Regaining Confidence After a Career Break with Carol Fishman Cohen
With 3, 2, 1, iRelaunch
“The more professionally disconnected you feel, the more of a hit to your confidence may happen, and the longer you’ve been on a career break the worse it gets.”
In this podcast, iRelaunch CEO Carol Fishman Cohen interviews executive coach Valerie Cherneski, discussing the ways in which you can regain and project confidence after a career break when you're looking for your next job.
It's easy to feel intimated about getting out there and talking to potential employers, but as these two women talk so openly about, this is a very normal feeling and there are some simple steps to take in order to make the transition back to work that much smoother and more successful. From nailing the elevator pitch, faking it until you make it, pushing out of your comfort zone, and drawing upon connections, present and past, there are ways to connect to your confidence again and make the right career choice for you.
It's no surprise that individual's confidence can be at its lowest when they are attempting to re-launch themselves. Being out of practice, managing new realities such as starting families, moving and leaving careers behind, makes the process that much more daunting. Networking, and interviewing can seem alien and scary. On top of this, there’s also the feeling of not knowing what to do next, what role to take and where to even begin when going back to work. As Carol and Valerie suggest, however, people are not alone in this relaunch struggle, and feeling a blow to confidence after a career break is completely normal. Feeling overwhelmed is human. You just have to make the processes simple, and find one thing you can do each day to move forward and take action. You have to be persistent, and ultimately, not give up.
“Confidence can be learnt and built. You don’t have to feel that it is something that is entirely innate.”