Can the Power of Self-Talk Get You the Job You Want?

College graduation is fast approaching and soon you will be heading out into the real world to seek your fortune from the sea of possibilities that lies before you. And although you might have already taken the time to investigate the job market and received indications of interest from a company or two, the real work is ahead of you in face-to-face interviews.

The face-to-face interview is your opportunity to explain why you want to work for the company and how they will benefit by picking you for the position. It’s your chance to take the stage and give your Tony winning performance, selling yourself like never before. Giving the performance of your life, however, doesn’t just happen. It requires mental preparation.

The way you talk to yourself and others about your feelings, abilities and job interests has more to do with getting the job than anything you could put on a resume. As someone who has interviewed numerous people for sales positions, I can tell you that the confidence, energy and presence you display in the first ten seconds of an interview can make or break your chances for getting the job you really want. Preparing yourself for these first ten seconds is all about self-talk. Self-talk that supports every aspect of you and your abilities, is the key to giving your most confident first impression.

Self-talk is defined as what you think and say about yourself, both in your head and out loud to other people. It’s the voice in your head when you think “I am going to go for this job.” It also reveals itself as the comments you make among friends when you confidently state “I am very confident about my interview.”

The kind of self-talk you use leading up to the interview can either build or destroy your confidence, belief, energy and posture, all of which are deciding factors when choosing you over another qualified person. If you are unsure about whether you can handle or even want a particular position, the self-talk you use will reveal it.

Monitoring the nature of your self-talk during the job hunting and interview process is extremely important. You must be alert to whether it is positive and hopeful or negative and self-defeating. Without an awareness of what you are thinking and saying about yourself, you could be sabotaging your efforts without knowing it. What you want is self-talk that mirrors your wants and desires, as opposed to being a contradiction to them.

Self-talk is something you have been using every day of your life. Once you become aware of its powerful influence, you can turn it into a self-actualizing tool for achievement. You can design self-talk that helps you wrap your mind around your goals and create the kind of intense focus that drives you right through to them. Instead of saying “whether I get the job”, you say “when I get the job.” Instead of saying “I hope I don’t make a mistake in my interview”, you say “I am going to have a great interview.” Using self-talk that reflects what you want to happen, instead of what you don’t is just one of the positive ways to restructure your self-talk. Another is by being more purposeful with statements by beginning them with the words “I am”, “I can”, and “I will.”

This kind of self-talk is optimistic, hopeful and confident. It can help you overcome the adversity of rejection and open doors to opportunities you might never have considered. For example, the person interviewing you might not think you are right for their position, but might feel compelled to recommend you to someone else in the company for a position they have because of how you impressed them.

The thing you have to remember is that what you think and say really does influence what you experience. Keep this in mind as you design your career path. Also, take a tip from my Mother, who has interviewed hundreds of applicants for State government positions over her 28 year career. She says that more is conveyed about you through your initial handshake than in any other part of the interview. Use your opening handshake to communicate all of the positive things you have been using self-talk to support.

Self-talk influences your direction, emotions, feelings, attitude, success, and progress in life. What you think and say about yourself has a tremendous impact on your self-image, which makes “self-talk” your most important tool for getting the job you seek and achieving the goals, intentions, aspirations and dreams you choose for yourself. nn