Work, success, and meaning at every stage of your career
Your energy level is part of your personal brand, along with your appearance and confidence. If you could find a fix that improved your posture, amped up your energy level, made your confidence skyrocket and took years off your appearance, would you buy it? Maybe? What if it were free? Heck yes – sign me up.
News flash, boomers: it’s time to get your swagger back.
We watch our male colleagues take risks, while we hold back until we’re sure we are perfectly ready and perfectly qualified. We fixate on our performance at home, at school, at work, at yoga class, even on vacation.
Stewart says that the first step in preparing for an interview is to conduct a thorough inventory of your skills and accomplishments. A sort of personal SWOT analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses in a competitive market can help you prepare to answer tough questions in the interview. These are internal qualities, whereas Opportunities and Threats are environmental qualities. What outside factors might influence the market for your skills? Is your programming language of choice being phased out? Are you an early adopter of some technique or technology? Being aware of industry trends helps you position yourself within a larger context.
Being rejected is not fun. If you’re in an extended job search, every call you don’t get feels like a fresh rejection, and that can wear down your confidence fast. That’s a problem, because your confidence and energy level are two of the first things your network – and recruiters – notice about you. Here are some tips on how to boost your confidence.
The Theory of Social Proof states that people assume the actions of others reflect correct behavior for a given situation. When in doubt, look around you and do what the people at the next table are doing. Most of us do it, and it works most of the time. You probably won’t make a monkey of yourself in any given situation. But you’re not locked into it. What would happen if you became the social leader?
Jessie Shternshus has been studying and practicing improv since she was 11 years old; she’s a professional actor and performs regularly at the Comedy Zone. But she insists that you don’t have to be a professional actor or comedian to use the skill; you already use it every day in conversation.
Your Work, Your Way 