I recently heard a speaker discussing some of the challenges women face that they ‘create’ for themselves. One of these was our inherent inability to see the good in ourselves and have confidence in our abilities.
An example given of how this differs between men and women was this: when considering applying for a new job, a man will submit an application if he believes he meets approx 30-40% of the minimum requirements…whereas a woman will only apply for the job if she is confident that she meets 95-100% of the requirements.
When I first heard the statement (which was made with the appropriate reference to who conducted the study…that I no longer recall)…I thought to myself, yep that sounds about right for me…perhaps next time I apply for a new job I will be more confident in my abilities and put myself forward even if I don’t think I have all the necessary skills yet.
Well…I didn’t…I recently applied for a new role at work. There were 3 roles available, all at varying levels of ‘skill’ and ‘responsibility’. Whilst all 3 of the roles were in the same location and all 3 included some element of job requirement that I would have to learn…I put in an application for the lowest level of the 3.
Now, this was not done lightly. I thought about the pros and cons a lot and had made a list of all the reasons why the ‘assistant’ role would be better for me…but to be honest my reasons were pretty lame. I’ve never wanted to be an ‘assistant’…I like to be in control and to know that if I work hard I will be recognised and rewarded….and also that if I drop the ball that it is my butt that gets kicked and that I am responsible for facing the music and learning from my mistakes.
Anyway, I digress….
During my interview for the assistant job I told the interviewers (there were 3 of them) my reasons for applying for the job and why I thought it was the best option for me at this time….
I guess they could tell that my reasons where soft and that it was not the role I was actually capable of….because I didn’t get the job…
What happened though was somewhat unexpected, though also exactly what I needed…I got offered the higher level role…being a manager instead of the assistant.
I know that they know I don’t currently have 100% of the skills and experience required…but we both know that that has never stopped me from being successful before…yes, there is a lot to learn…but I am smart, I am excited, I am keen to get back into doing what I love doing which is talking to real people about their goals and aspirations and then helping them to make it happen. I will also have a great team around me that are willing and able to support me as I find my feet in these new waters!
Now…to get through the next few weeks in my current job before our holidays…because my first day back after the holiday is going to be day one of the new chapter in my career!