For a baby boomer or post retirement, reentry to the job market is often daunting, just the thought of working together with the Millennials and the Gen X at times feels out of place. Most often it is the result of lack of confidence and the belief in self. Let’s see if through some of these points here you can overcome this jittery feeling? Do contribute your thoughts on what you think can be added to what is mentioned here..
To feel more confident in your job search approach and during the interview stage, you have to question yourself first – what is the main reason for this lack of confidence?
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Is it about being a lot older than the present working generation that bothers you or are you thinking that might bother them?
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What will happen if you just left your thoughts regarding age being an issue in your workforce re-entry? What are the positives you can focus on, in your resume, in your attitude and in projecting yourself as a diligent worker?
Your confidence gets a boost when you dwell on the positive aspect of your abilities and personality. What you project is what others see in you. If you feel you lack confidence you will have no confidence, once when you start seeing yourself in the light of such statements as:
“I know I am good at this.”
“In the past I have done a great volunteer work that made me so proud of myself.”
“I love doing this and am so eager to learn more.”
Note that your lack of confidence is very closely linked to the lack of knowledge. The more knowledge you have on your abilities, your skill set and even on your action plan the more confident you will be.
Some tips and solutions to gain confidence:
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Your confidence level can get an incredible lift just by developing a positive attitude and with positively preparing and practicing any personal aspect that you are currently jittery at.
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Prepare a list on what you think would make you feel more confident. Prioritize on achievable goals. Make your goals SMART and must be time bound.
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Start acting on the top items on your list now. Knowing is not enough, you must act.
I have never been in an interview before, I am sure I will ruin my chances for this job if I don’t do well.
This is a statement that does rounds in the minds of reentrants or fresh graduates time and again. How about if we rephrase it to:
Being in an interview will help me showcase my abilities directly, it my chance to do the best. What all should I do now to be a star performer at the interview?
When you question your positively you will have the drive to search for the answers. A negative statement drives you down and does not provide the upward momentum that is required to move you towards your goal.
Yet again the emphasis is on identifying the reasons for your not feeling confident in a particular situation:
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Does your appearance make you feel uncomfortable or less confident?
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Is it your communications skills that you are less confident about?
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Do you lack the skills required for the offered positions?
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Would having a great resume boost your confidence level?
Once you identify the reason, the solution becomes easy because now you have named the cause for your insecurities – the solution can be found easily now. Knowing the reason empowers you towards finding the right solution. Question yourself well on your insecurities and then do your best to find the best possible answer. But as always – Knowing empowers you and acting well on that knowledge leads you to success.
Being self-confident is one of the keys to a getting that job, during the interview and even much before that your confidence says a lot about how you would perform in the workplace. Spend a lot of time in confidence building, then towards enhancing your skill-set and building an impressive resume that talks more about your abilities than the chronological work experience details.