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Career confidence is down: Here’s 5 tips to help

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Aw snap.

I recently saw in LinkedIn’s latest Workforce Confidence survey that people on average are feeling less confident in their careers. 

The survey looks at how confident folks are about moving up in their careers, getting and keeping jobs, and improving their financial situations, all scored on a scale from -100 to +100. The average confidence score has dropped to +24, down from +32 at the start of the year.

I work daily with both unemployed and employed people, and I see this lack of confidence all the time. It’s understandable. The job market is super competitive these days and everything is getting more expensive (a bag of chips and a 20oz drink at the gas station is like $7 now?!).

If you’re unemployed, the job search can be frustrating and even depressing. You might be qualified, but landing a job is still ridiculously hard. If you’re employed but looking for a change, finding a new job or getting a promotion can seem nearly impossible. So everyone’s confidence is in the gutter.

So then, how can you build confidence in your ability to navigate, advance, and manage your career? One great way is to stay curious. Here’s 5 quick tips for inquiring minds on how to use your curiosity to up your confidence:

Embrace Curiosity to Boost Career Confidence
  1. Look Beyond Your Current Field or Department:
    • Check out roles outside your industry, company, or department. You might find exciting possibilities you hadn’t thought of.
  2. Explore Opportunities Within Your Current Sphere:
    • Look for new roles or responsibilities in your current field, company, or department. Sometimes, the best opportunities are right under your nose.
  3. Learn from Others in Interesting Jobs:
    • Talk to people in roles you find intriguing. Their career paths and daily routines can offer valuable insights.
  4. Expand Your Network:
    • Connect with both people you know and new contacts. Expanding your network can lead to unexpected opportunities and fresh perspectives.
  5. Reflect on Personal Barriers:
    • Think about what might be holding you back. Understanding your own obstacles is the first step to overcoming them.

Approaching your career with curiosity helps you gather information. This leads to greater clarity, helping you spot gaps in your skills or knowledge. By addressing these gaps, you unlock new opportunities and gain a sense of control over your career path, boosting your confidence.

In a tough job market, staying curious and proactive can make a huge difference. Embrace curiosity, seek out new information, and take steps to bridge your gaps. This proactive approach can help you navigate your career with more confidence and optimism.

AN ANNOUNCEMENT FOR Y’ALL!

I’m opening up more spots for free 30 minute coaching consultations for August and September! 

If you’re job searching, know (or suspect) you’re qualified, and not getting the results you’re looking for, that can impact your confidence in a not so good way.

Come chat and let’s see what’s up. Click here to get your spot. They’re already starting to go since I announced this on LinkedIn yesterday!

The fall is approaching, so employers are coming back from vacations with hopes of getting jobs filled to close out the year. Let’s use this part of the summer wisely!

  • Get some support
  • Get some insight
  • Learn your options

For free 🙂

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Silencing Your Self-Saboteur: How to Stop Being Your Own Worst Enemy in Your Career

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Job searching is hard enough. There’s just a lot to navigate:

  • Writing a great resume and cover letter
  • Networking well
  • Interviewing well
  • Finding the right jobs to apply for
  • 100s and 100s of other applicants competing for the same roles
  • Already working another job
  • Etc.

You have to finesse and fight your way through all that, and yet sometimes those might not even be the biggest hurdle.

The biggest hurdle for a lot of us when it comes to job searching–and really any major life or career goal–is Big Bad Us.

Ourselves.

Not the competition, not the resume, not the this or that.

YOU.

You are in your own way. You need to get out of it.

And that’s much easier said than done.

So. If you have a sneaking suspicion that you may have been in your own way, keep reading.

ACKNOWLEDGING HOW AND WHY

Usually, when we’re in our own way it’s because there’s some kind of internal block going on.

Let’s call them “gremlins.”

Here are the ones I usually see in the people I work with:

  • Imposter syndrome
  • Fear of failure
  • Lack of confidence

They manifest in phrases (internally or externally) like:

  • “I just don’t think I’m qualified.”
  • “Maybe one day I’ll have more time.”
  • “I’m procrastinating, I know.”
  • “I don’t have the confidence for that yet.”
  • “I’m worried I’ll make a mistake.”
  • “I’m just not sure what the right first step is.”
  • “What if it doesn’t work?”
  • “I’m not sure I’ll be able to do it.”

Any of this sound like you? You may have a little gremlin in your ear! That’s ok, most of us do.

If you have goals that you KNOW you really want to accomplish, but “for some reason” you keep putting it off, or refusing to fully acknowledge it, or the universe somehow just keeps getting in the way, you miiiiight have a gremlin.

You need to do something about it so you can get out of your own way.

The first step to getting out of your own way, though, is recognizing what the blockage is for you, and acknowledging that it’s actually there.

In other words, if you struggle with imposter syndrome, you have to admit that to yourself.

What that does is it allows you to more directly combat the problem and interrupt it.

Once you’ve identified what the blockage is, it’s important to understand some key things about it.

UNDERSTAND THE GREMLIN

A lot of times, your gremlins are not actually real.

They may be based on real and valid concerns and experiences, but there’s probably not a whole lot of evidence that JUSTIFIES them being a substantial influence in your life.

For example, if you struggle with imposter syndrome holding you back from making a big career transition, that’s based on a valid concern, but the truth is you’re probably much closer to not being an imposter at all.

Have you ever really been an imposter before? 

→ “No, not really.”

Have you ever been hired or selected for something and subsequently exposed as a fraud?

→ “Not…that I can think of, no.”

Has anyone ever given you the feedback that your skills are trash?

→ “No.”

How do you know that your qualifications aren’t transferable?

→ “I don’t, I guess. I just don’t know that they are or how they’re transferable.”

Again, these are valid concerns. No one wants to be exposed as a fraud. No one wants to give their best shot at something that really matters to them, only to fall short.

But the point is that a lot of you have very little evidence in your history to point to–if any at all–that actually supports your imposter syndrome.

Will you have to learn some new things? Possibly.

Will you have to apply yourself and find out? Absolutely. So you need to get out of your own way and do that.

Which brings me to my next point:

YOU DON’T ACTUALLY HAVE TO DEFEAT YOUR GREMLINS

That’s right, I said it!

You don’t have to vanquish your fear of failure, or your lack of confidence, or whatever it is.

You just have to learn to now allow it to make or influence your real world decisions.

Ever been to a park or something and seen a little kid in full tantrum mode because their dad is telling them it’s time to leave?

“nnnOOOO I don’t wanna leave!!! I wanna stay at the park! You’re a bad daddy!!”

The dad is just like “Nope it’s time to go home. We’re not staying at the park.” *stuffs kid in the car*

Exactly.

Your imposter syndrome is going to kick and scream and try to lure you into getting in the way.

Your lack of confidence is going to tell you you have to sleep at the park tonight because it’s safer there.

Your fear of failure is going to tell you you just don’t have enough time, energy, skill, or whatever else to get started.

And that’s ok.

You don’t have to throw it out the car. It just doesn’t get to drive and it doesn’t get to sit in the front seat.

It definitely does NOT get to tell you you’re sleeping in the park tonight.

You have to coach yourself into acting in the presence of whatever it is that’s causing you to get in your own way.

Once you get there, I bet you’ll start making some progress on those goals you got stashed in the back of your mind and heart.

This is hard.

If you want to talk to someone about it, come let me know. You can sign up for a free consultation with me when you’re ready.

COME ALONG!

I want you to sign up for my free email list! As you learn to start getting out of your own way when it comes to your career goals, you’ll need some new tools.

I’ll send you some good gravy that’ll help you navigate your job searches and career pivots.

You’re reading this, so I must’ve struck a nerve. This is your sign to start getting active.

Sign up today for some free coaching in your inbox and let’s make some moves.

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You can keep your career imposter syndrome

Imposter syndrome.

General lack of confidence.

Doubt.

Fear of the unknown.

A lot of us have dealt with–or are still dealing with–some sort of internalized challenge that has gotten in the way of our career progress.

And it sucks!

For those of you who know what I’m talking about, keep reading. I have a lesson I want to share with you that has helped me immensely.

In early March 2024 I was invited to a panel hosted at my alma mater to talk about how my Black identity has impacted my career trajectory.

It had me reflecting on things I don’t always directly think about. Definitely not recently. Lemme explain real quick.

I was a STEM student (still feel like I’m a STEM person deep down, but that’s another story). I majored in math and computer science at UC Santa Barbara. In the majority of my classes for my majors, I was the only black student. At most, I remember there being 1 or 2 others in some of them.

I remember being stared at when I walked into the classrooms. It was like one of those “Uhhh– oh snap I’m staring at him and he saw me” looks. Lol.

And get this! When I first started in computer science I didn’t even know what it actually was. But my peers definitely did. Many of them went to high schools that taught CS. Mine definitely did not, so I was kinda coming in behind.

Put all that together and what did it make? Say it with me–Imposter Syndrome! Still, I got pretty good.

Fast forward to now and I coach people on how to successfully navigate the job search process through the wonderful world that is Be Gallant Coaching. When I take a look at my fellow coaches, or when I’m in a space with other coaches, what do I see?

I’m almost invariably the youngest and the only black person. I’ve even had people point it out to me.

I still feel imposter syndrome from time to time.

BUT!

In that, there’s a lesson I’ve picked up over time that’s helped me make more progress faster. And it started back in my computer science and math days as an undergrad.

Ready for this? Here it is…

I can keep my imposter syndrome. I don’t have to defeat it or vanquish it.

As long as I remember it’s not allowed to make or influence my real world decisions. 

Because guess what, yall? I’ve helped LOADS of people take the next step in their career.

I’m talking land jobs, pivot industries, negotiate better offers. The works.

I’ve empowered lots of people and the vast majority of them are BIPOC and/or underrepresented.

The messages things like my imposter syndrome tell me aren’t actually real. I feel them. They come from real things and experiences…but they’re not real.

So if you deal with imposter syndrome or lack of confidence or fear or whatever your “gremlin” is. Cool.

You can actually keep it. You don’t have to utterly vanquish it at all.

Just remember that it has to sit in the back seat, and under no circumstances does it get to touch the steering wheel.

Take some imperfect action today!

It’s time to get moving on your career goals, and if job searching is on the horizon for you, it’s time for you to identify your brand.

Your brand is what sets you apart from a competitive pool of people who are just as qualified as you are.

It’s what helps employers understand the transferability, value, and impact of your skills.

If you don’t know what your brand is right now, sign up below for info on how you can start to build it today.

Your skills and experience are valuable and transferable, especially if you’re coming from the education or non-profit worlds.

Stay Brave!

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Struggling with self-doubt? Here’s the very first thing you should do

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So there you are, anxiously waiting to hear back about a job you applied for.

You go on about your days, tending to your usual routines and responsibilities, but in the back of your mind you’re hoping to get invited to interview for that job you really want.

And then it happens–the employer calls you with an invite to interview! You get excited!!…

…For all of 2 seconds before a little bit of panic sets in.

Now, you’re nervous. You know you’re smart, skilled, etc. But you still feel unprepared. You can’t help but shake the feeling that this isn’t going to go well.

Self-doubt.

We’ve all experienced it before. You might be experiencing it right now. But what can be done about it? Where do you start on the journey to overcoming self-doubt?

Help! I’m a Chronic Self-Doubter!

Self-doubt is a totally normal experience. BetterUp describes self-doubt as experiencing feelings of uncertainty about one or more aspects of yourself. Everyone can relate to that on some level. So don’t beat yourself up about it too much if it’s something you struggle with.

And the good news is, you can productively address the tendency to sell yourself short!

The very first thing you should do is pause and recognize that you’re caught in self-doubt, and self-doubt is often irrational. In other words, you have to train yourself to interrupt that thought process when it’s happening, because there’s a good chance that it’s not based on anything substantial.

Once you’ve had the realization of “Wait, this is me doubting myself,” take a look around and assess the circumstances. Is there anything in the situation that suggests you should be doubting yourself? What does the immediate real world evidence suggest? Not what your fears or projections suggest. The cold hard facts.

Let’s take a look at our interview example. The hiring party calls you to say they want to interview you for the position you applied for. You’re excited for 2 seconds before the doubt sets in and now you’re nervous.

But wait! You took a breath and actively caught yourself and now you’re examining the circumstances. You realize two things:

  1. You didn’t call them to offer yourself an interview. They called you. Which means after examining your application, they figured you were a good enough candidate to be interviewed. So they’re talking to you because they believe–based on facts–that you’re more likely to do well in this interview than not.
  2. You didn’t fabricate the content in your application. You told them exactly what your qualifications were, and they were impressed enough with what you presented to reach out to you.

Based on the cold hard facts, you now know that you have more reason to feel confident in yourself than you do to doubt yourself. All you have to do is take some time to prepare and practice for the interview.

Wrapping Up

Moral of the story: Don’t get in your own way! Self-doubt can lead to self-sabotage. Instead, take some time to understand whether or not your self-doubt is actually founded on real evidence. You might surprise yourself and find out that you’re getting in the way of your own success. Chances are you’re smarter than you think!

Looking for a Little Support?

It’s easy to get in the way of your own goals, especially on your career journey. You set a goal, but then you tell yourself you’re not ready for it.

Or that it couldn’t happen for you. Or maybe you don’t know where to start, so you just tell yourself there’s nothing you can do.

If that’s you, I wanna invite you to come talk to me! Because there is something you can do. 

Sign up for a free consult with me by clicking the button below. Let’s chat about some of your goals, and discuss a “right now” step you can take in the right direction. It’s hard to gather momentum if you’re not moving, so let’s get you in motion!

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