Struggle to sell yourself in interview? The reasons will surprise you!

Our survey results are in.

And the findings are super interesting.

If you’re beating yourself up because you’re finding it tough to sell yourself in interview I hope it helps you to know you’re not alone.

The number one challenge people have in looking for a new job is selling themselves in interview.

1 in every 2 people I surveyed, said this.

If that’s you I am so sorry to hear that you’re finding it so tough.

I hope you’ll find what I am about to say helpful.

It would be easy to assume that it might be all about what you could be doing better, that you could be more polished, that you could be more prepared, that you could understand what the recruiter is really looking for and interview answers would flow easily off your tongue.

Don’t get me wrong, all of these things are important.

But, I think the fact that half the people I surveyed, find selling themselves a problem that actually points to something else that’s going on as well.

Here’s what I think is happening behind the scenes when you find yourself struggling to sell yourself in interview.

When you look for a job, you are alone.

You rarely get good advice.

If you do get a response to an application from a recruiter, it will be something along the lines of “there were more suitable applicants.”

(That, by the way, would be the least helpful feedback there is)

Partners, friends and family can judge you. They’ll tell you or imply you’re doing something wrong and that really you should just “toughen up” and “get more confident.”

Or they’ll say things like there’s a great company called Google why don’t you try there?

(Insert eye rolling reaction here)

My take from what you’ve all told me, is the traditional way of looking for a job by responding to an advertisement also makes it VERY tough to feel confident.

Responding to an advertisement is what I call the HIT, HOPE and PRAY method.

You HIT the send button, HOPE someone reads it, and PRAY they’ll get back to you.

Big data research of over 1 million applications says that less than 1 in every 100 applications that go through a job board and career site are actually successful.

So the HIT, HOPE and PRAY method means you need to apply for many jobs, getting lots of knock backs.

From there comes the CONFIDENCE CRUSHER effect also showing up in how you’re all feeling, judging by your answers to my survey.

These were the next top 4 challenges people experience when looking for a job.

• 35% of people said they did not know what they were doing wrong (when job seeking)
• 31% of people said they were not sure what to do next in their career
• 28% of people said that recruiters rarely called them back
• 27% of people said they felt demotivated and want to give up their job search

So the job search CONFIDENCE CRUSHER effect goes like this.

You apply + You don’t hear back + No feedback = You don’t know what you’re doing wrong.

You apply + You don’t hear back + No feedback = You don’t know what to apply for.

You apply + You don’t hear back + No feedback = You feel demotivated and want to give up.

You apply + You don’t hear back + No feedback = Is the world conspiring against you?

You apply + You don’t hear back + No feedback = You start to wonder if you’re on a blacklist.

You stop searching for a while.

This means there are a lot of talented people feeling thwarted in their attempts to get a new job.

One of my friends described the process of looking for a new job as swimming around in the dark.

So, is there a better way to step confidently forward, avoiding the confidence crushing HIT, HOPE and PRAY method?

Is there a way of looking for a job that gives you great feedback along the way PLUS an injection of super confidence about what you can do and what you’re worth?

Is there a way that avoids having to go through recruiters?

The answer is yes and I have developed it – with a massive promise to people who participate.

It’s called the Straight to Shortlist Challenge.

Learn how to avoid recruiters and go direct to employers you want to work for.

Join us in our mission to help you get 5 meetings in 5 weeks with 5 employers.

Check out all the details here by clicking on the image.