Amongst other things on the list, nothing like the feelings surrounding an impending job search to have one questioning their confidence in their marketable abilities.
The tremors in the fault lines of one’s confidence can be attributed to feelings of self worth. Specifically how you’ll be judged by the hiring manager.
When I’ve felt those tremors, it’s often because I’ve momentarily abandoned myself. Momentarily relinquished perceptions of me to inhabit the skin of this, often faceless, other. An “other” who I imagine is more so against me than for me. Which is an odd way to view someone who, by the very fact of taking applications and resumes and, eventually, meetings, does want to fill the position.
Sooner or later, hopefully arriving quickly to the former, I return to myself. I breathe and breathe until the stomach butterflies settle. And then, and only then, I look at the things in my control: a resume, a cover letter, an interview outfit, getting help with any of the first three from someone I trust— someone I know or someone who specializes, at the very least, in the first two, — prayer or a kick ass affirmation or the employment of both. Take control of what you can control and allow all that isn’t in your control to be. After all, since you can’t control it, any attempts is expending energy that can be better spent elsewhere.
This is also a time to mentally swim in some positives. You can think of what you’re grateful for in your life. It doesn’t matter how many things and the only requirement is that it’s something you’re grateful for (ie the fact that pancakes exists in the world, or a particular song that moves you, or your amazing, intelligent, big hearted, beautiful niece, etc). Or you can think about what you’ve grown through in life. This might include what you consider to be tangible accomplishments (ie, you graduated high school) or those that are even more personally nourishing (that time you spoke up because it felt like the thing you needed to do). The point is to comeback to yourself and give voice or give thought to and actively witness some of the experiences that have positively contributed to how you’ve moved through your life thus far.