How you come is across to an interviewer is one of the most important factors in an interview. Almost unfairly, the decision as to whether you are the right candidate, will be made in the matter of the first couple of minutes. Many of the questions about you and how you will be regarded by a patient will be answered subconsciously by the interviewer before a significant amount of time has passed in the interview Every candidate wants to avoid the appearance of being nervous and lacking confidence in the conversation, but in the quest for confidence, some candidates find something which looks much more like arrogance. This is truly something to be avoided, because once the interviewer has decided you are arrogant or smug, it will be almost impossible to recover your neutral position, where you were being judged on your merits alone.
Confidence is the appearance of having faith in yourself, a belief in what you know and a certainty that it is right. This is a position only reached when you are well versed in the subject under discussion and sure of your answer. There is no feeling your way around the topic or long awkward spaces indicating uncertainty. It is in those moments of uncertainty, some candidates will over compensate for a lack of sure footed knowledge, by adopting a stance which has the appearance of arrogance and may quickly lead to a confrontational response from the interviewer.
Arrogance, therefore, arises from less than excellent preparation. It highlights the failure to search and check your knowledge and the assumption of either a correct position on your own part or a wrong position on the interviewer’s part. It is a defensive mechanism, which you will discard as unnecessary when your preparation is strong enough to allow you to have faith in what you know.