Have you ever been nervous about being around people in professional settings and been unable to explain why? One could certainly label this as social anxiety, but let's pivot past that and address the real issue. Have you ever wondered where confidence comes from? Is it something you can learn, or do you develop it over time from positive experiences? If you can learn to be confident, how do you do it? Have you ever wondered why some people seem to be bursting with confidence while others appear to be intimidated by attention? In today's blog we explore how building confidence can boost your progress and professional development as a marketing student.
According to an article on Psychology Today, confidence is believing that you can meet life's challenges and succeed. Confident people know what they're capable of and tend to rely on the knowledge that they have accumulated to drive them forward. The article goes on to say that projecting confidence allows you to gain credibility, make a great first impression, and rise to meet and overcome challenges in personal and professional environments. [1] Confidence is something every marketing student needs, especially when you're trying to get established in your career. Pitching a creative campaign for your professor or during an internship presentation is already stressful enough, but imagine if you had a great idea but lacked the confidence to sell it?
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It's not going to be easy to improve your self-confidence. It's going to take work. You're going to have to put yourself in situations where you're vulnerable to those feelings that make you feel small or inadequate. You will have to practice confronting those feelings to pull yourself out of a place where you just don't feel like you're good enough. This will be a challenge for anyone who struggles with projecting confidence. You might need to immerse yourself at campus networking events, be more vocal during class discussions, ask questions during guest speaker presentations, or engage classmates and professors in conversations just to find a way to be yourself.
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Wondering how to become a more confident marketer? John W Hayes wrote an article on Medium, where he discussed how marketers can be more confident in themselves and in their work. He describes confident people as those willing to learn from their experiences and focus on self improvement. He says less confident people focus on fear until it builds up and seems impossible to overcome. Hayes says building your confidence as a marketer starts by understanding that fear itself is nothing to fear. [2] With practice, interacting with your professors, classmates and industry professionals will get easier.
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It goes without saying that lacking self-confidence can hurt your career before it even starts. Imagine being afraid to apply for that competitive internship for fear that you might make a mistake, or even worse, what if you didn't apply because you were afraid you would get it? In an article on Bonnie Marcus Leadership, How Does A Lack Of Confidence Affect Your Life And Career? [3] there are examples of intelligent women who have missed out on opportunities not because they weren't qualified, but because they have low self-esteem and lacked confidence. This article puts a positive spin on the situation by having each individual list what they would do if they were more confident including a mantra, they can say to change how they think.
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One way that you could start changing the way you think and boosting your confidence could be to sign up for in-person training sessions to get out of your comfort zone and interact with peers in the marketing field. While there are many courses that you could take from many different institutions, The CMA Learning Hub has flexible learning options with online live training as well as in-person training sessions which you could use to build up your confidence. The CMA also holds annual social events such as the CMA x SMCC Summer social held this past July, which is a great opportunity for students to network, make connections and interact with peers and professionals in the marketing industry.
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Confidence comes with practice, knowledge and understanding who we are and more importantly what we're capable of. While it may seem at times like everyone else is naturally confident, try to remember, no one is born that way. Everyone must put in the work to be comfortable with who they are and with what they can do. Confidence comes from being comfortable in your own skin and making the effort to improve and get better, at whatever it is you do. Remember, everyone makes mistakes - even the most successful marketers started as students just like you. If there's one thing to consider when it comes to confidence or a lack of it, maybe John W Hayes said it best, when he said, "What's the worst that can happen?"
[1] “Confidence” Psychology Today, https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/basics/confidence
[2] “Becoming a More Confident Marketer”, Medium, 16 August, 2018, https://john-w-hayes.medium.com/becoming-a-more-confident-marketer-9a03d8fdf0e
[3] “How Does A Lack Of Confidence Affect Your Life And Career?”, Bonnie Marcus Leadership, 22 October, 2017, https://bonniemarcusleadership.com/2017/10/22/lack-confidence-affect-life-career/
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