Are You Looking for a Job? Be Confident

First off, this is not a job offer. Just the benefit of my knowledge gathered over the many, many years I have been employed. Whether you are looking for that first job or thinking of moving on to the next, everyone hits a point in their life where they are job hunting. So let me hit you with some tips that are true throughout the spectrum of careers and hasn't changed year to year, decade to decade, century to century. I have five key points to make to help you and to remind me just what it takes to get a job. I will post one point a week under the title Are You Looking for a Job?

Be Confident - easy to say,not always easy to do, but it can mean the difference between getting a job and not getting one. In 1989, we were looking to relocate to Portland, Oregon, the big city compared to the small town we lived in in Utah. My husband was in his mid 40's. I had just been laid off and he decided that Portland would be a good place for me to find a job in my chosen career, electronics engineering. So we packed the kids and came for a visit with my parents. My husband said he could find a job anywhere but Portland was the place for me. I had scoffed at his assertion that he would find a job within the short visit we were making. He had a job in two days working in his chosen profession, service management, making as much or more than he was making in Utah. We left the kids with my  folks, return to Utah where my husband gave his two weeks notice and he was at his new job, our house packed and ready for this new adventure in two weeks.

Sure, the job climate was a little different in 1989 compared to now, but this same lesson of confidence is being taught to new graduates looking for their first job. It is being taught to new job seekers, those who have been out of work because of the economy and taught to high school students looking to work at Dairy Queen.

No matter what age you are, you know what you can do. You know what your skills are. Learn to present yourself; not in the "I'm new at this and not sure of myself," attitude but in the "This is what I can do and this is how your company can benefit with me being an employee." New situations and new jobs can be scary but don't let the fear of change and the unknown keep you from one of the best job experiences of your life.

One of my first jobs after being laid off was doing research and development on kidney dialysis machines. I was to be a lab tech where I set up experiments according to engineer protocols and gathered data. I had never done any of that before. I had built cables and installed transducers for static testing of solid rocket boosters. I could read blueprints and circuit schematics. In the new job I would be working with hydraulic and pneumatic systems as well as simple electronic circuits.

When I went to the interview, I let them know what my strengths were, what my experience was and that I could follow any diagram. My experience with this company was one of the most rewarding and tremendously satisfying. I quickly realized after looking at hydraulic and pneumatic diagrams that they are much like electronic circuits with resistance, switches and directional movement. With my ability to communicate clearly with not only engineers in their own language but also with marketing and with the production floor. I became a bridge in a communication gap that helped to facilitate bringing into production a new dialysis machine.

It does not matter whether you are interviewing for a waitress job or a job as an account executive. Being confident is important. When I spoke to HR recruiters and department managers about what it is they look for in a candidate, confidence was high on their list.

"If a prospective employee is tentative, unsure of themselves during an interview or first contact, even with a glowing resume, it is a mark against them." 

Though not the only deciding factor, it is clear that when compared to another candidate with a similar resume and experience base, confidence is weighted in consideration.

"We want employees who can get in and start doing. We don't want to have to babysit or bolster them along. Confidence is a key factor in that."

Remember, it is not what you feel but what you present and how you present it that is seen and evaluated.