those of when we get nervous. Having nerves before an interview is very normal, but to help make yourself look more confident, you can read our article The Psychology Behind Interview Nerves— How to Overcome Them. This article gives tips on how to feel relaxed and positive about going into your interview.
At times, having high self-confidence can be easier said than done. One way to increase your self-confidence is to create goals that are realistic for you. For instance, setting the goal of being a millionaire in one year sounds enticing, but is not realistic for most people to achieve. Instead, create goals that challenge you but are still within reach. It is also good practice to keep short-term and long-term goals for yourself. Another way to increase your self-confidence is to find your strengths and recognize that failing is not the end of the world. Having some failures and challenges is bound to happen in life, but the ability to learn from past mistakes is a strength. Dwelling on mistakes can make you feel insecure which could lead to missed opportunities later. Practicing these behaviors can be tricky at times, but they can help you develop a better, more positive perception of yourself.