How to Build Killer Confidence in Your First Job After College

You did it. You turned the tassel, framed your fresh degree, and secured your first job out of college. This is the moment you’ve been looking forward to for years, so why does it feel so intimidating?

Truth is, walking into a full-time role is a nerve-racking experience for many, especially recent graduates. Faced with entering the job world with little to no professional experience, recent graduates find themselves struggling to build confidence while catching onto the ins-and-outs of their new position. Building confidence also becomes difficult when you’re surrounded by workers who are veterans in their job role, and experts in their industry.

Let’s face it – no one likes being the new kid on the block. And being the new kid on the block with little to no experience sometimes makes it worse. Luckily though, these issues can be solved and you don’t need to let your past experience, or lack thereof, bring you down. Let it motivate you to shine, learn, and conquer in your first role.

We have the chance to build killer confidence through a little coaching and outlook changing. According to Entrepreneur’s list of ways to boost self-confidence, visualizing yourself the way you want to be is the first step. If you picture yourself as the new worker who is well-liked, a great contributor to their team, and soon, a key person in the growth of your company, guess what? You’re on the path to getting there. Every individual has the opportunity to transform themselves in their new role and climb the ladder of success. Just remember, even the CEO of your company was a hot-off-the-press graduate at one point, and he or she likely needed years of experience before making their way into the C-suite.

Next, it’s important to show those in your job that you’re happy. As humans, we have a natural desire to be around happy people, and we feel a deep sense of admiration for those with warming optimism. Although being optimistic can prove difficult in tough situations, it’s an opportunity to show others that you have a positive outlook and a hopeful attitude.

Additionally, happiness and confidence may have a direct correlation. In a study conducted by Spruce, Hawaii was found to be the most confident state in America, with residents reporting themselves at an average of 7.78 out of 10 in self-confidence. Hawaii is also consistently ranked as the happiest state in all of America. Coincidence? I think not. Happiness and confidence seem to function interdependently in individuals as shown by Hawaii’s ability to be both the most confident state in the nation, and also the happiest.

We can all take a lesson from Hawaii and feel reassurance in knowing that channeling our inner happiness will lead to confidence. This will attract co-workers to our energy, and make our confidence known as we take on new tasks and embrace upcoming challenges.

These are only a few of the many ways to build self-confidence in a new job role. The act of consistently being confident takes time to build and maintain but will come in due time. Before you know it, you’ll be bonding with your team, feeling confident in pitching ideas, and experiencing a new sense of accomplishment as you navigate your full-time position.

Don’t feel discouraged if your confidence journey is still ongoing years after graduation. It can take some people decades to get to a place where they feel comfortable, confident, and secure in themselves. Until you get to that point, understand that your journey won’t look like your coworkers.

Above all, everyone has the ability to create new found confidence and find belonging in their first job role. The more confidence you show, even if you’re faking it, the more your coworkers will trust in your ability to perform your job, and perform your job well.