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How Being Paranoid Can Make You 100% Confident

Would you like to be able to walk into any interview or important meeting and be 100% confident? If you answered “YES” to that question, this article is written for you…

As a senior in college, I interviewed for a job opening with a Fortune 100 company. At the time, they were the only employer who had actually asked to interview me.

Naturally, I was insecure about this and very worried they might ask who else had expressed interest in me. However, rather than address this fear before the interview, I simply hoped the question would not come up.

Guess what one of the first questions they asked me was!

I tried to create an answer on the spot. When they probed a little further, I got very flustered and ended up sounding like I was trying to lie. After blowing that question, my confidence evaporated. The rest of the interview just went downhill.

Let’s be honest. Everyone has insecurities. You do. I do. Even celebrities do. Why ignore them or pretend they don’t exist?

Before any job interview or important meeting, ask yourself, “What do I hope I’m not asked in this meeting?”

Then, prepare your answer to that question and practice it out loud until you are comfortable with your reply.

When you are ready to answer that question(s), what is there to be nervous about? You’ll be able to show up with 100% confidence.

I do this all the time…before a big speech, before an important business meeting, even before a big date!

Paranoid? Maybe. Effective? Absolutely.

Try it out, and comment below to let me know how it goes.

Author:

Pete Leibman is the Founder of Dream Job Academy and the Author of the new book titled “I Got My Dream Job and So Can You” (AMACOM, 2012).  His career advice has been featured on Fox, CBS, and CNN, and he is a popular Keynote Speaker at career events for college students and at conferences for people who work with college students.

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  • Dan Schawbel

    Dan Schawbel, the Managing Partner of Millennial Branding LLC, is a world renowned personal branding expert. He is the international bestselling author of Me 2.0, and the publisher of the Personal Branding Blog.

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