I have one simple trick to help you boost your confidence on the job. I’m not kidding when I say simple… it’s a “Wins List” and it’s something that can help you get a better gig, get a promotion at your current gig or even change careers.
What it is, is a weekly wrap-up (I mean if you want to do it daily, go to town) but I suggest that every Friday you take a minute to reflect on the week that you just had at work. Then, write down all of your wins.
It can be something small like: “I didn't roll my eyes at Susan during the finance meeting,” or “I actually put a meeting with my manager on my calendar.”
It can also be something big like “I created an initiative that saved the department 11% of their budget for the quarter” or “I doubled the program size” or “I finally received that friggin’ award” or “I came up with a really creative solution to a problem that no one was expecting”.
Do this every week. Why? It leads to is a collection of career highlights that you can mine for your resume, for your LinkedIn profile, for your networking conversations. It also highlights your strengths and collects kudos so you don’t have to pull them out of a hat last minute.
You can then use items from your list as bargaining chips if you're trying to get a promotion at your current position or you can use it as a confidence booster if you’re feeling like you’re in a slump or you’re doubting yourself as you look to change careers.
If you look back every week and can say “Yeah I kicked ass this week!” you’re going to be better at your job, because you’re going to have the confidence of knowing that you’re succeeding at it.
It's a simple practice but it's one that can have such a huge effect.
So again, just once a week go back and list out your wins. When you get a big one, you know… when you get a major one one that you know is impressive, make sure to work it into your LinkedIn profile, and pop it into your resume, make sure when you're networking that you work it into conversation.
Let it boost your confidence, and again, when you're going for a promotion or you're going for a raise or you're interviewing for that new job … you've got a list of ammunition to take with you that says “I am worth this money, I am worth this position, I am worth this title, and here are some concrete examples of work that I've done that proves it.”
It’s such a simple thing to do, it should take you all of five minutes total, but it genuinely can be a MASSIVE career boost.
Do you have any other tips for a ‘Wins List’ or something like it that you use? Pop it in the comments I would love to share it with people. Do you have a wins list from this week? Let me know! I would love to see it - just shoot me an e-mail: ebs@ebsanders.com
Yours in winning goodness,
EBS
