Discover how lack of confidence holds back talented professionals and learn practical strategies to recognize your worth, advocate for yourself, and advance your career with conviction and clarity.
Her Story
About Dr. Sandra
Dr. Sandra Calles owns and operates Dr. Sandra's Coaching Corner, where she provides career coaching to women at all stages, from the end of high school through the C-suite. She maintains a full-time role in office management at National Cargo Bureau in the maritime industry, managing billing, communications, and collections. Dr. Sandra Calles earned a doctoral degree in psychology after beginning her training at Harbor College as a career guidance counselor and therapist, and she served as an advisor in a multicultural women's program at USC. She has been a board member of the Latina Public Service Academy for 12 years, focusing on educating young girls about public service and government, and she serves on the steering committee of WEMOS Women in Maritime Operations, where she mentors women in the industry. Dr. Sandra Calles is the benefactor of the Manuel Akaya Scholarship for Women, which provides an annual $1,000 award to college students pursuing mental health or entrepreneurial paths.
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Articles by Dr. Sandra
What is Holding You Back?
Building the Self-Belief Required to Advance Your Career and Life
I have the great fortune to work with people from diverse backgrounds. Most of my clients have at least a decade's worth of experience in their fields and are seasoned veterans of both their professions and life.
The first step in my coaching process is for the client to fill out an informational questionnaire. The questions are designed to help the client take an inventory of what they have accomplished in their life to this point. The goal is to ultimately help them find clarity and determine a direction in which to move forward in their career and life.
As I move through this process with my clients, time after time, I find one recurring theme that is derailing their success: a lack of
CONFIDENCE!
Sadly, it is mostly a female issue, but men are not exempt from this either. I have been trying to get to the root causes, and there are many, but it seems to boil down to this: not feeling good enough and not believing in themselves. The reasons for that likely run deeper than the scope of a coaching relationship, but this point coming to the forefront is fodder for plenty of self-reflection and the need to face this head-on.
Taking the next step on your career path requires just enough courage to put yourself out there. You have to get your résumé and LinkedIn profile just right, go for jobs outside your comfort zone, and participate in the interview process. Or, you have to ask for a promotion and/or a raise. All of these things require you to highlight your accomplishments and successes and believe in yourself.
It pains me to see how often my clients undervalue the breadth and depth of their talents and experience. They simply do not give themselves credit for everything they know how to do and why they deserve to get paid for it! I think this comes from a culture of comparing ourselves to others and being made to feel that we have to fight and claw our way toward salaries and recognition that we actually deserve.
Being in that competitive mode, where we can't always win, removes you from being in accomplishment mode and creates this feeling of not being enough. You are enough, but not every job is going to be a good fit for you or the employer. You have to keep going until you find what is right for you. Every step along the way is part of your journey and provides you with opportunities for learning and growth.
We can't let rejection or setbacks devalue our talent and chip away at our confidence. I invite you to keep a running tab on your skills, talents, and gifts, and remind yourself of your strengths. Keep your résumé current, but also look at the one you wrote at the beginning of your career and see how far you have come! You have to be your own best advocate and know your worth. Confidence will be the natural occurrence of knowing yourself and moving in the direction that it takes you.
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