Finding Your Career Confidence
WE All Get Wobbles Now and Then…
We’ve all been in that moment in our career when your confidence is knocked. You can be on top of the world one moment and then feeling imposter syndrome the next. Normally, when I’m in that mode I can pick myself up and get going again. Sometimes, you can feel like your in that hole for a while.
Around a year or two ago, I was in that space. I had just changed careers completely into a whole new field and felt totally out of place. I felt like I couldn’t do my job properly, even though I was being told I was crushing it. Over time, I’ve learnt how to get out of that place and be the kick-ass confident person that I know I am.
If you’re feeling a little unmotivated and needing a bit of career confidence, here are some of the ways I’ve coped in order to get myself into boss mode…
ASSESS THE WHY.
First things first, you’ve got to assess why you’re feeling a lack of career confidence. Is it a lack of knowledge in a particular area in your job? Is it a co-worker making you feel this way. Before you can even get started with tackling the issue head-on, you need to recognise why you’re feeling this way.
Sometimes, it can be past feelings from a previous job that is making you feel this way. If this is a case, you need a day to mope and then shake it off. It’s much like taking feelings from a past relationship into your new one. That was then, this is now. They are not the same. Sure, there can be warning signs of pattern behaviour, but you cannot jump to feeling that way from the get-go. If you feel like this, take a step back, take a deep breath and plough straight ahead. You’ve got this girl.
SPEAK TO YOUR MANAGER.
Sometimes you feel like you can’t speak to your manager about not feeling confident in a certain area in your role without sounding silly or don’t know what you’re doing. Over my year’s hustling, I’ve found that it’s the opposite. There’s power in admitting you don’t know what you’re doing and asking for help.
I’ve found some of the most productive meetings I’ve had is when I explain my confidence wobble and my manager and I sit down and make a map of how to get me back up there. It can be simple steps or a point in the right direction to get the knowledge that you need.
TAKE AN ONLINE COURSE.
If it’s a simple case of having no idea what you’re doing in a particular area, taking an afternoon off to take a course, watch a webinar or read an article is enough to inspire me and get me back on the right path. Within Marketing, there are thousands of resources to get you going again. Knowledge is power for me and I find that arming myself with it will make me feel like I’m bossing it again.
Some of my favourite resources for marketing info is Chloe Digital, Later and Social Media Today. Course wise, I’ve heard great things about Skillshare. It’s a great platform to inspired and get you moving in the right direction.
MAKE A POSITIVE TO-DO LIST.
As the queen of the to-do list, I find them very therapeutic to do. When I’m having a moment of needing confidence, I find visualising my goal and working backwards gets me on the right path. Rather than starting from square one, I go from the goal to the previous step, the step before that, etc.
I find that mapping it out gives me a clearer mind and I find it less stressful working out from the beginning. It actually gives me the confidence to know what I’m doing and to kick butt to get going.
GAIN FEEDBACK FROM COLLEAGUES.
As scary as this sounds, getting feedback from colleagues can be a booster and allow you to realise some strengths you didn’t have before. I’m truly lucky in my department that I have some great work pals who will give me the truth in the best way possible. If I really needed a boost, they will say the right words and get me on the right path.
With this, there’s always some helpful advice that may not positive. Unless it’s outright criticism (which I’ve had in previous jobs, there’s nothing helpful when people just write ‘you’re rubbish’) there’s something you can take from someone giving you helpful feedback. I know in my work if people say it, it’s coming from a place where they want me to be the best at my job.
