Humble or boastful: Strike a balance in job interviews

Tell me one thing that you love about yourself.

Does this question make you feel anxious? Many of us have a hard time publicly sharing our good qualities. And that’s exactly what a job interview requires.

During an interview, we are asked to tell stories about ourselves where we triumph against adversity and bring about brilliant results for our workplaces. If we are talking about failure, it’s always through the lens of learning, and developing into a better, more rounded professional.

So how do you show off your skills without appearing boastful or worse, with a bad case of the Dunning Kruger effect?

I asked career coaches on LinkedIn, and their answers give you a framework for appearing confident while staying grounded.

Give hirers the evidence they need

Gillian Kelly: "People feel so uncomfortable about the thought of boasting but no one wins the job if their skills are the world's best-kept secret. I try to remind people that the interview process is about evidence gathering for the hirer. They don't want someone sitting on important facts that can help them make the hiring decision. The truth is it's not boasting it's evidencing and the hirers will thank you."

Sue Ellson: "Interviews are designed to see if you are a good fit for the role and in behavioural interviews, they are trying to find out if you have done something similar before — past behaviour is a predictor of future performance. Having some of these examples prepared beforehand can help (try adding in some as 'Projects' on your LinkedIn profile."

Leonie Lam: "I have been on government panels for more than six years. From the panel's perspective, you may have met all the requirements for the position on paper, however on the day of interview, it is important that you share your success stories with humbleness and confidence. You have the one chance to impress the panel members and you need to communicate with influence and be remembered."

Honesty is better than being boastful or humble

Sarah Felice: "Leonard Cohen said, 'Act the way you want to be and soon you'll be the way you act'. It does not mean ‘fake it’. It means have the best and most positive mindset and put your best foot forward."

Eric Chua: "Humble bragging may seem like a sensible middle-ground strategy, and is sometimes used by candidates to answer the, “What is your greatest weakness?” question, but it can also put interviewers off, so job candidates may want to think twice."

"To me, the key is to always be truthful and authentic because deceit, if exposed, would rule the jobseeker out."

?

Us a toolkit of phrases and systems

Russell Ayles: "I think the most important thing is to be authentic and show a high level of self-awareness. Use the CARL method when answering a situational based question:

Context of the situation,

Action you took,

Result of your action....but then the

Learning.

"What did you learn? How would you approach that situation differently next time, no matter how successful you were in it in your example? As a recruiter, I loved hearing this rather than someone just telling me how great they were and how they'd never made a mistake, ever... yeah right!"

Bogdan Zlatkov: "I think 'boasting' is the wrong way to go about it when it comes to interviews. One subtle change I discovered to make my boasting slide under the radar is replacing the word "I" with "we."

"Not only does this allow you to share your accomplishments without sounding arrogant, but it has the added benefit of showing you work well as part of a team."

Sophia Poulos: "Practise your interview techniques with a trusted advisor so that you are mentally prepared for the interview. The rehearsal will help you to find the right balance between under and over selling yourself."

So there you have it. It's not an easy task to toe the line between humble and boastful, but as long as you're honest, and giving hirers the information they need to make an informed decision, you're on the right track.

What do you think about being humble or boastful in a job interview? Share your thoughts int he comments below.

I’m excited to share that Jobs Bootcamp will be on again next January 17-21 and we’re keen to give job seekers what they want. So. What topics do you want a free masterclass on? And which Aussies do you want to hear from when it comes to careers?

For those who are new here, we launched?#JobsBootcamp?in January 2021 with five live shows in five days covering everything from pivoting industries, turning a job into a career and more, with amazing guests like?Janine Allis,?Michael Klim OAM?and?Mark Bouris AM.

For me, the highlight was undoubtedly watching the live comments, as members shared their stories, offered support and helped each other out.

I can’t wait to do it all again, and want to make sure next year's shows are relevant and useful to you. Click on the below image and tell me what you want a free masterclass on.

Is the Great Resignation coming to Australia? Three in five Australian professionals are?open to new roles next year, according to a new survey, with workplace flexibility the key driver when job seeking. Take a look.

Feel anxious in job interviews? You're not alone. Experts say it's possible to make anxiety your friend. Take a look.