Be Confident in Being Different
Nothing catches an employer’s eye more than someone who is different than the rest. Whether that be interests, hobbies, skills or even topic of conversation.
To have confidence, you have to sit down and have a thorough think of what makes you different from the herd. You could ask yourself what makes me more creative, more intellectual, more independent than the average person you’re sat next to, a colleague, a friend?
A few simple obvious examples would be:
Do you play an instrument?
Do you take part in charity events?
Experience in volunteering?
Travelled to many different places?
Being different gives the other person additional knowledge that other people might not have. If you can play an instrument you know all the things behind it including how to read music, how to create beats and you have the ability to pick up on things others might not be able to notice.
You are different. Therefore, more interesting.
Once you have found what you are good at, this is where your confidence comes into place. If you can talk to anybody confidently enough about a situation, you will stand out from the rest. If you believe you have no knowledge or differences and consider yourself as a plain Jane, then that is okay- there will be something, you are just yet to find it!
Being confident demonstrates you have the primary skills employers thrive for, such as being a leader, people person, keen learner and somebody that is ready for a challenge.
This is a BIG YES in an employer’s handbook because they want someone that is keen to learn, to suggest new ideas and to work hard.
Anyways,
Now it’s time for my journey on how I became the 20 year old extrovert I am today..
Throughout high school, I was the one who got people laughing I loved getting laughter out of people as a form of happiness and put everyone before myself and to this day I continue to do so.
Now, here is where I am different. I have been a quizmaster from the age of 18 which is very unusual for someone of my age. A quizmaster is usually a volunteer from a group of pub locals. I have travelled to many different venues in many different areas to host regular quiz nights of up to 60 people. I am the leader for the night, people focus on me for the entertainment and I provide it. Heckling- conquered it, dancing with the oldies- done and dusted, watched the major games in Football (Manchester United fan).
One of my favourite and bizarre experiences of being a quiz host is that in one of my regular venues, four women got a tattoo with my name on their shoulder. I know, I was just as surprised as anyone else would be. But it’s amazing to know that I have affected people's lives in the sense of simple entertainment for them to willingly go to these lengths to honour it! I have also had experience in working as a kitchen designer and having knowledge of the CAD system at the age of 20, which was a completely different approach to the career I originally was going for (a P.E Teacher!).
I have competed in different sports, and by different I don't mean the obvious choices being football, rugby or basketball. I competed in rowing, table tennis and volleyball all at a high level which isn’t everyone's first choice.
Being this different enabled me to speak more confidently about the things I knew other people would not know as much about. I get to meet and speak to hundreds of new people from all backgrounds and it has also given employers a reason to remember me by.
I used this at The Juice Academy Boot Camp. I had never been in an apprenticeship before and didn’t expect to get the opportunity that I currently have now at Invasion. This was because I had no knowledge of marketing or graphic design compared to the majority of the candidates that attended. All I could depend on was my confidence and the fact I was different to represent myself in front of all the employers to distance myself from the rest of the applicants.
Each employer referenced me as the quiz man and was keen to learn more. Because of my experience, I was able to speak confidently about it and why I decided to work in that industry at a young age.
At the end of the Boot Camp, Invasion employed me as part of their marketing team and from that moment I have loved every day since. Beginning a work pathway I never thought I would go down, is making me want to learn more every day and is adding extra chapters to my book.
Being different, being confident and being yourself is how you will make an impact in this world and only you can do that.
