Boost Your Confidence with 5 Easy Changes for Your Job Search | FlexJobs

You may be confident in your skills and abilities, but when it comes to your job search, you want to appear confident without appearing arrogant. Likewise, if you’re applying to a job that’s a bit of a reach for you, you may not feel as confident in your application.

In either case, you might use certain words that help “soften” your language. The problem with these words, though, is that they can make it seem like you lack confidence in yourself and your abilities, and that could make the hiring manager less confident in your candidacy.

To help you feel more confident without bragging, here are five words to avoid during your job search.

5 Big, Easy Changes for More Job Search Confidence

1. Actually

Let’s say you’re reaching out to a potential contact on LinkedIn. In your email, you write, “Actually, we have a mutual friend in common, Sam Smith.” Well, actually, you don’t need to use “actually.”

“Actually” is a filler word people use all the time, and it’s so overused (and often misused) that it doesn’t make sense.

The dictionary definition of “actually” is “trying to find out what really happened; to suggest something unexpected.” Using the above example, you’re saying that it’s unexpected that you both know Sam, and you’re trying to get to the bottom of it!

Ditch “actually” and start your sentence with confidence by getting straight to the point: “We have a mutual friend in common, Sam Smith.”

2. Sorry

While “sorry” does have its place, it doesn’t belong in your job search.

For example, an employer reaches out to schedule an interview and asks if you’re available on Friday. You respond with, “I’m sorry, Friday doesn’t work for me, but I could do Monday morning.”

This seems like a perfectly reasonable answer, but what are you apologizing for? You haven’t wronged the interviewer. You just have a scheduling conflict.

Saying “I’m sorry” has become so common and so overused that it’s become meaningless and unnecessary. So, skip the “sorry” and rephrase your response without it. You won’t be, um, sorry that you did.

3. Hopefully

You write what you think is a brilliant cover letter. It tells a strong story, provides specific examples of how your experience makes you the ideal candidate for the position, and you spell-checked it three times! In your closing paragraph, you write, “Hopefully, you will respond to my job application.”

While it seems innocuous, “hopefully” can sound like you’re weak and maybe a little desperate. You can hold onto hope that a hiring manager will contact you for a job interview, but hopefully, you won’t let them know that directly.

4. Just

It’s been two weeks since your job interview, and you are eager to hear back from your prospective boss. So, you send an email as a follow-up, but you start the email like this:

Hi, Mr. Smith. I hope you are well. Just checking in with you regarding the job interview…

Using the word “just” can make you appear to lack job search confidence and as though you’re afraid of intruding on the other person’s time. Neither of these are attributes that a strong job candidate should exhibit! Just leave the word “just” out of your email, and say what you need to say:

Hi, Mr. Smith. I hope you are well. I’m following up with you regarding the job interview…

5. Kind Of

You’re in the middle of a job interview. It’s going well, and your boss-to-be is describing the duties and responsibilities of the role. They take a breath and ask, “Do you understand everything that would be required of you?” and you respond, “Kind of.”

Similar to “hopefully,” “kind of” (and “sort of”) are not powerful responses. They indicate that you’re confused, uninterested, or both. Some job seekers respond with “kind of” when they actually mean “no” but are too afraid to use the word.

Though “no” is another word you should generally avoid during your job search, like “sorry,” it does have its place. So, instead of saying “kind of,” respond with a “yes” or a “no” and ask for clarification if you need it.

Search With Confidence

No matter how you feel about your job search, ditching these five words can help you feel more confident in your application without coming across as arrogant. And that’s exactly what employers are looking for!