In the previous post, we discussed the importance of self awareness and self perception as it relates to building confidence in your career journey. Today, we will be discussing 3 other strategies, they are:
3. Lean into the fear/Do it Afraid: “Everything you’ve always wanted is sitting on the side of fear” - George Addair
The body physically reacts to change or adventure in the form of fear and many times we make the mistake of interpreting that to mean quitting or not going through with the task at all.
While discussing the power of identity and positive self perception, I mentioned experiencing my fair share of rejections during my job search in Canada. It’s worth highlighting because many people are afraid to apply for jobs because they are afraid of rejection. They’ve internalized rejection and taken that to mean they are not good enough. No! Sometimes you might even be overqualified for a role or you just aren’t the right fit at that time for the organization and that’s okay too. It says nothing about your worth.
I had applied to Google Nigeria multiple times but never got a call back. When I knew I was moving to Canada, I started applying to Google Canada and was turned down twice before landing my current role. If I had given up and started applying for lesser jobs because I felt I wasn’t good enough, I would have sabotaged my own career growth.
Doing it afraid doesn’t mean you’ll get it right all the time. It means daring to believe that your dreams are valid and trying again, and again and again until you get it. Avoid internalizing rejection and keep going!!! Your tenacity will pay off I promise.
4. Adequate Preparation/Research: "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail! Success = Opportunity + Preparation."
Confidence is defined as a feeling of self-assurance arising from one's appreciation of one's own abilities or qualities. Confidence in your career journey can be built through adequate research and preparation. How much do you read for personal development? How much do you know about your industry? Do you read articles/blogs within your industry?
I like to define success as opportunity meeting preparation. This means you have to always stay ready if you are looking to make a leap in your career. Read! Do your research!! If you're job searching, have you examined your potential employer's company vision & mission statement? Have you researched & tried connecting with current employees on Linkedin to understand the values and work culture of the organization? Have you tried setting up a virtual coffee with any of them (if they are willing) to get their views on the company and your industry as a whole?
In addition, seek out information and curate your social media consumption to topics/subject areas that matter to your career so the algorithms can bring you relevant content . It’s amazing what you can learn from a recruiter’s 1 min reel on IG. Nowadays, learning doesn’t have to be formal or done in a classroom. We have an abundance of expert content online for FREE! Take advantage! Watch videos on YouTube. Follow the right people on Linkedin. Keep learning! Keep growing!
5. Habit Building: Have you cultivated good habits that could be implemented in your life to aid your career advancement?
Do you have habits that are tailored to your career goals? Early on in my career, I was blessed to have a boss who taught me good habits that have followed me to this day. One of those is to try to learn one thing everyday. It doesn’t matter where or how but commit to learning something new everyday that’ll make you show up as the person you want to be in your career.
An example of a good habit is ensuring you read 2 articles every morning about your industry to keep you abreast of trends. Another example could be reading a self-development book once a month or once every 2 months, if you’re a slow reader or life is busy. Another example is committing to building your personal brand by writing 2 Linkedin posts per month or even per week.
Whatever it is, your habits should be in alignment with your goals. Also in doing this, apply the 4 laws of behavioural change that James Clear wrote in his book Atomic habits to enable you stick with your new habits:
I hope you found these tips helpful. Let me know your thoughts in the comment section. Until next time...Ciao.
