There you are, living your best professional life when suddenly your career confidence hits a low. The wind is out of your sails so to speak. You’re left wondering whether or not you have what it takes to move your career forward. Although it can seem like an impossible situation, building your career confidence is like anything: a skill you can master. Let us take you through a few career confidence pitfalls and what you can do to recover.
Many professionals struggle with confidence in the workplace even those who are super qualified. (Facts!) Sometimes we are blind to our own value and skillset because we’ve fallen into the day in and day out of our routine. It’s like going for a run and hating every second of it without realizing how far you’ve gone. When you’re not checking in with yourself, your self-perception can get lost and with it, your confidence.
Your confidence may also have taken a hit after a workplace mistake or embarrassment about your work. (You were on mute that whole time?) These experiences can shake you up if you let them and make you turn inward rather than outward. Negative self-talk can creep in which doesn’t help anyone. Tony Singh, Head of Industry at Google, reminds us that a career is after all, a long journey. “A setback is a moment in time that you can move on from. The best thing to do when encountering a setback is to review what happened, what could you have done to prevent it and, most important, what you will learn and apply going forward. The key is to move forward and build learnings and resilience from a setback, not to have it weigh you down.
Of course, there’s also the trap of setting high expectations for yourself. Which is a great quality to have if they’re all real. If you never measure up to what you believe is possible, then of course your confidence plummets. You’re setting yourself up for failure time and time again.
Regardless of the reason, improving your self-confidence is possible. Remember that self-confidence looks differently to many people and it takes time to find what works best for you. Wanting to feel that rush of confidence will take some work on your part. The upside is that there’s nowhere to go but up
So where exactly do you start and get right back at it? Here are a few ways for you to reconnect.
Learn to communicate effectively.Getting tongue-tied happens, but to stand as a professional, you have to know how to deliver. Tony puts it this way “Every job is sales, but many lack confidence because their communication skills do not align with their ambition. Use techniques like signposting, pausing to gather your thoughts and practice the message you want to convey. If possible, record yourself and watch and learn what you do well and can improve. It’s uncomfortable but a skill that will serve you well.” The results? Everyone remembers you as a strong communicator.
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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. 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?”
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