If you want to move on to the next step in your career, you need to convince others that you can do it. In order to convince others, first you need to convince yourself and start believing in yourself.
A few weeks ago, one of my good friends opened up to me and she said she is not happy with her current job and she wants to switch to a different role. She is currently working as an estimator in the construction industry and she wants take on a project management role and oversee the budgets in the actual construction rather than only estimating the costs and submit the project proposal. I asked her “What is holding you back?” She has already been working as an estimator in the construction field for the past few years. She knows the costs of a construction project because she calculates them and in my opinion, she can quickly grasp how to manage the budget of a project if given the chance. However, she said she doesn’t have any field experience and she only works in the office calling subcontractors and receiving expense estimates from them. This is where the importance of believing in yourself comes into place when you are branding yourself to anyone. If you don’t believe in yourself and be pessimistic and say that you don’t have enough experience, then you shouldn’t blame the other person when you cannot get the job or whatever you are trying to achieve in your career as a next step.
In this scenario, I recommended my friend to explain others that her experiences as an estimator will help her learn how to manage a construction project much quicker compared to someone with no industry experience. Also, she needs to show her enthusiasm to do the job and if given the chance, how well she can do it. More importantly, she needs to put her pessimistic behavior aside and start believing in herself that she can do it. If she doesn’t believe in herself in the first place, why would the other person do? This is a rule of thumb for everything. First, you need to believe in yourself that you can do it and the rest is how you brand yourself. You should try to find relevant experiences if not similar to what you are trying to achieve and show the other person how these experiences are helpful in your new role. However, you shouldn’t exaggerate or try to oversell yourself. You should find the right balance so that you can be persuasive and move on to the next step in your career.
