(I posted this on LinkedIn primarily for the benefit of graduates and early career professionals, but the same applies to all of us.)
Graduates and early career professionals, do you share this fear?
If so, I’d like to let you in on a secret.
You know the fear. Questions like: Will I get a job? Who will want to hire me? Am I experienced enough? Will colleagues like me? Will clients want to work with me? Will my friends be impressed? Will my parents be proud of me? Am I the only one who feels clueless?
We’ve all been there. The fear of stepping into the unknown. Of not being good enough. Of missing out and being left behind.
And all that while everyone else is having the time of their lives in dream jobs. Welcome to LinkedIn!
But please know this.
Everyone has this fear. All of us. Even those of us who have been in the business for 5, 10, 20 or 30+ years. Sure, we may become more confident through experience and self-knowledge, but the fear is never far away.
We are forever making things up as we go along. We are never ‘ready’ for anything. Nobody is. According to Harvard Business Review, even 68% of CEOs say they weren’t fully prepared for the job.
Yes, even CEOs! 68 percent! And I suspect the other 32% were lying.
We are on a constant journey of learning and discovery. Don’t wait for the fear to go away. Instead, channel its energy to propel yourself into meaningful action.
One step at a time.
Use LinkedIn for what it’s good at: fostering connections. Look up people you know – and people you don’t know and are inspired by. Drop them a message. Ask about their jobs and companies, what’s it like doing what they do? Do they have any advice for you? Yes, some people will be too busy to respond. But you will find that, mostly, people like helping other people.
Don’t pretend to be someone else. Approach potential employers from a point of curiosity and willingness to grow, rather than trying to impress. Set your experience in the context of what you want to learn and achieve going forward. What difference you hope to make. Share your aspirations – and your fears!
As an employer I would be much more impressed by that, than by someone who is just trying to convince me that they have “what it takes”.
So just take one small step. And then another. And another. And then, one day, you’ll look back and be surprised by how far you have travelled.
True Horizon Coaching 