Career Change Confidence

I have been rejected A LOT. Day by day, week by week, month by month – you catch the drift. I've faced my fair share of setbacks, but I'm still moving forward. Over the years, I've shifted my perspective on failure and rejection. I used to be paralysed by the fear of rejection, preventing me from pursuing many opportunities within my reach. The pivotal step was reframing rejection as redirection, leading me to believe that whatever will be will be. If it doesn't happen, it wasn't meant for me. More often than not, I find excitement in what emerges from rejection and how it shapes me in the process. 1. Acknowledge Your Failures: Accept that failure is a part of life. 2. Take It One Step at a Time: Approach life day by day, week by week, and month by month. 3. Change Your Perspective: Shift your view of failure from a negative to a positive. 4. Conquer the Fear of Rejection: Overcome the fear that holds you back. 5. Reframe Rejection: See rejection as a redirection in your journey. 6. Accept What Will Be: Believe that whatever is meant to happen will happen. 7. Find Excitement in Growth: Look forward to personal growth from rejection.

Are you really happy in your career, or are you just stuck in a path because it’s comfortable? Our priorities shift, and so should our careers. It’s not weak to change direction. It’s a sign of growth and a willingness to align what you do with who you’ve become. 9 Steps to Changing Your Career Path: 1. Reevaluate your priorities ↳ Does your current job align with what matters to you now? 2. Identify your core values ↳ What do you stand for today? Does your career reflect that? 3. Understand the financial impact ↳ What’s the real cost of switching? How will it affect your lifestyle? 4. Leverage your existing skills ↳ How can you apply what you already know in a new industry? 5. Network with those in the field ↳ Learn from people who are already doing what you want to do. 6. Test the waters ↳ Take on side projects or freelance work to get a feel for the change. 7. Update your personal brand ↳ Revamp your LinkedIn and resume to reflect your new direction. 8. Set clear goals and timelines ↳ Make the transition with purpose and action. 9. Let go of the past ↳ Release limiting beliefs about your career and identity. The best time to pivot is when you feel that discomfort. It’s a sign of something better ahead. When was the last time you thought about changing your career?

A healthtech founder I spoke to burnt $2.3M because he thought compliments = contracts. He talked to a few users. Ran a small pilot. Then a focus group. Collected some positive quotes. And he thought it was enough to sell. But healthcare doesn’t work like that. Because hospitals don’t buy opinions. They buy evidence. What feels like “traction” to you still looks like risk to them. Why? Because healthcare buyers aren’t just evaluating features - they’re evaluating credibility. And credibility isn’t built through user love. It’s built through real proof. And here’s what that looks like: ▶︎ 1. Start with evidence, not excitement You don’t need a clinical trial on day one. But you do need data. Not “20 nurses loved it.” But “in a two-week pilot, 14 out of 16 nurses reduced reporting errors by 30%.” That’s what changes conversations. ▶︎ 2. Don’t assume - observe You won’t find workflow gaps on Zoom calls. Go onsite. Watch what actually happens. What’s skipped? What gets hacked together? What breaks under pressure? One founder I worked with discovered that nurses were ignoring his alerts - not because they didn’t work, but because they always came in during shift changes. He fixed the timing. Usage doubled. ▶︎ 3. If you don’t have trust, borrow it You don’t need Mayo Clinic on your pitch deck. But a short quote from a respected clinician? A LinkedIn post from a known advisor? Even a one-pager co-authored with a researcher? That’s what builds perceived safety. Because in healthcare, the default response isn’t “yes.” It’s “show me it works - and show me someone I trust who says so.” Early traction in healthtech isn’t about praise. It’s about proof. So what’s one piece of validation that helped you earn trust faster? #entrepreneurship #startup #funding

We’ve coached thousands of speakers on building confidence. Most of them weren’t missing natural-born ability or charisma. But they were missing a clear understanding of their unique perspective. Confidence isn’t about knowing you’ll perform perfectly in a presentation. It’s about knowing you have something valuable to offer before you ever say a word. So my experts started asking our clients 4 simple questions: 1. How do you see this situation differently? Different from your peers. Your managers. Your customers. You don’t have to be loud, but you do have to know what angle is uniquely yours. 2. What experience do you have that no one else has? No one else grew up exactly like you, worked the jobs you did, or made the mistakes you’ve made. Your path matters. 3. What’s your expertise? Yes, you have some. If you’ve been invited to a meeting to share or someone asked you to speak on a stage, it wasn’t random. There’s a reason. Find it. Name it. Own it. 4. What part of your personality shows up when you’re at your best? Are you warm? Funny? Analytical? Direct? Good. Bring that. Don’t leave your personality at the door. It’s part of your power. Most people have enough confidence buried somewhere deep inside them. Crystallizing your perspective is what helps bring it out. #PresentationSkills #ExecutivePresence #ImposterSyndrome #PublicSpeaking

Fear of failure can hold us all back, but I’ve found a simple mindset shift that helps me take the plunge without being paralysed by fear: I treat everything as an experiment. An experiment isn’t about succeeding or failing. It’s about testing a hypothesis, learning, and collecting data. So, whenever I feel the jitters about a new project, I reframe it as an experiment to take the pressure off. Here’s how it works: 1. Start with a goal What’s something you want to achieve?  Let’s say you’re aiming to start a YouTube channel. 2. Turn your goal into a hypothesis Ask yourself, “What am I curious about? What do I want to find out?” You might enjoy making videos about travel. 3. Design a simple experiment Break it down into manageable steps to test your hypothesis. Post three travel videos in the next three months. After running the experiment, check your results.  Did you enjoy making the videos? Were you consistent? If it felt natural and enjoyable, that’s a good sign that this path is worth exploring. Here’s another example if you’re thinking of starting a business: Goal: Build a successful business. Hypothesis: I can help people by building websites. Experiment: Email ten people who might benefit from having a personal website and gauge interest. If you get five positive responses, great, it’s a sign there’s demand. If not, that’s okay too. You’ve collected data to refine your approach. The key takeaway? Even if your experiment doesn’t go as planned, it’s not a failure – it’s just data. Tweak your hypothesis, adjust, and try again. Over time, these experiments help build self-awareness, which, in turn, lessens the fear of failure. You’re learning and evolving rather than “failing.” BTW, if you’re an aspiring creator who’s let fear get in the way of putting yourself out there, you might want to check out my YouTube scorecard. 👇 https://lnkd.in/e5-GhB7N

Feeling confident during a job interview can make a big difference. Confidence helps you answer questions better and leaves a positive impression on the interviewer. Here are some tips to help you feel prepared and confident: The first question is usually, “Tell me about yourself.” This is your chance to make a great first impression. Prepare a clear and short answer that highlights your strengths. End your introduction by mentioning the skills or areas you are confident in. This way, the interviewer is likely to ask follow-up questions in areas where you are strong. Read the job description thoroughly and focus on the key skills mentioned. Most of the interview questions will be related to these skills, so make sure you’re ready to talk about them in detail. Questions about your previous roles or projects are very common. To answer these well, use the STAR format: Situation: What was the challenge or problem? Task: What was your responsibility? Action: What steps did you take? Result: What was the outcome? Preparing answers in this format helps you stay structured and clear. Practice answering common interview questions with a friend or mentor. If no one is available, practice in front of a mirror. This helps you get comfortable with the interview format and improves how you deliver your answers. It’s okay if you don’t have an answer for every question. Politely say, “I’m not sure about this, but I will definitely look into it after the interview.” Interviewers often appreciate honesty and your willingness to learn, rather than guessing or making up an answer. Many interviews include behavioral questions like, “How do you handle deadlines?” or “How do you work in a team?” Prepare real-life examples that show your skills and work ethic. At the end of the interview, thank the interviewer for their time. Also, Always prepare a few questions to ask the interviewer in the end. This shows you’re interested in the role and helps you stand out. You could ask about the team, projects, or company culture. Confidence comes from preparation. The more you prepare, the more comfortable you’ll feel during the interview. What tips have helped you feel confident in interviews? Share in the comments—let’s learn from each other!

I was lucky enough to have my team grow from 6 to 800 people in 9 years. I was promoted from Senior Manager to Director to Vice President, and I had imposter syndrome the whole time. Here are 4 ways I fought it, and how you can too: It is no surprise that when my team grew 130x from 6 to 800, I ended up not fully knowing what I was doing. At the same time, it is hard to say no to opportunities when you have experienced downsizing and setbacks. So, as the chance to take on new tasks and challenges was available, I said yes. There was definitely an element of "fake it until I make it" in the whole process. It is also true that most of the leaders above and below me were in the same situation. Because of the unprecedented growth of Amazon through these years, most of my managers and direct reports were also in the largest and most complex jobs of their lives. While I cannot know the inner workings of their minds for sure, I feel confident that many of them had similar feelings of imposter syndrome. Action 1: If you worry that you are in over your head, or that people might find out you don't completely know what you are doing, realize that this is normal. Action 2: Understand that it is normal to be in the largest and most complex job of your life for much of your career. If you are not, it often means you have either stepped back intentionally or that you have suffered a setback (like a layoff). Growth inevitably means doing harder things than ever before. Action 3: Get help. Be open with your mentors on what you need. You do not have to share all your worries to lay out your challenges and ask for advice. If you are in an environment where admitting “development areas” is unacceptable, turn your language around and ask for "help optimizing performance and delivery." No one will be against optimization, and it amounts to the same thing - getting insight on any gaps and places to improve. Action 4: Hire a coach, therapist, or counselor if you need one. To be top performers, we need a strong mental game. As leaders, particularly of knowledge work, our whole performance comes from our minds. None of us would hesitate to go to a doctor if we were sick, or a trainer to develop our bodies, so getting help with our mental performance should be a no-brainer. However, there is hesitation and sometimes shame in getting help with our mental game. Readers: I really want to create a short course on fighting imposter syndrome and developing a strong mental game to help with these common challenges. What mental challenges are you fighting? If you have overcome typical worries either in a specific job or long term, share what you did please.

From being a stammerer filled with stage fright to delivering 100+ speeches in 4 years! Here are 10 things I did to train myself to be the best at it: 🎤 Practice Small Chunks: Break your speech into smaller sections and practice each part separately before combining them. This makes it easier to remember and reduces anxiety. 🎤 Record and Review: Record your practice sessions using your phone or a camera. Reviewing these recordings helps identify areas for improvement and track progress over time. 🎤 Gradual Exposure: Start by speaking in front of a mirror, then progress to speaking in front of a small group of friends or family, and gradually increase the audience size. This helps build confidence step-by-step. 🎤 Use Flashcards: Write key points or parts of your speech on flashcards. This helps you stay on track during your speech and reduces the fear of forgetting your lines. 🎤 Join Speaking Clubs: Participate in public speaking clubs like Toastmasters. Regular practice in a supportive environment helps you gain confidence and receive constructive feedback. 🎤 Practice with Distractions: Train yourself to stay focused by practicing your speech in environments with potential distractions, such as a noisy room or with background music playing. 🎤 Mirror Neurons: Watch videos of great speakers and try to mimic their body language and speaking style. This activates your mirror neurons, helping you learn by imitation. 🎤 Mindful Breathing: Before speaking, take deep breaths in for a count of four, hold for four, and exhale for four. This helps calm your nerves and centre your mind. 🎤 Positive Visualization: Spend a few minutes each day visualizing yourself giving a successful speech. Picture the audience applauding and yourself speaking confidently. This mental rehearsal can boost your confidence. 🎤 Use Technology: Utilize speech practice apps that provide real-time feedback on your speaking speed, volume, and clarity. This helps you adjust and improve your delivery. When I learned these lessons, I realized that public speaking wasn't something to fear but something to celebrate. To be able to reach more people and create a long-lasting impact! So, if you're struggling like I was, start training your brain. It's not easy, but it's worth it. ❤️ #publicspeaking #growth #communication #softskills

Switching industries can feel deceptively easy for communications professionals. After all, comms strategy is comms strategy. And stakeholders are stakeholders. But if you carry the wrong mental model into a new sector, you may work yourself to the bone and end up frustrated. I've seen many brilliant comms people switch and become insecure when the results no longer match up to their skills. There are a few reasons why: ➡️ Bringing an adversarial mindset into stakeholder relationships This shows up often among journalists crossing into communications. The role demands a mindset shift, because you’re no longer evaluating organisations from the outside. You’re helping them communicate responsibly from the inside. If you continue to treat stakeholders as opponents to outsmart, rather than partners to engage, you will struggle. In complex industries, good communications rewards judgment and restraint far more than cleverness, and it is credibility, patiently built, that does the real work. ➡️ Assuming what mattered “there” will matter “here” Even more common is assuming the metrics, signals, and priorities from your previous industry automatically transfer. When I worked in content marketing in tech, website traffic and social media engagement were close to sacred. Growth charts were proof of value. When I moved into international development, that logic broke almost immediately. Influence meant engagement with regulators and policymakers. It meant translating evidence and ensuring it reached the right decision-makers. It meant convening and attending events, being in rooms where decisions are made. It meant long-term relationship work that rarely showed up on a dashboard. The communications skills were largely the same. What changed was the proof of value. ➡️ Ignoring the risk posture of the industry and the organisation Moving from fast-paced, startup-style environments into non-profit, public sector, or regulated industries requires a recalibration. Some organisations want bold narrative leadership. Others value disciplined, low-variance communication. Neither is inherently better, they are simply different risk appetites. If your style consistently overshoots the organisation’s tolerance for risk, you will eventually be seen as a liability. Closely related is underestimating compliance and approvals. In finance, healthcare, energy, and public sector work, communications is shaped by legal, regulatory, privacy, safety, and a dozen other rules. You will be forced to pull the brakes, a lot. And if you don’t learn the approval map early, you will lose time, goodwill, and worst of all, credibility. So yes, comms may be industry agnostic and switching industries can be quite exciting. But it also comes with risks that you need to be intelligent about. --- Follow me Ibukun Taiwo for more tips and strategies for leveling up your comms skills, transitioning from early career to senior comms and leading comms teams.

She wasn’t rejected for her skills. She was rejected because her English froze mid-sentence. Riya (name changed) was one of the brightest engineers in her batch. She could code complex systems, explain algorithms, and solve real-world problems. But in every interview, the same thing happened: She’d pause. Stumble. Lose words. And walk out convinced: “I’m not good enough because my English isn’t perfect.” The truth is: Recruiters don’t reject you for grammar. They reject you for the nervousness that takes over when you treat English as a test of intelligence. So here’s the 8-step system I built with her: 1️⃣ We switched from ‘perfect English’ to ‘clear English’. Your interview isn’t an IELTS exam. You don’t need Shakespeare. You need clarity. Instead of long, confusing sentences → we practiced short, direct ones. Example: ❌ “I am desirous of contributing in multifaceted capacities…” ✅ “I want to contribute by solving X and improving Y.” 2️⃣ We built her “answer bank” of 20 power phrases. Instead of memorizing the whole script, she had reusable building blocks. For instance: “One of my key strengths is…” “A challenge I overcame was…” “Here’s how I added value in my last role…” This gave her confidence anchors she could lean on anytime she froze. 3️⃣ We recorded her answers daily. Science shows self-review accelerates fluency by 40%. Listening back helped her fix hesitation and filler words. 4️⃣ We practiced mock interviews in Hinglish. Yes, half Hindi, half English. Because confidence comes before fluency. Once she nailed the answers in a mix, we gradually switched to full English. 5️⃣ We trained pauses as a strength. Silence feels scary in an interview, but it signals confidence. She learned to pause, breathe, and continue instead of rushing. 6️⃣ We expanded her vocabulary with “workplace words.” Not fancy jargon, but 50 words recruiters hear daily: “collaborated,” “resolved,” “delivered,” “improved.” The kind of words that show impact. 7️⃣ We focused on body language, not just words. A confident smile, steady tone, and eye contact make small mistakes invisible. Recruiters remember presence more than prepositions. 8️⃣ We rehearsed under pressure. I simulated real interview stress: timers, tough follow-ups, even deliberate interruptions. So the real interview felt easier than practice. The result? Riya went from 5 straight rejections… To landing her dream role at Infosys in her 7th interview. Not because she suddenly became “fluent.” But because she showed confidence, clarity, and ownership. 👉 If you know someone struggling with English in interviews, Repost this and help your friends land their dream job too. #interviewtips #englishspeaking #careercoaching #dreamjob #interviewcoach