Want to Ace Your Next Meaningful Job Interview- Do This 2 Minute Trick.

Harvard Prof Amy Cuddy shares one simple trick that can help increase your chances of acing your next interview – all you need is two minutes and possibly a bathroom. Before you stop reading, let me explain.

Amy Cuddy is a Harvard Business School Professor and social psychologist whose TED Talk, “Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are”, has reached over 8 million views on TED. She explains the power nonverbal cues have, not only on how others feel about you, BUT also how you feel about yourself. Her research shows that “our bodies change our minds, and our minds can change our behaviour, and our behaviour can change our outcomes”.

So what does this have to do with acing an interview? 

The interview is one of the few times where snap judgments and first impressions are key. Feelings of nervousness and a lack of confidence can show through without you even knowing it. Cuddy’s research, demonstrates how standing in a position of confidence or “power pose” as she says (picture Wonder Woman or Usain Bolt), for two minutes can affect your mood and even chance for success… even when you don’t feel confident. What’s remarkable is this is more than a trick, it’s science. So right before your next meaningful job interview, power pose in a private space, like the bathroom stall, for two minutes.

Her mantra is “don’t fake it till you make it, fake it till you become it.” The small nuance from the common “fake it till you make it” is a powerful one. It’s not about faking it. It’s about believing in yourself, despite the negative thoughts going on in your head. Because you can become what you believe.

TED talks are a great source of inspiration and Amy Cuddy’s is no exception. Even if you are still skeptical, you will walk away inspired.