What’s the quickest way to level up your confidence so you can rock your next job interview? Give your smile a tune up! I’m sharing how my at home teeth whitening routine helped me land a new job.
How many times have you heard how your smile directly relates to your confidence level? Your smile is one of the biggest impressions you can make when meeting new people. If you’re anything like me, you might not always take the best care of your smile. <cough, cough – flossing regularly> It’s those times when you need your smile to make an impact, like when you’re going on job interviews, that you need to have the right tools in your arsenal to transform your smile.
That’s where Smile Brilliant came into play. They reached out to me to partner while I was actively applying and interviewing for new roles to advance my professional career. Perfect timing!
This post is sponsored by Smile Brilliant. All teeth whitening opinions and reviews are 100% my own.
Pre-Whitening
Choosing an at-home teeth whitening system starts with research. Just like you’d research any company you’d want to work for. I always research products and read reviews before I use a product.
What’s nice about Smile Brilliant’s at home whitening system is that you can do it all from home without having to go to the dentist and spend bookoos of money on expensive whitening procedures.
You choose your kit (sensitive or non-sensitive) and the number of whitening applications you think you need to achieve your desired results. If you have heavy stains, you probably need more whitening gel. If you just want a quick brighten up, you’ll need less.
You’ll get your kit quickly in the mail and it includes everything you need to shine up that smile to boost your confidence for whatever comes your way. You’ll get 3 sets of impression material and 2 impression trays (top and bottom). Make your impressions by following the easy step-by-step instructions, mail them off to the professional lab service and you’ll get your custom whitening trays in the mail a short while later. Then, we whiten.
Before Whitening
Here’s what my teeth looked like before I started whitening (no filters). I’ve always struggled with keeping my teeth white. I have a two cup a day coffee habit and my teeth have definitely paid the price over the years.
I’ve tried many other whitening methods before from Crest Whitestrips to activated charcoal and I use a whitening toothpaste daily. Now, I’m not knocking Crest Whitestrips because I think they work just fine and I’ve had decent results with them in the past. However, I feel like the results never last long or the active ingredients aren’t powerful enough to lift deep stains without using them every single day.
Don’t’ even get me started on activated charcoal because basically it was just a mess.
Teeth Whitening & Job Interviewing
Remember how I said I was applying for new job opportunities and going on interviews? Well, preparation means of lot of things when you’re interviewing and trying to make an impression to land a job.
Part of making a great first impression to a potential employer, manager or team is your appearance. Every reference article out there will tell you that you need to dress professionally and put your best foot and face forward. That includes your teeth because your smile is an important asset in a job interview and future negotiations.
I read “The Importance of Smiling During a Job Interview” on SimplyHired Blog while I was researching job interview tips and tricks. The article stood out because it explains how powerful a smile is during an interview and how useful it can be to set the tone of the interview or diffuse a wrong answer. Helpful, right?
That’s some pretty powerful mojo from a smile! Diffusing a wrong answer and setting the tone of the interview can be a make it or break it situation, in terms of whether or not you’re a successful candidate for the position or move on to the next round. So, what happens if you don’t feel your smile is up to par? Then you’re not able to use every tool in your toolbelt to have a successful interview experience.
That’s where Smile Brilliant at home teeth whitening helped me achieve the smile I wanted so I felt confident during a marathon 13 job interviews in 30 days. You can see from my “before” photos that my teeth were kind of dingy and unpolished. Well, that obviously affected my confidence. When I’m on an interview I want to be focused on selling my skills and personality as a good fit. Not wondering if the interviewer has noticed that my teeth are yellow. Eeek!
The Whitening Process
I had to wait a little longer to start whitening because the first set of impressions I sent to the lab were not correct so I had to re-do my molds. Womp, womp! I followed the super easy instructions but it’s harder than it seems to get those molds right.
Once you get your custom whitening trays, they’re super easy to use. You just spread the whitening gel into the trays and you’re off to the races.
The first time I whitened, I only went for 30 minutes. I have INCREDIBLY sensitive teeth. I’m talking sensitive to cold, heat and sugar. All. The. Sensitivity. So, I wanted to take the process slow and see how it went before I went any longer.
I’ll admit my teeth were pretty sensitive after just the 30 minutes but that didn’t surprise me. I followed up by using the desensitizing gel, as directed, and my teeth felt much better the next day but were still sensitive to cold.
Based on my initial teeth sensitivity, I elected to whiten my teeth 3 times a week. I whitened for 45 minutes and then used the desensitizing gel for the same amount of time for a 5-6 week period before I felt like I’d have a good enough progress to share it with you all.
After Whitening
How My At Home Teeth Whitening Routine Helped Me Land A New Job
Now, check out the progress AFTER using the at home Smile Brilliant whitening system for 6 weeks! THIS progress really helped build up my confidence. I knew when I stepped into the interview room or met a hiring manager in the lobby and smiled – I was leveraging a powerful tool. A tool that I invested a lot of time and effort into perfecting so that I could share my best qualities with my potential future employers.
Like I mentioned earlier, I went on 13 job interviews in 30 days. It was a whirlwind of selling myself, my skills and what I could bring to each respective role and company. I truly feel that my self-confidence was positively affected and led to a more positive, productive and purposeful interview experience.
Ultimately, the personal preparation I put into my professional appearance, plus the research time I invested in each role/industry/company paid off. I also practiced interview techniques, tested answers and prepared examples which led me to receive a great offer (which I accepted) for an exciting role with a global company! Yay!
My Thoughts On Smile Brilliant
Overall, I love the product! It’s shipped right to your door and is very easy to use. Everything comes with detailed instructions and best practices so you can get the most out of your whitening experience. Plus, you can whiten anywhere, anytime. Like, work it into your self-care Sunday routine! Hint, hint! 😉
I’ve never used a professional-grade whitening product before Smile Brilliant and I can definitely say that I’m impressed with the results. I saw a whiter smile after just one use and continued to see progress each time I whitened. I definitely feel like I have a little more progress to make so I’m going to keep whitening. You definitely have the ability to get results much quicker than I did, especially if you don’t have sensitive teeth. I just opted to take a slower approach based on my own personal experience.
Smile Brilliant’s website says it’s safe to whiten from between 1 and 3 hours. My advice would be to start slow and build up to the full whitening time – if you so choose.
I’m a huge fan of the desensitizing gel for obvious reasons but also for the not-so-obvious reason that it helps prevent re-staining. Isn’t that cool?
You better believe that I was NOT able to give up my coffee for 5-6 weeks while I was whitening and interviewing. Most of my interviews were early and I definitely needed my caffeine jolt to make it through those long days. I may have even snuck in a 3rd cup on occasion.
Since I’m fully caffeinated, I’ll share some exciting news! Smile Brilliant and I have teamed up to give you your own customized teeth whitening system. Simply enter here! Plus, get 15% off store wide with the code: ASOUTHERNCOMPASS15
