Why It's Time To Take Charge of Your Career And Gain Some Confidence In Yourself

Why It’s Time To Take Charge of Your Career And Gain Some Confidence In Yourself

January 21, 2020

There are many of us who often fail to take chances at work or sell ourselves short because we don’t feel confident in our abilities â€“ believing that our colleagues are better than us. We often put ourselves down or stop ourselves from taking chances, which could be harming our careers. Men on the other hand are far more confident in their abilities, using this self-assurance to pursue their goals â€“ what can we learn from them? Maybe we should think a little more about our strong points and help us gain confidence in ourselves.

Think Carefully About Your Career Goals

What is that you want to do? Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Make a plan of what you want and how to get there. Do you need a mentor or maybe to do some shadowing? Work out how you can develop your existing skills in order to progress to the next level.

Support Your Friends, And Ask For Support from Them

One problem that women in the workplace have is that they aren’t supportive enough of each other. Men are far more likely to pat each other on the back and celebrate each other’s achievements. Start doing the same! Congratulate your colleagues on their promotions, their successes and be supportive of what they’re doing, the support will be reciprocated and you’ll find yourself with the network of support that you need to feel confident in your abilities. Asking for advice is an important way to ease your stress and get support, choose people you trust who will be honest in a positive and constructive way.

Get Noticed for the Right Reasons

Does your work attitude need improving? Could your behaviour at work be hindering you from progressing? Make more of an effort to be on time, do your research before meetings and show enthusiasm in your work and the work of your company.

If you’re looking for a promotion or a pay rise or even to work on a special project â€“ do your research first. Having a structured argument which displays evidence of why you should be given what you’re asking for will help you to get what you want and will make a far better impression than if you were to show up unprepared.
Be confident and assertive. Even if you only have to be brave for a short while, muster that courage and it will pay off.

Consider Your Strengths and Weaknesses

It’s important to think about the things you’re good at and the things you’re not so good at in order to find out how we can improve. List your achievements regularly â€“ having a strong list of everything you’ve done to hand will be handy to have when it comes to performance reviews and job interviews. Be critical of where you need to improve and seek advice on how you can achieve this.

Gaining confidence won’t happen overnight, but it’s important that you try. By making sure that you put some energy and effort into improving your work prospects, you will develop a more positive, self-assured attitude that will help you get what you want. It may once have been a man’s world, but there’s plenty of room in it for women too.