It’s overwhelmingly a candidates’ job market right now, especially if you work in the Veterinary profession. There are far more job openings and opportunities than there are qualified candidates to fill those openings.
As a result, if you’re interested and serious about taking advantage of these opportunities and growing your career, you may find yourself interviewing with multiple organizations. The interview process can be stressful, no matter who you are, and because of this stress, you might be more susceptible to making mistakes. Success during an Animal Health or Veterinary interview is about your mental frame of mind just as much as it’s about your skills, talent, and experience.
When you interview with an organization, you’re branding yourself to its employees and company officials, and of course, you want to brand yourself in the best way possible. Sure, your skills, experience, and other information listed on your resume (and LinkedIn profile) also serve to brand you, but it’s during the interview process that organizations ultimately make their hiring decisions.
Being confident and staying positive
With this in mind, two of the most important factors in nailing your Animal Health or Veterinary job interview is being confident and staying positive. And there is a reason that I presented these factors in this order. That’s because in order to stay positive, you need the confidence to do so. These factors “feed off” one another and collectively contribute to a better frame of mind during an Animal Health or Veterinary job interview.
Over the years, I’ve sometimes drawn upon the wisdom of American author and self-help guru Napoleon Hill. It probably does not surprise you that he had plenty to say about the topics of confidence and positivity. It’s his take on the latter, though, that I’d like to include in this article. Here is what Napoleon Hill had to say about confidence:
“It is virtually impossible not to transmit your doubts and insecurities to others through body language, tone of voice, inflection, word choice, and other subtle characteristics. When you show by your actions that you lack self-confidence, other people also begin to doubt your ability to perform. You can gain the respect and confidence of others. Begin by making a list of all the things you like about yourself and the things you would like to change. Make a conscious effort to build upon your positive strengths and correct your weaknesses. It may not be easy, but if you assess yourself objectively and persevere in your efforts, you will eventually prevail.”
The key word in the above quote is doubt. When you have doubt in yourself, then it is much easier for other people to doubt you, as well. However, when you are confident in yourself, then it is also easier for other people to have confidence in you. In other words, you are branding yourself with your level of confidence. If you have a lot of confidence, you’re telling other people, “It’s okay to believe in me and to trust in me.” On the other hand, if you don’t have a lot of confidence or you doubt yourself, you’re telling other people, “Don’t believe in me and don’t trust me. It’s okay to doubt me because I even doubt myself.” These are not the branding messages that you want to send, especially during an Animal Health or Veterinary job interview.
Navigating the Animal Health or Veterinary job interview
Unfortunately, a lack of confidence can derail your interview. That’s because doubt is the root cause of a lack of confidence. Specifically, it’s a person’s doubt about their skills, experience, and abilities in relation to the job for which they’re interviewing. This is another reason why continuous training and education is critical for career success. The more knowledge and training that you possess, the more confident you become.
Remember that the person conducting the interview is taking their cue from you, the job candidate and potential future employee. As a result, if:
- You strike a positive tone, then they are more likely to also do so.
- You speak and act with confidence, including about your abilities and your fit for the position, then they are more likely to also do so.
- You seem doubtful or unsure of your abilities and whether or not you’re a fit for the position, they are more likely to do so, as well.
Employers want to hire people who are bold and confident (although they do not want to hire people who are brash and cocky). That’s because they know confident people solve problems and get results, and that’s ultimately what employers want: people who can solve problems and get results.
Essentially, being confident and staying positive during your Animal Health or Veterinary job interview comes down to this:
If you don’t believe in yourself, then don’t ask anyone else to believe in you, too!
Help with your Animal Health or Veterinary job interview
The VET Recruiter has been helping Animal Health and Veterinary professionals find great new jobs and employment opportunities for 25 years. Part of that help involves nailing the Animal Health or Veterinary job interview. We have many resources on The VET Recruiter website about the interview process, including interview tips, do’s and don’ts regarding the interview, how to close the interview, write thank-you notes and letters (with examples), and the ins and outs of the behavioral-based interview.
This is a great time to be a veterinarian because there are many employment opportunities and job options available in the marketplace. But opportunities don’t mean much if you’re not willing to take advantage of them to better both your professional and your personal life.
If you’re looking to make a change or explore your employment options, then we want to talk with you. I encourage you to contact us or you can also create a profile and/or submit your resume for consideration.
We help support careers in one of two ways: 1. By helping Animal Health and Veterinary professionals to find the right opportunity when the time is right, and 2. By helping to recruit top talent for the critical needs of Animal Health and Veterinary organizations. If this is something that you would like to explore further, please send an email to stacy@thevetrecruiter.com.