Be Confident Not Cocky: How to Stand Tall & Get the Job
One of the most frequent reasons you may get ruled out of consideration for a job has nothing to do with your skills or experience. It also has nothing to do with how qualified you are for the position. It’s about how you market yourself.
If you adapt the standard language often used to teach new job seekers how to write a cover letter, there’s a good chance you’ll be eliminated:
My experience with _________ makes me the perfect candidate for the job.
As you’ll see from my resume, my skills and past work experience exceed your qualifications and make me an ideal candidate for a position.
If you’ve been writing cover letters all your life, this may feel like a natural statement for you. After all, so many templates contain these phrases. But let’s look at it from the perspective of the hiring manager or prospective employer. How can you say you are my perfect match if you don’t know everyone that I’m looking at?
Imagine you are on a first date at a quiet restaurant. After you order your dessert, your date looks across the table and into your eyes and says, “let’s skip the preliminaries here. We have a lot in common. I think we should be exclusive. Let’s start seeing each other every day and start planning our lives together. Can you meet my family next weekend?” I don’t know about you, but I’d think I’d say something about making a quick trip to the restroom and seeing if there’s an exit door through the kitchen.
It’s important to be confident in how you present your skills — and to feel confident that you can do the job. But just as you give any prospective partner time and space to get to know you, give that same opportunity to an employer or recruiter. Here’s an alternate way to frame your skills.
Throughout the application and interview process, demonstrate how your skills and past experience line up with the job.
Based on the position description, I understand you seek X, Y, and Z. I offer you ______, _______, and _____. Here’s an example of my ability to contribute. While working in a similar role at __________, the company was faced with a challenge in ________. I saw the opportunity to ____________, and we ___________. As a result, the company _______________.
Give a concrete example. Provide enough space for the employer to see how you can contribute to their efforts — and that you can work on a team without coming across as threatening or cocky. Chances are good that this will work in your favor.
