Job Hunting: The Golden Rule
Hello, my name is Emiley Mallory and I am a serial interviewee. Between starting college and completing my Master’s program, I’ve had my fair share of Q&A’s. I’ve had a consistent record with getting jobs I’ve needed at the time, but I’m not a stranger to rejection. Those moments of taking a loss to a “more qualified candidate” have provided me with clarity and a pretty bitter dose of reality. Sometimes a shiny resume simply doesn’t cut it! So what does? Over time, I’ve learned to keep something in mind as I hit the pavement from one office building to the next.
Confidence. I’ve walked through tons of double doors and had no idea what to expect. I’ve read the job post, reviewed the website and researched the organization. However, no Google search results yielded the perfect formula to nailing a position. There are many factors that help you, but one I’ve found to be considerably helpful has been confidence. I’ve let it radiate despite fear and sail me into the warmth of certainty regardless of anxiety. Once, I had an interview with a campaigning organization. They had a great mission that excited me and I believed in it. But it was also another one of those interviews I had no idea how I was going to be able to deliver. I lacked some of the skills they were asking for and that worried me. However, I surprised myself. For each question he asked me, I convinced myself that I had it. I didn’t have all the experience, but I let my eagerness for the position and my potential speak for me. In the middle of the interview, the interviewer said with a refreshing tone, “you are very confident!” as if surprised by it. I was hired on the spot!
You can pace the floor, ruminate over lines, but once you sit in that seat, across from that desk is just a person asking you what can you do. You’re there to offer your services. Times like this call for you to display your best assets and discuss how you can turn your weaknesses into triumphs. After what seems like forever, your time is up and you get back to breathing. None of what happens in those 30 minutes or so determines who you are as a person. They tell the hiring director what you are capable of as an employee. Find what makes you believe in seeing yourself in that position and own it!
Emiley Mallory is a freelance journalist who recently graduated into the real world. Currently, she is a contributing blogger for StrengthsInsight and freelancing for an event planning team at a major television network. She is using her posts at StrengthsInsight to foster inspiration and informative content for young people full of goals and great potential.
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