Confidence

[spicy_pickles]

In my mind, I visualize myself as a confident individual in tons of different situations. 

I have a very important career step coming up, and naturally I'm scared and nervous for this interview. It's a make it or break it situation. If I fail, I would have basically wasted tens of thousands of dollars on my degree. 

I just need the confidence to show these individuals I know my stuff. 

Besides preparing technically, what else can I do?

[philosogi]

@spicy_pickles Don't think about failure as an absolute, final, or real thing. It might be difficult to see this one opportunity as the make-or-break one, but there will be others if you seek them. 

Think about the interview as if you're interviewing them to see if they will be suitable to lead you. It takes empathetic, skilled, organized, and knowledgeable leaders to get the best out of their employees. 

At the end of the day, you're pursuing your own growth. 

[Christian]

@spicy_pickles

I find that when I set high expectstions on myself, I become neurotic and underperform. In contrast, when I tell myself  I am just gonna do a half-ass job that makes me highly efficient because there is no pressure. I can focus on the task and not the result and pretending to be some idealized person.

If you apply this, it will probably help, but again, I am not a professional at helping others handling high pressure situations.

Good luck btw 

[Telepresent]

21 hours ago, spicy_pickles said:

 It's a make it or break it situation. If I fail, I would have basically wasted tens of thousands of dollars on my degree.

Hello Spicy Pickles!  I hope you're not too freaked out by this interview.

I basically want to point out that you're wrong.  You know you're wrong.  People may talk about their 'moment', but nobody actually has an out-of-nowhere-sudden-success thing happen.  There's certainly no exam where you're expected or asked to justify the cost of your degree.  So even if your family cares, and even if it's very important in your day-to-day life, let me promise you that we are thinking bigger-picture.  Play the long-game with us.

Nobody wins.  Nobody fails.  We just keep playing the game.  And when we feel defeated, we pic ourselves up, and somehow find reserves we didn't know were there, and put them on the table

But back to @spicy_pickles: what situations to you want to appear confident in, and where do you feel least confident?

[Bob84]

@spicy_pickles You can not predict the future, so stop trying to do that.
You can also think about it this way: You are worried about not getting something that you dont have. Does that make send?
 

[spicy_pickles]

Thank you. This all makes sense. 

Throughout school, I was never confident because there were always the students who were smarter and knew their material better. I wasn't like this in grade school or high school, just university (because I went back later in life). 

I tried a Master's degree and was completely ridiculed by my advisors because I didn't have a clue what I was doing.  

In my previous jobs, I was never confident because quite frankly, I had zero interest in what I was doing. So when it came to discussing things with superiors, not only was it difficult because some were unapproachable, I didn't really feel passionate about it. 

NOW, I am employed in a career I absolutely love and am completely passionate about. I start next week. I'm so excited. I can't wait to utilize my skills. I feel confident. 

What I need to realize is that in my interview, I need to focus on explaining my work, the work I am confident in doing. I was worried they will throw me a curve ball, which is fine. I need the confidence to tell them that is not within my expertise and keep focusing on what is.  All I see though is those professors I had or supervisors I had that exposed the fact I didn't know anything

 

[dude]

One quick-fix that you could try before going into the interview is:

Visualize that the burden of all your responsibility gets lifted of your shoulders.

Visualize that the universe, god or anything you believe in gets that responsibility.

This should get rid of some nervousness.

And read the book: Charisma On Command

PS: this is a quick fix no long term solution