Tip #1: Get your paperwork in tip top shape
Because it’s a significant part of your first impression.
Every contest starts with submitting a completed application. It’s mostly overlooked because paperwork is often thought of as a logistical obligation, something to ‘check-off-the-box.
Your paperwork matters because it shows whether you can follow directions. Did you follow the organisation-imposed rules around formatting and deadlines? Doing so is the surest way to be off to a good start with the pageant staff and judges.
Interviews can reveal more than your personality; they reveal your character. If you get caught lying in your paperwork, you can kiss the crown goodbye. Don’t risk it!
Tip #2: Be Informed
Because you’re applying for a job to be a public figure.
The best time to become informed is long before the pageant. Start studying current events as early as you can. It’s the best base for you to form your own opinions.
Tip #3: Have an Opinion
Because judges are not looking for a robot reciting a script. They want someone with her own perspective and beliefs.
Beauty queens have various media opportunities to be interviewed, attend press conferences, and speak out as a public figure. It’s good to stand by your personal opinion and do it articulately.
Tip #4: Know the pageant
Because like in a job interview, you need to know the company.
Anyone interviewing for a job should come in prepared, having done research on the business.
In this case, the pageant is the company and you are the job applicant.
Just as a company has investors, pageants have sponsors. A contestant who knows it’s sponsors, in addition to the pageant’s history, leadership, mission, and titleholders is more prepared than a contestant who merely ‘wings it.’
Tip #5: Know Yourself
Because self-awareness will help you go about life with confidence.
You can cultivate your inner confidence and better ‘know thyself’ by practicing answering questions. An online search will turn up lists of hypothetical questions that you can download and self-quiz.
As a general rule of thumb, avoid dragging an answer out for longer than thirty seconds. If you do, it better be something you really want the judges to know. Long-winded answers take too much of your already-limited interview time.
Tip #6: Look the Part
Because even though it’s ‘scholarship competition’, it’s also a beauty pageant.
The truth is, how we look matters. We judge books by their covers. In the world of beauty pageants, there is rather obvious pressure to look your best at all times. You need to look your best.
It doesn’t mean starving yourself, getting fake boobs, or radically changing your look to satisfy what you think the pageant is looking for.
It means being intentional about your grooming and styling choices. Looking your best during the judges’ interview is must.
Tip #7: Practice
Because practice is the way to improve at anything in life.
You can not expect to improve your interview game without practicing. Create time to practice, in some way, every day during the six months before the competition. If you have a prep committee or coach, request as many mock interviews as possible.
Try a full run-through dress rehearsal. One month before the competition, perform every area of competition as if it were the real thing. Your family and friends can be your ‘judges.’ Get into your full competition wardrobe including hair and makeup.
Tip #8: Run Your Own Race
Because it’s your time to shine.
Contestants worry about their competition. There’s always someone prettier, taller, thinner, more stylish, and more threatening. Only way to perform at your best is to tune out the competition and focus on yourself.
Judges are looking for the best version of you. Worrying about other contestants means you’re no longer focused on yourself.
Tip #9: Consider a Coach or Advisor
Because an expert can make a real difference.
You might want to consider having a dedicated pageant guide to help you prepare. A third-party coach or seasoned advisor will focus on the areas you should most improve.
Some coaches specialise in certain competition categories and pageant systems. Other coaches also design evening gowns and also do hair and makeup. The right coach makes all the difference.
Tip #10: Relax
Everyone is nervous during the interview, but try not to show it.
Take a deep slow breath, close your eyes, and visualise a place of serenity. It could be a beach, scuba diving, or your favourite vacation spot. Channel that feeling of calmness and let it wash over you before you step into the interview room.