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When most of my clients first come to me, they express a lot of fear about their career. The fears shared include fear of…
- Being rejected by hiring managers
- Not finding the right job
- Making the wrong decision on multiple job offers
- Failing at a new career endeavor
- Not making enough money to provide for their family
- Staying stuck in the wrong job
A lot of these concerns boil down to deeper fears, such as fear of…
- Losing control
- Losing approval or influence
- Change
- Being wrong
You’ve probably experienced at least one (if not more) of these fears in your own career.
Steps to dealing with your fear
The first step in dealing with these emotions is to acknowledge them as normal, common, expected, and sometimes healthy. But letting them take control of you or paralyze your decision-making is when they become unhealthy.
By acknowledging your fears instead of ignoring them or denying them, you can make a conscious decision to take the next steps in dealing with your fears.
For some people, baby steps work best. One baby step you might take is to consider the worst-case scenario, and then ask yourself what the likelihood is of it ever happening, especially given your strengths and problem-solving skills.
Maybe you haven’t ever really taken an inventory of your strengths and skills. If this is the case, then you might want to take this baby step.
Perhaps getting help from a career coach is the best way for you to deal with your fears. An example of a baby step would be to set up an initial consultation just to gather more information on how the career coaching process works.
Other baby steps would be to start first with an online tutorial, or by following the tips in these two blog posts:
1. How to Overcome Your Fear of Risk and Improve Your Life
In this post, I share seven ways to gain control over your fear and improve your career.
2. Five Common Fears (and Myths) of Quitting a Job You Hate
5 Common Fears (and Myths) of Quitting a Job You Hate (Re-post)
This post is for those who may find themselves in a place where they can’t continue to stay in their current work situation, because it’s negatively affecting their health. There are times when some people may have to quit their job without another job lined up. This isn’t the answer for everyone, but if you find yourself in this situation, there are some tips in this post you can implement to survive the period in between employment.
Also in this post, I’ve provided some ways to challenge your fears and assumptions to help you be more realistic about your career. These tips are also and especially helpful for those who don’t have the option to leave their current job yet.
Start today
One thing to keep in mind is the fears you’re feeling will likely never go away. You’ll always experience them to some degree. The goal is to reduce the degree of your fear by doing those small things you have control over.
Taking small action steps will add up over time, therefore subtracting the amount of fear you feel.
What’s one step you can take, or one tip from the referenced posts you can implement today, to begin dealing with your fears?
