Confidence is the key to success in virtually every situation we encounter. People who are confident in themselves are more likely to have fulfilling professional and personal lives. The thing is, it’s hard to feel confident when you are starting a new career or meeting new people. Unfamiliar situations tend to make us uneasy, and thus, we doubt our abilities.
Today we are going to explore three ways you can build confidence when pursuing a new career. These tips will help you navigate through the first couple of weeks at work, which is when most people are vulnerable and questioning their skills and qualifications.
Let’s dive in!
Take Notes During On-Boarding
Research shows that students who take notes are more likely to understand the material, perform better on exams, and generally learn more during the class. When you start a new job, you should approach the situation from a student-like mentality. Prepare to soak up the information provided to you by management and training manuals.
Understanding the material you’re consuming ensures that you’ll feel more confident when it comes time to work without supervision. The most prominent problem people seem to have when they start a new job is they don’t absorb the onboarding material, which results in confusion when it comes time for them to begin their workday.
You can take notes old-school with pen and paper, a note-taking application, or you can use your business email account to send a message to yourself with all of the notes from training.
Find a Mentor
Mentors can help you overcome feelings of doubt and improve your overall chances of succeeding at your new job. Essentially, mentors are people in or associated with your industry that have expert experience and knowledge that they are willing to share. These folks are full of valuable anecdotes and advice, while ready to show tough love when necessary.
There are several places you can find a good mentor. We suggest getting to know the people who have over a decade of experience at your company. Chances are, these people have seen a thing or two, and know the importance of sharing their knowledge with new employees.
Additionally, there are online forums you can visit where professionals are willing to offer leadership, communication, and management advice. While these conversations are a little less niche-specific, they can help you learn the skills you need to be confident in your new position. There are 4.33 billion internet users worldwide, so there are mentors in your industry online. You have to find them through social networking and outreach.
Learn from Your Mistakes
Chances are, you’ll make multiple mistakes over the course of your career. The key to feeling confident, especially in the budding days of your new job, is recognizing when you’ve made a mistake and avoiding similar situations in the future.
The ability to learn from your mistakes will help build your confidence because you gain experiences that help you in future situations. For example, if your job was to design websites, and you ran into a problem that took you days to solve, you’ll likely remember that experience and use it when working on future sites.
Instead of fearing your mistakes, learn to approach them head-on, and consider them areas of opportunity. Using your mistakes as a platform to help you learn and grow is one of the best ways to build your confidence when starting a new career.
Conclusion
Confidence is something you have to work to achieve. Taking notes and asking questions can help you build momentum and start your new job with confidence. After you spend some time in the field, look for a mentor online or within your company. Finally, don’t forget to make a note of your mistakes and learn from them in the future.
As you spend time improving your self-image, you’ll find that people will see you as a leader, and turn to you for guidance. Use this as an opportunity to mentor someone who was in your position and spread strong feelings of confidence throughout your place of employment.