How Do You Sell Yourself In A Job Interview Without Betraying Your Personality?

Why sell yourself?

The obvious answer is: to get a job! Everyone knows that selling yourself is a technique for getting the job you’ve applied for. It’s a bit like answering the question “Why you and not someone else?”

You need to be able to show your qualities, your strengths, your experience... This enables the company to assess whether you’re the right person for the job. A bit like going on a date, you want to get to know someone to see if they match your “criteria”. It’s the same with work! It’s a professional match, but a match nonetheless!

👋 You may be interested in this article: Why I hate working

What’s the best way to sell yourself during a job interview?

Well, the “why” is all well and good, but more importantly, how do you go about it 😬? Obviously, every job interview is different, there’s no pattern to learn (quite the opposite!). But there are a few little tips to bear in mind if you want to sell yourself well at an interview without betraying yourself:

Be well-prepared without regurgitating a speech

Recruiters can perceive a speech learned by heart immediately 😅. You need to be natural, without just going along for the ride, either. So how do you strike the right balance? You need to find out as much as you can about the company so that you can get to know it well and find the “matching points” with your personality.

👉 For example, if you apply to an NGO that preserves the seabed, it’s undoubtedly because you’re sensitive to the environment. You can therefore highlight this value that shapes your personality to the recruiter, who will certainly appreciate it 💯!

Value yourself correctly

Oh, oh, oh... Many people struggle to value themselves at their true worth, without overselling or underselling themselves. I tend to fall into the second category, as I have a slight lack of self-confidence 🤐 (and maybe a fear of succeeding?). Not to mention that I’m always afraid of coming across as someone with an overinflated ego. However, it’s crucial to become aware of your value and what you can bring to a company. To do that, you need to take into account all the experiences you’ve had, even if they’re not in a professional context. You can highlight them by talking about the “soft skills” they’ve brought you.

👉 For example: “I used to volunteer at an animal shelter, which helped me develop a great deal of empathy towards all forms of living being, so preserving the oceans is also important to me for the wildlife that lives there.”

Project yourself concretely in the company

In a job interview, you need to forget about “me, I” 😖. Admittedly, it can feel strange, especially when you need to sell yourself, but in fact, there’s a time for everything. You can have time dedicated to your presentation, without putting yourself center stage. It’s a delicate exercise: you need to talk about yourself, while including the company. Using the word “we” is an excellent way of showing how much you see yourself actually involved in the company, and that generally makes all the difference! It also shows that you’re committed and that you’re more likely to be able to work in a team.

But is that pretending to be someone else? In fact, it’s also important to realize that you need to have a “public” personality to find the right balance.

Think about your “considered personality”

A final point that’s essential if the interview is to go well is that you have the right to be yourself, without getting too comfortable. Let me explain: You can’t have the personality you have when you’re with your nearest and dearest in private. So you need to be careful not to go too far with your emotions and your personal lives. You therefore need to adopt a slightly smoother personality, without betraying your deepest values.

⚖️ The values barometer is the best way to find a balance to be yourself in the workplace. It’s what I call the considered personality: you’re you, but you’re also aware that you need to behave professionally.

👉 So now you know how best to sell yourself at a job interview without betraying your personality. We know that the exercise is stressful, but tell yourself that this is the time to show what you’ve learned and what your qualities are! Come on, 3, 2, 1, breathe, and go for it 🏃‍♀️!

Be sure to check out these articles too;

• What career should you choose if you lack confidence?
• 6 Signs you work in a toxic environment
• How to get a meaningful job