Based on my last two interviews where I was a strong candidate but not strong enough to get the job, in my usual style, and especially coming up to the end of 2024, I wondered what can I do with the positive feedback I received, and how do I move forward into 2025, be the “Number One Candidate” and get my dream job.
Job hunting has become a real mission over the past few months, and also one of personal growth and development. I am grateful for every next step I‘ve taken in finding different creative ways to boost my confidence during interviews and improving my answers to interview questions, which has led me to applying for the roles I’ve had interviews for, not also forgetting all the amazing friends and family who have supported me in the process.
I am still to find the right role, one where we both equally align with each other – which seems to be the biggest challenge – not just me aligning with the goals of the organisation and the people that interviewed me. It’s a two-way process.
I’ve been told at different points in time by various people that when a job is meant for me, it’ll happen in its own time. I’m doing my best to keep the faith and to trust the process – which is another part of me I’ve been working on too. I know deep down that I’m somehow being guided to the right role though I can’t see it clearly now. Each step I’ve taken has pushed me to grow and to embrace my authentic self even more which has led me to this point.
Somewhere out there, I know there is a job that is meant for me, and that someone who will choose to employ me is someone who accepts me as I am with the skills and talents I have right now, someone who looks beyond my imperfections and sees the potential in me as someone they can mould to become the greatest version of myself in line with their business needs and desires, someone who can see beyond my struggles and weaknesses, someone who they can see growing and thriving in their organisation using what I have right now.
I love to grow as a person and learn new things. I’m very adaptable and flexible to change, I have a positive attitude to work and I’m very self-motivated. I work well on my own and also work great with colleagues in a team. I demonstrate a high level of empathy, compassion and diplomacy no matter what level of seniority in the organisation. I’m also a hard worker and get the job done which are all important qualities to have.
For one of my recent interviews for a charity, both for Administrator roles, I had questions sent to me in advance so I had a few days to prepare and reflect on giving the best answers and best real examples I could possibly give, and this was evident in the feedback letter I received which at the start said the following:
“Firstly, your application form scored very highly in our process. It was one of the highest scoring across all applications received due to how well it illustrated your ability and prior experience to meet the job specification. It was also incredibly well structured which made it very easy to pull out key bits of information. In your interview, we were very impressed by your level of experience and you had clearly done a huge amount of preparation. It is clear that you were a high level and incredibly capable candidate.”
What amazing feedback right! I was blown away because not everyone takes the time to give much feedback if any at all (once I was emailed a blank template rejection letter!), so I am grateful to hear these positive and encouraging words, which must mean that I am somehow moving in the right direction. I asked myself, how do I take this forward? It felt so good to hear this feedback; I felt proud of myself of everything I had achieved until that point. I really did give it my all. However, I still wasn’t quite there yet where I wanted to be, at that final destination.
There were also other things I had to work on that were mentioned in the feedback email which included improving my answers to questions on the spot in the interview which wasn’t a surprise to me as this is my real struggle – and a constant work-in-progress too. I’m not naturally a sales person, and although I might not tick every single box in an interview, I have lots of amazing transferable skills and extensive administration and copywriting experience which I have gained over the last 25 years. If there is something new I need to learn, so be it. I am always up for a new challenge and will work hard to get up to speed to where I need to be.
Nerves is a big one for me because when they take over, I can simply just go blank despite how many hours (and days) I have spent preparing for this moment to shine in the interview. I was like this during exams at school aswell so I know these feelings well. These moments don’t always reflect my truest self but I do my best as I always do.
Preparing my answers in advance and having notes in the interview is a big help to me in terms of calming down my nerves. All of me was written down on paper, all my reflections, all my strengths, my best examples, my thought processes, my best presentation skills are all written down, and written whilst feeling calm which always brings out my best self. That’s not to say I can’t juggle under pressure – I have had lots of experience with this – but I do find it hard to sell myself under pressure.
Unfortunately, in that particular interview for the charity I spoke about earlier, it wasn’t a sales presentation as I thought it would be. I prepared my best content but unfortunately, I ran out of time to shorten my notes in bullet point format and practice talking with confidence without notes, saying what I truly want to say from my core. Hindsight is always great.
After every interview, I re-evaluate things and think about how I can improve my answers and my technique for the next time. I am also doing my best to include practices on the day of the interview that help calm and release those nerves – normally including meditation and exercise in the morning plus a really good sing-song in the car on the way to the interview – and build that confidence for when I walk in that door!!!!
In my last interview, I did a short session of Qi Gong that morning too, which was also helpful, especially as I did the whole interview without notes and only consulted them when I was asked at the end if I had any questions for them. I stayed calm and composed during the whole interview and this time, it felt like more of a conversation than a sales presentation, but by the end, I had given it my all, and wanted to consult the notes I had made earlier at home to jog my memory and make sure I asked the right questions.
Although job hunting may seem like an impossible task, I will carry on as I always do. I’ve always been very determined and I have worked really hard to get this far – giving up or stopping is not an option for me. My only option now is to stay strong, keep up the self-care, never give up hope and rise above the obstacles, against the odds, above the competition.
“Our greatest glory is not in never failing but in rising every time we fall” (Ralph Waldo Emerson and Confucius)
Today is a new day. A new beginning.
A chance to start afresh. Another chance to get it right.
Aside from playing the flute, singing in two choirs and karaoke-style too, I’ve been on an enlightening sound healing journey over the past two years, and especially this past year. I am fascinated by the way in which sound can heal your body, how the frequencies of sound can be incredibly relaxing, energising and such a great release for the body and mind.