You wonder how you can boost self-confidence in your first job. After all those years of study, you applied and were accepted for a position. Let’s take a look at what you can do to boost self-confidence.

Our behavior is an interesting part of us, as it defines us. It is said that people at their core never change. While this might be true, we tend to behave differently depending on where we are and who we are with. That doesn’t mean we change as a person; it is more about adapting (and reacting) to situations.

One particular aspect of human behavior which makes all the difference is confidence. It literally determines how we approach a certain situation and how we come out of it. Confidence alters the way we live our lives, and it shows.

This is something that one should definitely pay attention to in a professional environment, as it can pave the way for your career growth. This is truer when you get a new or your first job. Regardless of the experience you hold, a new working environment is an unknown place full of unknown people. Until that changes with time, it can shake your confidence which may not be a surprise.

Boost Self-confidence

There are a number of ways to boost self-confidence when you are starting your first job. So, how do you do that?

Take it easy

Learn your work thoroughly (with time)

Be positive (adapt and get used to the new place)

Get acquainted with your colleagues

It’s ok to make mistakes, especially initially

Don’t worry too much about the criticism

Use your strengths and experience (when you have it)

Be open to learning new stuff

Remember your successful moments and think about them

Most of all, believe in yourself

Take It Easy

Whether you are a fresher or an experienced professional, you are always excited about getting a new job. But along with that, it is also possible to overburden yourself with expectations. Do not do that.

No matter how soon your employer expects you to start punching in the numbers or submit that report, give yourself time to settle down. Get to know the place, walk around and explore. But of the things that you can ensure from day one is to be punctual. It can work wonders to the way you start your day. When you are punctual, you get time to settle down and prevent yourself from being pushed into the day’s work instantly.

Learn Your Work Thoroughly

This is so obvious when you’re a fresher. But even as an experienced person, a new workplace can always throw up new challenges and bring new ways to do the same thing. You may get to work with a new set of tools and new products within the industry you belong to. There is always something new to learn. This is how you grow professionally and gain experience.

Learn everything about your new job, but just like the first point says, take it easy. Nobody wants you to learn things in a single day. Be progressive with your training. Pause when you feel the need for it. Analyze your learning curve. It goes without saying that your work knowledge helps in improving your self-confidence at the workplace.

Be Positive

There’s a natural hint of nervousness when you join a new office, no matter how big or small the company is. Will it go nicely? Will everything be alright? What kind of first impression I’ll be giving? These are the universal questions that can come to your mind.

Be positive. Embrace everything good that the new work environment offers you, right from the people to the processes. Remember there will always be things that you may not like. Do not waste your energy into thinking too much about them.

Observe. Adapt to the new place by learning the ways of it. It is a part of learning. Understand how people work there. Gel with the environment.

“Be like water,” said Bruce Lee.

Get Acquainted With Your New Colleagues

Interacting with people does a lot of good things. First and foremost, it opens you up. It helps remove preconceived opinions you may have about others and that others may have about you.

Interaction also acts as an icebreaker between people. And anyway, you cannot avoid talking to your colleagues because you are part of a team in the end. Communication increases and improves teamwork. It reflects on your individual performance as well as your team’s. Knowing the ins and outs of the way things work in the new setup via formal and informal conversations can help you in taking the first step towards being a part of the team.

It’s Ok to Make Mistakes

In today’s environment which is becoming increasingly competitive with each passing day, there’s a big problem with employees in trying to attain perfection. You cannot even blame them all the time. It’s just the way the expectations are today.

You must realize that it is absolutely alright to make mistakes, especially in the beginning when you’re still getting a hold of your new job. Be ambitious, work for it, but do not target perfection if it starts to adversely affect your personality. Do not allow the sense of competition get the better of you.

You must understand that it is about perspective, it is about your approach to work. Be realistic and work to being the best that you can be.

Don’t Worry Too Much About the Criticism

This is another major problem today – criticism; the way it is delivered and the way it is taken. And how it affects you as an individual. What must be understood here is that criticism is part of life, and so it is part of your career. It is one of the elements of ups and downs in life.

This is something related to the previous point in a way that going for perfection all the time makes you vulnerable in making mistakes and hence, in taking criticism. Regardless of that, never take it too seriously. It affects everything – from your performance to your body language.

Just like people say that one must not rest on their past laurels, there is no need to sit and hold onto the criticism either. Learn from it if it teaches you something, and move on. There are many good things in life that deserve your attention more.

Use Your Strengths

Sometimes, you need to deliberate yourself into looking at your own strengths. When the work pressure is high, you can get caught in merely finishing up work and forget about what makes you good at it.

When you see a challenge is too tough to take on, try and dig deep into your abilities. Talk to yourself and think patiently on how you can win over it. Even when you’re a fresher, you have the opportunity to learn and work with your current set of skills.

Be Open to Learning New Stuff

This isn’t the same as learning the new tools and products that you get to work within your new job, because that is an obvious step in your training. This is about enhancing your skills by voluntarily learning new ways of doing the same thing, which may result in improved work efficiency. It also keeps you competitive and promises career growth. Anything that helps you to do your job better makes you more confident.

Remember Your Successful Moments and Think About Them

More than lamenting on the things that didn’t go so well, remember your successful moments more. Think about them more often without entering into a dreamland that you cannot come out of!

Of course, remembering your failures teaches you how not to do things (more than how to do them and get them wrong). But recalling your successes brings hope for the future, and it reignites your belief in your own abilities. Think about what is it you did that it brought you success and praise. Can you repeat it, or can you replicate it in your new working environment? Your unsuccessful moments can always drive you to do better and prove yourself, but remembering your successes can accelerate positive thinking.

Believe in Yourself

This is how you should always step inside your workplace, be it a new job, first job or the usual playground! Your self-belief can make everything possible. Did your previous day not go so well? Don’t sweat on it the following day. Believe in yourself, you are human, you can make mistakes. Everyone does.

Self-belief is directly related to your confidence. It shows in the way you stand, sit and walk around the floor. It shows in the way you talk to your colleagues and how you approach a situation. It is the summation of everything. It is about being positive even if you’re dealing with the toughest day on your job.

Building self-confidence as a newbie for your first-ever job isn’t rocket science. It is mostly about the way you live your life on a daily basis. More than anything, it is about being happy.

About the Author

Samuel Alfie is a blogger at ProProfs Discuss, the #1 Q&A website with millions of wisdom seekers collaborating to ask questions and get the best answers. He loves reading and writing about a variety of topics including e-commerce, science, philosophy, pop culture, traveling, digital media, and more. With a knack for writing, enthusiasm for research and an editorial mindset, he loves creating content that resonates with the audience.