H R Interview Question: Difference Between Confidence & Over Confidence?

@apple6 • 16 May, 2012 • 3 likes Confidence is based on Facts and Figures but over confidence is based on speculation.
First, we analyze that work, then decided we can do that work this is confidence.
Without analyzing that work then decided we can do that work this is overconfidence.
There is a small difference between confidence and overconfidence. Confidence means I can do that. Over confidence means Only I can do that.
This small difference leads to change one's life totally. In life we put confidence towards you, then you can achieve anything, with over confidence one can achieve nothing.

Let me quote an example:
Suppose i wrote exam very well.... if someone asks me how the exam was then if i say i will get 90% for sure...its confidence because you know how u wrote

But if i say i get top in the class or college..... then its over confidence because i don't know how the rest of the college wrote the exam. may be some one in the class is better student than me....
So, knowing your abilities is confidence and thinking that you are the only capable person is over confidence (without knowing the others potential, never underestimate anyone).

@Anoop Kumar • 16 May, 2012 • 1 like You will select me after taking my interview is Confidence .
You will select me just accounting my resume is Over confidence .😨

@Kaustubh Katdare • 16 May, 2012 • 1 like

apple6

A PERSON IS CONFIDENT WHEN HE KNOW THE FACT BETTER, A PERSON IS OVERCONFIDENT WHEN HE THINK THAT HE KNOW THE FACTS BETTER THAN OTHERS.

I object. That's not the right way to define over confidence. I may be aware that I indeed know things better than others; does that make me over-confident?

@apple6 • 16 May, 2012 • 1 like The_Big_K
thanks for your comment. I came to know what's wrong in my post. Thanks once again....
I will definitely correct it.

@Ankita Katdare • 16 May, 2012 Good replies here. Such kind of HR questions leave the job-applicants (mostly freshers) baffled and speechless. If more people are able to express their answers here, we will know how the interviewers backfire at out answers.

Keep them coming folks.

@Vivien.hugo • 16 May, 2012 • 3 likes When the interviewer says, "You look over confident." He just says 'look', not 'are'. That means he suspects your ability. If you are really qualified for the job, then you could tell him that you are not 'over', but just 'are'!

@Ambarish Ganesh • 16 May, 2012 "I can do it"- Confidence
"ONLY I can do it"- OverConfidence/Egoistic

It's better to project the first one.

@Ankita Katdare • 17 May, 2012

Punch_a_Tantra

"I can do it"- Confidence
"ONLY I can do it"- OverConfidence/Egoistic

It's better to project the first one.

If the interviewer says something like, "If you can do it, there are hundred others who can do it too. Why should we choose you and not them?"
If you say because I can do it better than others, the interviewer might twist your reply to mean that you are over-confident.
What to say in such situations?

@Vivien.hugo • 17 May, 2012 • 2 likes

AbraKaDabra

If the interviewer says something like, "If you can do it, there are hundred others who can do it too. Why should we choose you and not them?"
If you say because I can do it better than others, the interviewer might twist your reply to mean that you are over-confident.
What to say in such situations?

Maybe you can say "Because I'm special! You will find it during my work and never regret for your choice."😛

@Saijayadeep • 30 Jul, 2012 I dont take right decisions but take a decision and make it right . . .does this statement mean confident or over confident and justify your answer . .

@Ankita Katdare • 19 Dec, 2013

Saijayadeep

I dont take right decisions but take a decision and make it right . . .does this statement mean confident or over confident and justify your answer . .

It could depend on when you're saying it. If the question asked is about decision making process, you can use those lines in an appropriate manner.

@ISHAN TOPRE • 19 Dec, 2013

Ankita Katdare

If the interviewer says something like, "If you can do it, there are hundred others who can do it too. Why should we choose you and not them?"
If you say because I can do it better than others, the interviewer might twist your reply to mean that you are over-confident.
What to say in such situations?

I will say,"There is a small test. You employ me and see, I can do better than others".

Result: 1. The interviewer will smile
2.It may lead you to that job.

@Anoop Kumar • 19 Dec, 2013 Isn't using word "I" in this answer automatically adds egoist nature.

@Vikram S Bargah • 19 Dec, 2013

Saijayadeep

I dont take right decisions but take a decision and make it right . . .does this statement mean confident or over confident and justify your answer . .

that's a very famous quote by Mr. Ratan Tata. Can't tell about Confidence/Overconfidence but,You may get lots of other questions after this reply.

@ISHAN TOPRE • 19 Dec, 2013

Anoop Kumar

Isn't using word "I" in this answer automatically adds egoist nature.

__ will say,"There is a small test. You employ me and see, __ can do better than others".

@Vikram S Bargah • 19 Dec, 2013 • 2 likes Many a times a recruiter tries to check your real confidence by saying some thing like ' you seems to be overconfident' after hearing this the candidate should not get depressed instead reply in calm manner .which indicates that you still have confidence to face any type of questions.

PS: Replying in calm manner is the key to success in every interview.

@Saandeep Sreerambatla • 19 Dec, 2013 Over confidence or confidence it doesnt matter really , if you are living upto the expectations of your self then you are good. If you put over expectations on yourself , you mean to be over confident in that case either you achieve it by working hard or fail at times..

But why does a HR asks that question? anyway any one will say I am confident not over confident, and I can do job better because i am committed and I love doing this. (I dont care about others)

@Shraddha823 • 18 May, 2015 Why some HR reject frehser who give near by answer but not exact book sentences...Its humble advice for some HR who judge person by their language only not by their talent .at least HR should provide chance for those rejected person for improving their skills ...but they dont do...:/

@Kaustubh Katdare • 18 May, 2015

Shraddha823

Why some HR reject frehser who give near by answer but not exact book sentences

That's not entirely true. I doubt any HR would reject people on that basis. An HR would typically ask multiple questions before deciding on whether the candidate is suitable for the company.

I'd believe that if a candidate has cleared technical rounds of interviews, the chances of getting rejected in the HR round would be very minimum.

@Ankita Katdare • 18 May, 2015 @Shraddha823 It's important to have soft skills if you are working in a corporate environment. If a HR personnel is demanding bookish answers (which rarely is the case), he/she is definitely at fault.
However, if the candidate can't constructs basic sentences correctly and isn't confident with his/her communication, the HR will definitely be giving minus points to that.
In today's competitive world, it's very important that a person develop his skills for good verbal and written communication.
I have a few friends who are very sharp in their technical skills but aren't able to convey that through their answers. That is a very sad situation.
Every engineering student has a lot of spare time at hand to hone their soft skills when there's still a lot of time for facing interviews. I think it's best that all make the best use of that time.
Confidence then is exhibited as a matter of habit.

@Shraddha823 • 18 May, 2015 😀 thank you mam...for giving such a good information..

@Shraddha823 • 18 May, 2015 Ohh i see...

@pratap singh, upendra • 18 May, 2015 • 3 likes Many applicants face this question. The interviewers may ask, "what does over confidence mean to you?"
Sometimes the interviewer says, "You look over confident." How does one defend oneself then?

Sometimes the answers given by the candidates are such that they break the expectation horizon of the interviewer.
The reasons could be one of the following: -

• the candidate talks about some skill of his/her that was not mentioned in his/her resume.
• the candidate exaggerates the fact.
  
• the candidate is shaky/nervous and he uses some bombastic jargon to defend his thoughts, however trivial, they may be.

Also sometimes, the interviewer asks this question with an intention to fathom the emotional strength and intelligence of the candidate. The intention is to find out how the candidate responds to an unexpected and untoward situation.
There is only one hack to this situation:

• Do not start answering or defending yourself all of a sudden. Take a deep breathe, relax. Let the things settle first.
• Inquire what makes him think/say so.
• Offer to further explain yourself on your resume in case there is some misunderstanding.
  
• Then when given a chance, explain your resume particularly focusing on misunderstood facts.
• Acknowledge the fact that the interviewer gave you a chance to explain yourself and thank him for the valuable time that he gave you.

Above all be consistent with your resume. never say something not mentioned in your resume and back everything that is there on your resume.

@Ankita Katdare • 30 May, 2018

Has anyone noticed that more often than not, these days graduates seem to be overconfident? Gone are the days when engineers had lack of confidence. Not only do I get to meet overconfident engineers, but these people are over smart and rude. They lack basic humility and manners. I think it's important to take this HR question of difference between confidence and overconfidence as a learning and implement in your daily lives.

@Durgesh Srivastava • 26 Dec, 2019 • 2 likes

Confidence and overconfidence are actually a very small line apart, because when we can say yes I can do it very well then this is confidence and when we say Yes only I can do it very well then it is overconfidence. Overconfidence never gives us success in our whole life.

Confidence is nothing but u can also do something but overconfidence is a feeling that u only do something not others.

In confidence firstly we analyze our work then decide what we do but In overconfidence without analyzing our then decide what we do.

@saandeep sreerambatla • 27 Dec, 2019

Replying again, I can do is confidence, I only can do is over confidence. As simple as that.

@Anoop Mathew • 21 Feb, 2020 • 2 likes

Have seen confidence in interviews i've taken, and overconfident folks as well. But my take on this is a bit different. 

Show confidence for whatever you've written on your resume. Show a bit of over confidence if you feel that the interviewer is asking you something outside your field of experience but only if you're interested in learning/ are sure to love that area/domain of work. 

Eg: You know damn well how to Present, and how to make a Presentation properly. But you're not that great at Macros or Formulae in Excel but know it on an intermediate level, then showing a bit of 'over confidence' by saying that you're capable to handle it is fine, subject to the reality where you'd ideally almost immediately try and learn those missing elements. 

Over confidence and showing that 'josh' attitude for anything not in you field of work scope/understanding during the interview is good if you're looking for job in Sales. 

Again, thinking from a long term perspective i would say that irrespective of which field you're in currently, climbing up the ladder requires you to play that over confident card at times. How else do you expect a fresher or a person doing something for the first time to get into a job? Are we all born CEOs? No! But how do we become a CEO? By sitting as an Engineer playing it with just confidence? No again! 

Verdict: Play that overconfident card wisely!

P.S.: The interviewer should be able to judge the candidate overall. Giving low points to someone who's over confident is not in favour of the interviewer's role because one reality check will let them know that only candidates who're a bit over confident or show that josh can excel especially at client facing roles, which often times come with pressure and tricky situations.

@Mohana Chandra • 22 Feb, 2020

Confidence is the belief on one's own capability,which drives us towards Success.

Over Confidence is the excess belief on something or Overestimation.This causes Negative effects in almost very case.

It is as simple as "I can do it - Confidence"  and "I only can do it - Over Confidence".

@supriya VN gowda • 22 Feb, 2020

• Confidence is like we know answer for questions they asked and think I may be selected. 
• But over-confidence is if i have not answered up to the company expectations and thinking that i will be definitely selected. 
• Every one should have confidence but not over-confidence. Having confidence makes us to be success in life but having over-confidence makes us more egoistic in doing things and it may hurt us in future. So better to have confidence, not over-confidence. 

@Teja Reddy • 25 Feb, 2020

Confidence is being comfortable in your own skin and expressing yourself without feeling insecure or nervous. It comes when one knows one's strengths as well as faults, and accepts them to improve oneself.

Overconfidence is when a person 'believes' that he/she is right every single time and that there's nothing the others 'need' do, but follow him/her happily.