1. Seeing the crown as the "fix".
There's nothing wrong with you now. There's nothing wrong with you volunteering as "you" vs. "Miss State". To say that you will do something "if this happens..." or "as soon as..." is not the way to think. Believing that everything will align and be perfect once you win is not realistic. Sure, you may get more attention in a room with a crown on your head, but a crown does not define you or make you worthy. Start acting like that titleholder now...stop thinking the crown will solve everything and get out their and make an impact as YOU first. The crown should compliment you, not make you.
2. Only thinking about yourself.
Yes, you will gain attention and resources from winning the pageant...but what will the pageant gain from choosing you? So many contestants focus on how winning the pageant will help them, but few consider how they can help the pageant. Remember, you are interviewing for a job. The judges are choosing you to represent the pageant for a one-year term in this job position. What do YOU bring to the table? How will YOU benefit the organization? Stop thinking about "the pageant will help me do this and that" and instead, think about recruitment of contestants, attracting sponsors, building a social and traditional media presence, etc.
3. Negative talk.
Saying something is "obvious" or "like I just said" is rude. Making the judge feel like they missed something is rude. OR even worse...some contestants say "that's a great question"...were the other questions not great? Were they not up to your level? How about "this may sound silly" or "this may sound cliche"? Stop putting negative talk into your interview! Focus on being the positive person that they want to hire for the year. Also, please refrain from speaking negatively about other pageant systems. All you are doing is drawing attention to your negative mindset.
4. Forgetting to think about the next step.
What is next for your platform? How will it grow? How will you take it from local to a state or national level? Where will you get the funds? How will you gain publicity? Etc etc. Some contestants focus on the here and now TOO much. Instead, give some thought! This also goes for "problems". If you are saying something is a problem, assume they are also asking you what the solution might be. For example, "Given the gun violence that is plaguing our nation, do you feel safe in school?" To just say yes or no is juvenile and boring. Instead, complete the thought with automatically telling the judge WHY you feel this way. Bonus points if you can continue the statement and make suggestions for how schools can increase safety...and yes, you want those bonus points. Stop being small minded and think about the next step...without being told to do so.
If you are ready to improve your interview, download our FREE "5 Ways to Improve Your Interview" workbook here: bit.ly/BVImproveInterview
