General interview advice

Your words have power.

As corny as that statement might sound to you, I've found in life that statement is true.

I remember a few years ago, I needed to get my driver's license renewed and saw over 100 people waiting in front of me in the ticketing system line.

The first thought in my head was: This is going to take all day.

But what I said out loud to myself was: This line is going to move quickly, and they will call my ticket number in less than 20 minutes. In fact, people ahead of me in line are going to comment that this is the fastest they've ever seen the line move.

Guess what happened.

Yes—you are correct.

The line moved quickly, and my ticket number was called in about 15 minutes. A few people ahead of me in line also commented how they had never seen the line move that quickly.

Am I claiming some superhero power, or am I planning to dive into a deep metaphysical discussion here?

Not at all—and I would much rather have the ability to freeze someone with ice as a superpower, anyways.

However, this is an example of the power of your words. You can search online and across social media platforms to see thousands of other examples of this.

There are also numerous books on the subject. A great one I've read is What to Say When You Talk to Yourself by Shad Helmstetter.

It's important to speak the right way before any job interview. Instead of saying things such as I'm dumb or They will hate me, say things such as This is going to be a great interview. Everyone is going to be friendly to me and the questions they ask will be easy. In fact, it will feel more like a conversation with old friends than a job interview.

Now, does this guarantee you will ace the interview and get the job? No—of course not. And sometimes, you don't get certain jobs because something much better for you is right around the corner. I have even experienced this in the past.