CS#235: Ever had self-doubt? Here's how I deal with it

+ here's a big Black Friday discount (expiring tomorrow)  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

November 24, 2023   |   Read Online Happy Thanksgiving! It's Rohan with your latest Career Supplement, your personal mentorship email that takes a few minutes to read, but contains stuff that will speed up your career by years. Before I dive in, I wanted to let you know that we have a huge Black Friday deal going on for Resume Worded Pro, the most advanced career platform out there. For the next 24 hours only, you can get Pro for up to 60% off through this link. With Pro, you'll get access to premium tools that will help you create your most successful resume and LinkedIn profile. It's the best deal we've ever offered, so act now if you're interested. Tomorrow night, the deal's gone. Estimated read time: 3 minutes 48 seconds 📈  Mentor's Corner Insights put together by me or coaches who usually charge $750+/hour and mentor senior execs. One practical lesson a week that will make a measurable impact on your career, delivered right to you — for $0. How to deal with impostor syndrome "I can't do this." "I'm not good enough." "I don't belong here." If you struggle with self-doubt, you're not alone.  I've faced self-doubt throughout my career. Every time I applied for a job, I'd look at a job description and feel I wasn't a fit. When I was rising the ranks as an employee, I constantly felt uncertain if I was doing a good enough job (which made it hard to ask for promotions). Even now, running Resume Worded, I still struggle with figuring out if I'm a good enough manager. But what do we do about it?  To explain, let me tell you a story about Jascha Heifetz — one of the greatest violinists of all time. The morning before a concert, one of his regular students arrives at his house for a lesson.  By this point, Heifetz had played for audiences hundreds of times... so the student is shocked when he finds Jascha already fully dressed in white tie and tails. "Mr Hiefetz," the student asks, "why are you dressed? Your concert's not for another 8 hours." The god of violin replies: "Because if I don't do it now, by six o'clock my hands will be shaking so much, I won't be able to do up the buttons on my shirt." TL;DR: Even the best of us struggle with self-doubt.  In fact, as I'll argue, only the best of us struggle with self-doubt. And instead of something to run away from, it's something we should embrace. Here's why. 🏋️ Self-doubt is a sign you're challenging yourself. And that's good! If you felt no self-doubt, you wouldn't be growing. That'd be a bad sign — it means you're staying where you are. So while it's uncomfortable, having self-doubt is a sure sign that you're growing in your career. The next time you feel any inkling of impostor syndrome, remind yourself, "Good, I'm on the right path". You're stepping out of your comfort zone. 📈  Self-doubt pushes us to improve. There's an old saying, "nothing fails like success." Because when you succeed, all doubt disappears and you get complacent.  Gnawing self-doubt, on the other hand, will keep you on your toes. So don't hate it, use it. It's free fuel.  🚩  But, please, do NOT let self-doubt stop you from trying It's not all good, though. Although a moderate amount is useful, too much self-doubt can be paralyzing. I see this a lot with people on their job search. They might come across their dream role, but they read the job description and think, "I don't think I have the right experience". They self-reject themselves before even trying. Here's the thing: job descriptions are often a wishlist, not a checklist. If you meet some of the criteria, optimize your resume and apply. Let them decide if you're a fit, not your self-doubt. (P.S. And if you're thinking about a job search soon — or are in the middle of one — get our one-time only Black Friday deal here. Our Pro tools will help you create optimized resumes loved by recruiters and that get past resume screeners — resulting in a quicker job search and a better, higher-paying job. The deal's ending in under 24 hours, and is the biggest discount we've ever run. We've discounted our plans by literally 60% and bundled in our premium LinkedIn optimization as a free bonus. Want in? Grab it here.) LOVE this quote. The people who get the job are only going to be the people who got over the impostor syndrome when applying for it (and who optimized their resumes!). 📊  How do you get over the self-doubt? Self-doubt and those feelings of "I'm not good enough" will never go away permanently. The only way to get past that self-doubt is to do it anyway. Your brain has the remarkable ability to adjust to uncomfortable new experiences once you get over the initial hurdle of starting. Here are two more strategies: 🧊  Use exposure therapy Psychologists used to think that relaxing in the face of fear was the key to overcoming it. But actually, any voluntary exposure to your fears will help. Build your courage by making a list of things that are slightly outside your comfort zone, and doing them. If you're stuck for ideas, here's a few of my favs: Send a cold introduction email to someone you admire Sign up to Toastmasters or anything that gets you practicing stuff outside your comfort zone Go to a networking event on your own ☝  Create a 'brag' folder Sometimes, our self-doubt is completely unfounded. We've done something before, but we're still emotionally haywire. In that case, buy a journal and fill it with anything you've done well (or similarly, update your resume every 3 months with your achievements). Then, when self-doubt rears its head, have a look through it. It'll help you settle your nerves. Well, I hope those were helpful. I try to experiment with the topics I cover each week so you're able to look at your career from different perspectives, and you're more rounded as a result. Here's what to do next: If you want to stop playing the job search on hard mode, get our Black Friday deal for Resume Worded Pro here. It's the biggest discount we've ever run (it's 60% off!) and is only around for 24 more hours. If you've thought about Pro, I promise you there won't be a better time. Follow me on LinkedIn if you want short-form, practical career strategy through the week. Black Friday special Resume Worded's 60% off (for 24 hours only) Lock in access to all our AI tools, including resume and LinkedIn optimization at our lowest ever price. Get more interviews the next time you're job searching, and get a steady stream of new opportunities on LinkedIn. Grab the deal Please use the link above to purchase, or enter https://resumeworded.com/black-friday in your browser. The deal's not publicly available, and you're receiving it only because you're a reader of the Career Supplement. 🤭  In all unseriousness Coffee lovers, let's all raise a toast of appreciation ;) 👋  New here + about me If you're new here, let's get the intros out of the way. I'm Rohan. Six years ago, I found myself frustrated with the sea of misleading career advice online, so I started Resume Worded. The goal was simple: provide guidance that actually works. But resumes were only the tip of the iceberg. There was a lot of clichéd, generic career advice out there. So, I started this email series. Each week, I talk about real career strategy, informed not only by my experiences but by my conversations with industry leaders, senior coaches who train CEOs, and people with way more experience than I have. Every email you receive is written by me, not a ghostwriter. I'm here, on the other end, reading your replies. Until next time, Rohan @ Resume Worded 🫵  Before we wrap up What'd you think of today's edition? 👍 I loved it. 🤔 Pretty average, step it up. 🤢 You didn't bring enough value. Here's a recent review: Super nice of you — thank you, Kent! P. S. To make sure your career never goes off the rails, don't miss my future emails. A simple way to make sure you get each email is: If you're using Gmail, hit the 3 dots at the top-right corner, and choose Move to -> Primary. Or drag this email to Primary if you're on your computer. If you're using Apple Mail, tap on our email address at the top of this email (next to "From:" on mobile) and click "Add to VIPs.".   Update your email preferences or unsubscribe here © 2023 Resume Worded 228 Park Ave S, #29976, New York, New York 10003, United States