If you are re-entering the workforce, wanting a promotion or
considering starting your own business, here’s three things you can do to
present yourself as more confident.
1.
Take a look at your CV or LinkedIn profile. Does it contain all your major
accomplishments? If not, go and update them now! If so, read them as if they are about a guy
named “Joe Smith.” What do you think
about this guy? Pretty impressive, don’t
you think?” Well, this is you! You’re impressive. You’ve done all that and
are clearly a winner. Pat yourself on
the back.
2.
What’s that little voice in your head telling
you? Let me guess. “You’re a fake!” “You don’t belong here!” “You don’t deserve that promotion!” These statements feel like “The Truth,” but
they don’t have to be your truth.
You can decide what your truth is.
When you notice your little voice saying those things to you, you can do
several things. Try personifying it. Mine is a little green
guy that wrings his hands. Yours might
be a red blob with horns. The funnier
you make it, the easier it is to dismiss the statements as untrue. Another thing you can do is write down all
the statements that you regularly notice on one side of the page, and then
write the opposite statements on the other side. Then practice reading the new statements
every morning or several times a day.
“You are the real deal!” “You
belong here just like everyone else.”
“You totally deserve that promotion!”
These can be your new “Truth.”
3.
“Fake it till you make it!” Really.
Make no mistake that there’s a lot of women and men that you meet that
appear to be really confident, but are intentionally pretending to be
confident. When you’re shaving or putting on your
makeup in the morning, look in the mirror.
Stand with your shoulders back and head high and say, “You’re a smart, savvy
business professional." What do you see? A smart, savvy business professional – right? When you attend the next networking
meeting, act as if you are an intelligent, successful person, and guess
what? That’s the way people will see
you, and that’s what you are!
Try doing these 3 things before your next networking event
or job interview. It’s important to
relfect afterwards.
Did you appear confident? Did you
speak highly of yourself? Did you manage
your inner voice? If not, go easy on
yourself, and plan to do better next time.
