What are the most effective ways to build confidence when changing careers?

When shifting careers, prioritise identifying transferable skills such as communication and complex problem-solving that have been perfected over years of experience. Recognise that engineering knowledge is applicable across sectors. Then, while continuing to learn, aggressively apply this wide experience to new roles. Know that our analytical talents allow us to adjust. Finally, have faith that an engineering perspective instills resilience, creativity, and dedication that are valued across industries. Even as industries change, an engineer's essential strengths remain constant.

Appreciate your existing strengths and skills. And with guidance of seniors and industry leaders learn what is needed to be learnt.

In identifying strengths and skills you also need to identify where, when and how you have applied them in the past and the outcomes. Learn and practice using the “STAR” method for interviews to help structure your answers in a clear and concise way and avoid getting caught in the details. STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result.

Self-awareness helps me at work and in life. Looking back on my own experience. Some tools helped me improve my self-awareness and made me feel more confident. 1) MBTI assessment. It allowed me to capitalize on my strengths more by understanding my personality type. 2) StrengthsFinder. Understanding and focusing on my strengths instead of my weaknesses helped me build confidence. 3) Mindset. Cultivating or changing mindsets, including academia-to-industry mindsets, research-to-quality mindsets, positive and adaptable mindsets, corporate mindsets, and lean mindsets, helped me improve resilience, overcome obstacles and achieve personal and professional goals. One always needs to build confidence when changing jobs or even careers.

Observe como a nossa espécie é maravilhosa nos fins de semana. Nesses dias, somos carpinteros, artistas e músicos. Inventamos dan?as, pintamos casas, decoramos jardins. Construímos castelos de areia, de LEGO e muito mais. Nas horas vagas, usamos a nossa imagina??o intensamente, como em quase nenhum outro momento da vida. Contudo, nas segundas-feiras, voltamos ao cargo de engenheiro junior, analista pleno ou gerente senior de alguma coisa. Esses títulos n?o apenas soam entediantes como encorajam a realiza??o de contribui??es limitadas e pré-definidas. O que você é bom e faria de gra?a se pudesse? Talvez seja o que você já tem feito e nem percebe...

When I pivoted my career after 12+ years in the #BeautyIndustry to the startup world of #Cannabis, I was lucky to have an unofficial “Board of Directors” that had my back. Think of people in your professional network both in your current industry as well as the new space you are trying to get into that can serve as a sounding board as you navigate your job search. Their combined insights to your existing talents and the environment you will face will help you set yourself up for success.

Developing a solid support system helps me overcome obstacles. Throughout my 12+ years of career in academia and the biopharma industry, I met great colleagues and fantastic mentors. They have been supporting my growth and career development by providing feedback and sharing their stories and experiences. Whenever I face challenges in my career or personal life, I turn to them because I know I will gain insights and ideas from them. Furthermore, my parents, spouse, kids, and friends provide lots of support in my daily life. Never forget that we are, by nature, social animals. We work in teams and need support from each other.

Getting feedback is always beneficial, especially when it's constructive and actionable. Don't be afraid to ask those you trust and respect for their thoughts and opinions regarding your strengths and interests. Sometimes the best thing for us is the thing we can't see in front of us.

Please please please stop listening to others and believe YOU! Your self doubt, likely caused by listening to people that don’t want to see you win, is keeping your confidence low. Believe in YOU and keep working on your craft. Doing the work builds confidence.

Gosto de oferecer feedback honestos e construtivo. Por exemplo: "Você é muito bom em resolver problemas", "Você é um comunicador eficaz", "Você é um líder natural".

Dare I say it... SMART Goals. Use them and they will become your best friend in creating a sustainable path forward. In addition, find accountability partners. These people will support your SMART goals and ensure you are moving forward.

One thing I found helpful was to keep a visual scorecard of where I am, where I needed to be and what is the end. To do this identify an accountability partner and set a cadence of accountability.

As a mentor/teacher/life long learner perspective, here are my 5 steps to build confidence 1. Identify a new career which fuels your passion and job satisfaction (love what you do) 2. Check prerequisites of skill set which are need for the new job role and aligned with your career objectives and goal. 3. Learn new skills set/ polish the existing ones to match point 2. 4. Apply those skill sets to complete a pet projects which reinforce your learning experiences and can be showcased in your portfolio. 5. Build a personal brand based on your passion, skill sets and your career goal.

Depending on one’s personality type, I think it’s beneficial to have a healthy mix of small/manageable goals and BIG Blue Sky goals. Having your eye on the prize can be a POWERFUL motivator, and you’d be surprised how many new ideas ?? come your way as you “trial and error” your way to the top!

Create a 30 60 90-day plan, present it to your Manager/Team, make sure you are on the right track, follow through and share outcomes. This becomes your OKR dashboard as well as your Manager/Team feedback opportunity. Keep it handy when you do a 1:1 review or quarterly performance review.

It is human nature to seek comfort. However, we had better get comfortable being uncomfortable because the comfort zone is the great enemy of growth. As a perpetual student, I always force myself to step out of my comfort zone and keep learning. I set goals and achieved them: from academia to industry, from an individual contributor to a people leader, from one department to a different department, from one company to another company, DIYing my green card application, getting my MBA degree and CSSBB. I took risks, embraced changes, made mistakes, and learned from my lessons. I might not want to be an entrepreneur, but it is always good to have an entrepreneurial mindset. We are the founders of our careers, the CEOs of our life.

People tend to recognize those who are eager and put in the work. It is okay to start something new and not be a subject matter expert! No realistic person expects that. What is expected is your desire to learn. If you show up everyday, listen, ask questions, take notes, and really strive to learn, it will not go unnoticed. Things can be learned, but the effort to do so is purely on the individual.

I would also embrace new destinations, let the feeling of uncertainty be your friend . Go to events, networks , circles that you have never been before , meet new people who can help you reach your desired destination, and don’t be afraid to be the new guy on the block . Learn to love that feeling of nervousness , because when you step into the unknown the magic happens .

One thing I find helpful when learning in a new industry is to immerse myself in that industry. Through my ranging background/studies, whether it be psych, business, entrepreneurship, tech, I’ve found that taking on small projects in each of these domains at the time that I am learning them helped enrich my learning. Additionally you can add relevant activities to your routine like listening to a podcast once a week while commuting, reading a weekly newsletter to stay current on the latest industry trends or going to networking events to see what people are up to in the industry on a regular basis. There are many ways to immerse yourself and these small efforts will help you keep up momentum and motivation in your learning journey.

An example, biggest lesson of my career-change pathway was: the most important is the journey, not destination. In your journey you will learn new skills, understand more complicated things and will develop youself as a human being. But little warning, once you started this journey, the hunger of information is unstoppable.

We tend to get focused on outcomes in sales because it is such a results driven profession. However, it is helpful to put our energy into the areas that we can completely control. Small wins based on effort can be very helpful. Love the perspective, Giana. Keep pushing!

This is an important one as we undermine our strengths and focus on improving and nailing skill sets we don’t have! I attended a Leadership program which had a deeper focus on Celebrate your strengths! Know what areas you are not good at and then be OK to voice it and have a diverse team which compliments each others skill sets to have a High performing team.

Você comemora as pequenas vitórias? ? Todos nós temos metas. Queremos ser ricos, fortes e bem-sucedidos. ? Porém, grandes sonhos costumam demandar um certo tempo para serem realizados. ? O problema é que nós somos imediatistas e é complicado mantermos o foco no dia a dia quando uma meta ainda está distante. ?? A melhor coisa que eu e você podemos fazer para evitar isso é dividir a sua meta em metinhas, de forma que a cada vez que alcance essa pequena meta, você reforme a sua motiva??o para seguir em busca da próxima metinha. ? Dessa forma, de metinha em metinha, você alcan?a a sua meta principal. ? Assim, a dica é comemorar as pequenas vitórias, comemorar toda vez que realizar uma dessas metinhas. S?o elas que v?o fazer você chegar lá.

There is never so small achievement, that you could not celebrate it. So embrace yourself and be proud of what you have done for this far. Life is too short to think always what could have been better, or done better. Do it better next time. This time it goes this way and you did it anyway!

One small way I was able to celebrate wins and stay motivated was by keeping a “Win Journal” on my desk. This helped me fight imposter syndrome as I would actively write out my accomplishments (big or small) from the week. Examples of wins can range from gaining a new client to eating a healthy lunch at work 3 days in a row which kept you energized and more productive in the afternoons. Recognizing our own progress is important!

I have just changed career, and one thing that I completely agree with is that one needs to be gentle on oneself in this transition phase. It is a new world, with new work, and new expectations, and the best you can do is to be realistic. You are a learner, and you need to learn with PATIENCE. You must be expert in your previous field, but you are a fresher in this new field, hence, you need to have expectations like that only.

We tend to be our own harshest critic, but remember that you are in this new role/position because of the previous hard work and accomplishments you achieved. It may seem like a “fresh start” when it is actually a continuum of success from early on. This is an opportunity to reintroduce yourself in a professional setting; you can highlight an unused strength, you can address a previous weakness, and you can reframe how you present yourself. It may seem daunting, but it is a “soft reboot” and not starting over from scratch. A soft reboot gives you an active opportunity to present yourself in a new light.

Oh how easy it is to be hard on yourself! I find people are harder on themselves than others, and through that self hyper focus, we don’t give ourselves the credit we deserve. Almost any work experience can be tied to a transferable skill, but we often over look those because it doesn’t seem as amazing to us. Don’t be afraid to realize that you’re amazing!

Part 2: - Sponsors are influential individuals who advocate for your career advancement. They can help you access opportunities, recommend you for promotions, and provide visibility within your industry. Having sponsors who believe in your abilities can bolster your confidence and open doors to new possibilities. - Embrace failures as learning opportunities: Facing setbacks and challenges is a normal part of any career journey. Instead of letting failures discourage you, view them as valuable learning opportunities. Embracing resilience and learning from past mistakes will deepen your self-confidence and propel you forward.

Sometimes building confidence means practicing courage first. In other words, when your confidence is weak, when you're not 100% ready, when your self-doubts are piling up, or you're afraid of failure, that's when it's time to rely on courage over confidence. Practicing small acts of courage -- like refocusing your internal narrative on courage instead of confidence to take action in the face of fear -- will help build confidence over time.

Part1: - Mentors can provide invaluable guidance and wisdom based on their own experiences. They can offer advice, help you navigate uncertainties, and provide encouragement when facing challenges. Engaging with mentors who have succeeded in similar career transitions can significantly boost your confidence. - Cultivate a strong support network: Surround yourself with like-minded individuals who understand and support your career aspirations. Building relationships with colleagues, peers, and professionals in your field can provide a strong sense of community, encouragement, and feedback to reinforce your confidence.

Employ scenario planning. Endeavor to plan for all likely scenarios that might occur during the transition. Accept that your transition to the new career may not occur in the manner in which you have planned. Plan for the transition to take longer than you envision. There are many variables affecting the time governing your transition to a new career, and many of them are not in your control. Being well prepared in this regard may stand to benefit you.

Tenha uma reserva de paz. Esse dinheiro vai te permitir ter a tranquilidade de fazer o que precisa ser feito nesse momento de transi??o, repleto de incertezas. Quem n?o tem uma boa reserva precisa que a transi??o dê certo imediatamente, daí coloca uma press?o grande e isso atrapalha o resultado. Com uma reserva de paz robusta você pode dar tempo ao tempo e fazer as coisas fluirem naturalmente, como devem ser. E em paz, você acaba fazendo dar certo, sem press?o, sem meter os pés pelas m?os. O resultado é que talvez você nem use a reserva, pois você conseguirá, de forma leve, fazer com que a transi??o seja bem-sucedida.