Communicate with Confidence
When describing your current job,
what impression do you leave?
Is it Confident? Strong? Capable? Or are you leaving an impression that makes the prospective employer question your abilities, skills, and most of all, your value?
The critical element to getting a job today is CONFIDENCE.
Confidence is conveyed the moment you walk into the interview room or make that first phone call and gets stronger with every moment of conviction.
Does the question “So, what do you do?” make you wince? Think about the last time someone asked you “So, what have you been working on lately?” Did you say:
- “I am just a stay at home mom.”
- “I am only an administrative assistant.”
- “I am only a volunteer coordinator.”
These are examples of how women have described their current job situation during my Women in Career Transition Workshops.
I have found that, when asked, women are more likely to have a tendency to downplay their career position.
Using “ONLY” and “JUST” to describe your role can be a sign of weakness, low confidence, uncertainty. It just plain devalues the work you do. These words are called negative modifiers. By using these modifiers you start by giving your audience (whether friend, co-worker, or even your prospective employer) a disclaimer! “Only” and “Just” downgrade what you are about to say and leave the wrong image of yourself.
You do not want to have to re-build yourself from a deficit; you want to present all the great qualities and skills you already possess!
How can you start changing the way you sell yourself? DELETE, OMIT, and STOP using any negative modifiers to describe your position. This small change will have a huge impact on your ability to communicate with confidence.
* * *
Some skills and qualities are required for employment, regardless of the position a company is hiring for. One of these skills is COMMUNICATION. Communication is a key attribute we all need to succeed in the workplace.
How you describe your role to others informs how your audience will gauge your communication skills and trust in your abilities. If you cannot communicate with confidence to an employer, then that employer will question your ability to communicate with confidence to them, their employees, and their clients.
You have the POWER to put your future employer at ease by giving them a clear, confident reflection of yourself.
As you are preparing for an interview, make sure you know as much as you can about the open position. Once you understand what the job entails you can incorporate pertinent words, skills, and experiences into how you describe yourself.
During the interview, think about these tips:
- Start changing your words when describing your job
- Omit “ONLY” and “JUST” from your vocabulary
- Replace “ONLY” and “JUST” with words that describe the position you WANT
- Align your background to the job
For example:
| Instead of saying … | Say this instead … |
| I am just a stay at home mom. | I am efficient and highly organized individual. |
| I am only an administrative assistant. | I enjoy working with a diverse group of people and projects. I have experience managing multiple day-to-day tasks to maintain a consistent and productive office environment. |
| I just coordinate programs as a volunteer. | I have experience managing groups of people and complex schedules while filling enriching programs. |
Answer these questions and think about how you want to be remembered:
- What words do you want to describe you?
- How can your experiences (paid or unpaid) be of value to a prospective employer?
- What impression or connection do you want people to make when they see, hear, or think of you?