Gratitude can land you a job
If you’re on the job hunt and lucky enough to be landing interviews, this post is for you.
Yes, I absolutely suggest running through practice questions, thinking about what you want to say, and preparing for how to talk about thorny subjects like pay expectations or resumé gaps.
In addition to that, I have a very simple tip that can transform a job interview (or a date, or a podcast appearance, or any conversation, really).
Gratitude is a surprisingly easy thing to shift into. And it can transform the way you speak.
Each day, think of 3 things you’re grateful for. You can do this with a friend over text, say it to a partner in bed, or take a break during the day to speak your gratitude internally. But do it every day, especially when you have important conversations on the horizon.
I have had two clients recently try this and both said it made an enormous difference.
I noticed that both of them tended to skew negative while speaking. An interviewer would ask about about their experience or knowledge base, and they spoke about the limitations in these areas before actually answering the questions. “I don’t know much about this subject, but…” They spoke an entire initial clause that they could have deleted entirely. And these are two people who really do have a deep level of experience and knowledge.
Both found that making gratitude lists helped them skew positive.
One said engaging with gratitude made him have more fun in the interviews, because they had a running start of what was good about the situation.
The other client told me that every day he kept listing the community in his PhD program on his gratitude list. The very next job interview, when asked a question about leadership, instead of saying what the old version of him might have said: “I haven’t had a lot of experience leading a team directly, but…” instead he was able to sincerely say that part of his hope as a future leader in tech would be to facilitate that kind of community, even outside of a university setting. He tapped into something he truly cared about and then could authentically share that, even in the high stakes situation.
Win win win.
Video on this subject here.
Reminder that you can always book a free 20 minute coaching session with me here.
xox
Practice Being Perfectly Imperfect
A back-and-forth about being real.
Yesterday on LinkedIn I described the discomfort I felt listening to people give memorized talks. That I want people to sound like they're talking to us-- like they're talking to their friends. Less polish, more you.
A stranger asked: "How do you guide individuals to confidently 'brunch-ify' their delivery while maintaining the core message and impact?"
Great question, stranger!
My reply:
Looove this question. I focus on making people feel both calm and confident, like you do naturally w your friends.
Calm: breathwork, meditation, mantras, silly pre performance exercises to remind you it’s not that big a deal, singing, humming— get your nervous system relaxed (so many techniques so we practice a bunch and see what feels best)
Confident: practice speaking on the fly with random subjects like bananas, practice telling me about what you do and who you are, in various ways, practice speaking dynamically like you do when you’re enthusiastic and passionate, practice the actual thing you’ll be speaking about in a pitch, presentation, panel, toast, roast, story— so you know what you want to say, but you’re saying it differently every time— you’re saying it the way it needs to be said in that very moment with that particular audience.
Keep the core message, but say it in a real way. Trust yourself. It works! And once people have practiced being themselves and sharing themselves, they feel more confident in all aspects of their lives. And have more fun. And people like hearing them speak. It’s charisma school :).
Thank you for asking!
P.S. Pic of me as a kid doing embroidery for the first time. Imperfectly perfect.
Have Fun on TV
Cuties! I’m fun on TV. I’m fun on a podcast. A random person on Reddit called me “poised” after hearing me on the radio. I communicate well and I also feel loose. It’s possible for everyone!
Media appearances matter. And there is a lot of prep you can do to make you feel free on the day.
Check me out here on The Morning Show Australia. I hadn’t slept at all the night before (not my fault, wah). And yet, because of my background in improv, I stayed present and played the games the co-hosts were playing.
I answered the questions without resorting to anything scripted or memorized. I said what I felt like saying in that moment to those specific people.
I’m not saying this to show off! I’m saying: You too can rock a TV show, radio program, internet interview, podcast, or whatever other media outlet you may find yourself a guest on.
Hire me as your media trainer!
We can use practice questions, play with the dynamism of your voice, expand your physicality, and get you thinking-on-the-spot. I promise you can be great and have fun.
I also promise (like I always do) that using your instinct in the moment will always yield much more compelling results than an over-thought, overly crafted statement. Be here now applies to TV appearances too :).
Huge love! Have fun!
xoxo
Miriam