It's Okay to Second-Guess Your Job

Let’s face it. Venturing out of your comfort zone is easier said than done, especially when it comes to your first job.

You have to be vulnerable, courageous and confident. Three things many recent college graduates struggle to be (please tell me it’s not just me).   

I accepted my first real job three months before I graduated college – way before the majority of my peers even started looking. My first reaction? I’m employed! In your face, statistics.  

My yearlong position will involve traveling about every six days and working with college women. I was ecstatic for the opportunity to work for a value-based company, spend a year traveling across the United States and use my skills to make a difference.

As time passed and my start date grew closer, I began to second-guess everything about the job I accepted months earlier.  

Is there a better opportunity? Am I taking the right step towards my career? Do I really want to spend a year away from everything and everyone I know? Am I even qualified?

This job was going to be the first of many changes in my post-grad life and I was terrified. I began to doubt my strengths, my knowledge, my personality and even my sense of style. I was just waiting for the day someone realized I didn’t know everything in the world.

Finally, I stopped being scared and started being vulnerable. I faced reality: This new job is going to challenge me personally and professionally. It will undoubtedly push me outside of my comfort zone, but in one year I will be a better version of myself.

Employment is an important decision and it is terrifying to feel like you could be making the wrong decision. On the other hand, it is important to understand that while it’s normal to second-guess a new job or opportunity, you still need to follow through with your commitment.

Your first job may not be the perfect job, but you will still gain new skills, talents and experiences. If you change your mindset to, "I am going to learn as much as possible from this,” then you can begin to eliminate your self-doubt and stop second-guessing your decision.

You applied for this job for a reason and you were intentionally selected, too. You’ll never know what is waiting on the other side of graduation, until you take a risk and explore. It could be everything you dreamed of or open doors to even bigger and better opportunities.

Enter each new opportunity with an open mind and open eyes. At the end of the day, you are improving yourself no matter what. When a new job requires you to venture outside of your comfort zone, grab your vulnerability, courage and confidence and do it! 

[Photo by Juliette Kibodeaux.]

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