“I’m just not very good at selling myself”.
This is the comment I hear most when preparing lawyers to put their best foot forward at interview.
But I’ve always found the concept of a ‘selling yourself’ at interview to be a bit of a misnomer.
If ‘selling yourself’ means talking about how fantastic you are, then it’s a great thing if you’re not good at it, because that’s not a skill – it’s arrogance.
When you think about what you and your interviewer are trying to achieve from an interview, you’ll realise that most employers want to hire someone who is a balance of humble, confident and enthusiastic, and easy to get along with. You can’t prove yourself to be any of those things with a generic sales pitch.
Your interviewer is also looking for you to demonstrate that you’re a great candidate for this particular job. Rather than trying to convince them that you’re the best lawyer in the world, focus on demonstrating a thorough understand of the position and the company, and explaining how they are aligned with your specific skills and experience. No sales pitch required.
Next time you think you’re not good at selling yourself, put yourself in the shoes of your interviewer and think, “what would I want to buy?”.