Interview Confidence | 3 Steps to Feel Confident & Impress the Hiring Manager

1. 0:00 – 0:31

   What interview nerves look like—and how they sabotage your performance

   1. SZDr. Shadé Zahrai0:00

      You're in the interview room. All eyes are on you. Your palms are sweaty. Your voice is quivering. Your face is flushed. Your heart is racing. Maybe you're talking too fast and muddling all of your words, or your mind is completely blank. You're nervous, and because of that, you sabotage. You're not able to convey to the interviewer and the hiring manager who you really are and everything you know you can contribute to the role and the company. This is why it's so important to develop interview confidence.

2. 0:31 – 1:01

   Why managing nerves isn’t enough: the full confidence toolkit

   1. SZDr. Shadé Zahrai0:31

      Learning to manage your nerves is essential to be able to perform well in an interview. But there are also a number of other elements which are really important to be aware of and actively manage so that you can be your most confident self and impress the hiring manager. In this video, I'm going to share with you three steps to performing well in an interview to make sure that you're presenting yourself in the most confident way, which will absolutely increase your chances of impressing the interviewer and the hiring manager and actually securing

3. 1:01 – 1:31

   Normalizing nervousness and setting up the 3-step method

   1. SZDr. Shadé Zahrai1:01

      the role. Hi, I'm Shadé Zarri, and I help professionals to hack their careers, overcome their limiting beliefs, and confidently create the extraordinary life they deserve. It's entirely normal to feel nervous before and even during a job interview. It might come from the fact that you really, really want the job and you know that you have to perform under pressure. Or you might be someone who's just naturally an introvert and naturally shy, which makes it even more challenging. So here are three of my favorite tips to help you next time you're in a

4. 1:31 – 2:32

   Step 1: Audit your self-talk before the interview (stop the spiral)

   1. SZDr. Shadé Zahrai1:31

      position to present yourself confidently for a new job or even an opportunity at work. Step one: Be aware of what you're telling yourself beforehand. How you actually perform on interview day is largely linked to what you're telling yourself before the interview. Are you telling yourself that you're not good enough, that you don't have what it takes, that you'll say something silly and will mess up the whole thing? Maybe that you'll be asked something that you won't know the answer to. Impostor syndrome, self-doubt, lack of confidence, whatever you want to call it, it has to stop. These thought processes influence your neurochemistry, which impacts how you feel. How you feel then influences how you show up and will shape your outcome. So you need to back yourself 100%. Tell yourself that you've got this, that you'll present yourself exceptionally well. You'll be confident and project the best possible version of you. It starts with your mindset and the thoughts that are running around in

5. 2:32 – 3:02

   Prime confidence with evidence: recall past wins + motivational self-talk

   1. SZDr. Shadé Zahrai2:32

      your head. One useful hack here is before you actually go into the interview, prime your mind by focusing on positive thoughts. Take some time to actually recall when in the past you were able to create a successful outcome in a situation at work. Remember what that felt like and embody that emotion of satisfaction in your ability to deliver. Research that was published in the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology found that athletes who used positive and motivational self-talk actually performed

6. 3:02 – 3:33

   Step 2: The ‘Expert Approach’—reframe the interview as client problem-solving

   1. SZDr. Shadé Zahrai3:02

      better than those who didn't. And another study found that positive self-talk actually improved self-confidence. Step two: Use the Expert Approach. In my years working as a strategy consultant, both in-house and consulting a range of companies in different industries, I became very used to the experience of being in a new environment with a new client where I had to basically figure out what they needed and what their pain points were, and then pitch my recommendations on how

7. 3:33 – 4:03

   Handling gaps in requirements: lean on adaptability and resourcefulness

   1. SZDr. Shadé Zahrai3:33

      I could deliver what they were after. So what I recommend for you is to visualize yourself as the expert. You have the skills and the requirements that they need help with and to help them with whatever they're looking to achieve. And don't worry if you're missing some of what might be in the job description or the requirements. You can learn whatever else you need to on the job using your skills of flexibility, adaptability, and resourcefulness. But when you go into that interview, picture yourself as the expert

8. 4:03 – 4:34

   Make your expertise concrete: align strengths and offer recommendations

   1. SZDr. Shadé Zahrai4:03

      with the hiring manager or the interviewer being like a new client you're exploring. You want to be able to line up your skills and your strengths and articulate how these link to what the client is looking for. So what you want to do is actually share what you could do for them. What would you change, or what recommendations might you make for how they could actually improve their processes or how they run their business? When you actually embrace your expert self, articulate what you can do for the company, and

9. 4:34 – 5:04

   Step 3: ‘Pre-suasion’—shape the interviewer’s focus before questions begin

   1. SZDr. Shadé Zahrai4:34

      speak with absolute confidence, you'll position yourself as the best-suited person for the role or the opportunity, and your confidence and your credibility will shine through. Number three: Use the Power of Pre-suasion. In his book Pre-suasion, Dr. Robert Cialdini shares more about this concept and how to use it for your benefit when trying to influence someone. And it's actually a brilliant tip when it comes to interviews. What we've been conditioned to think we should say in an interview as soon as it

10. 5:04 – 6:04

    A bold opening question: ‘Why did you invite me?’ (and why it works)

    1. SZDr. Shadé Zahrai5:04

       starts is, "Thank you so much for inviting me and for the opportunity to be here. I'm really looking forward to answering your questions." But here's what Robert Cialdini would recommend from the standpoint of a persuasive orientation. He would recommend to say that if it feels natural and if you're feeling very confident, to add, "Before we begin, I wonder if you can answer a question. Why did you invite me to the interview today? What was it about my application that stood out and is attractive to you and the company?" Now, I know it might seem very non-conventional, and it is, but it's very powerful because what you're actually doing here is something called pre-suasion to prompt the interviewer to focus their thinking on all the features of your resume and your application that's most attractive to them. So you've shifted their thinking to focus on your positive aspects and what makes you the ideal candidate even before the interview has really started. And

11. 6:04 – 6:35

    Bonus: Stop making it about you—make it about what they need (and ask smart questions)

    1. SZDr. Shadé Zahrai6:04

       I have a bonus tip for you, too. A really common mistake a lot of people make during interviews is that they focus so much on themselves. But the reality is an interview is not really about you. It's about what the company you're interviewing for wants in you. So your focus should be on what the company is looking for and how you meet that. It's also really good practice to have some questions up your sleeve and actually ask the interviewer and the hiring manager and then allow the conversation to evolve based on

12. 6:35 – 7:55

    Interview them back: assess culture, challenges, and fit + closing encouragement

    1. SZDr. Shadé Zahrai6:35

       what they say. This will make it seem far more organic. And finally, make sure you view it as an opportunity to actually interview them about whether it's a place you really want to work at. You can ask them about the company culture, what they enjoy most about their job, their challenges, and anything else that might be important to you. Remember, you're scoping them out just as much as they're scoping you out. You want to make sure it's the right fit for you where you'll actually be happy, because if you're successful, you'll be spending a lot of time there. Performing well in interviews is an art, but it starts with changing your mindset. I've had so many clients get results just from changing their mindset and applying the three steps above to their interview approach. In the comments, let me know what you thought of this video. If you enjoyed this video, please give it a like and subscribe to the channel, and make sure you hit the little bell icon so that you're notified when I next share a video. It really helps support the channel, and it means a lot to me. I'm Shadé Zarri, and I hope you smash that next interview. Then influences. Why is my words not good?

Episode duration: 7:58