5 Easy Steps To Boost Your Confidence & Credibility

While the old adage "fake it til you make it" may seem a bit cliche, oftentimes our lack of confidence and feelings of inadequacy keep us from reaching our full potential. With college students are prepping to return to class and new graduates are experiencing their first Fall in the work force, there is no better time to set an intention to make this upcoming season your best one yet.

You can only be as successful as the leaps you are willing to take on your own behalf. Before anyone else can support or help you along your way, you must be willing to first invest time in your own development. Here are five easy steps that you can take towards boosting your confidence and credibility.

1. Make a monetary investment in yourself. Willingness to shell out a few bucks shows that you're ready to make a commitment. One week of sacrificing your morning latte is enough to pay for custom business cards; packing lunch for a few weeks help you save up for a new blazer. Sacrifice a bit to save money for an investment that makes you feel like a better professional.

2. Choose your own titles. You don't have to wait until you're in a role to give yourself the title. Review your skills, and draft your own titles from that set. If you want to become a social media manager, change your social media bios to read something like 'Social media expert with a passion for non-profit work.' Start making a name for yourself so that people know what to reach out to you for. Just remember to always be honest, and only call yourself what you truly feel capable of expanding on later (like during an interview).

3. Have experts speak for you. Nothing helps to boost your confidence and credibility like knowing that someone else believes in you. Having that person shout your greatness to the world is an added bonus. Reach out to previous supervisors and co-workers and ask them to share a few sentences about you and your abilities. You can add these testimonials to your website, if you have one, or bring them up while networking or interviewing.

4. Stop being modest. While humility is a virtuous quality, there are times when boasting your skills and abilities is necessary. Write down your accomplishments, results you've achieved in and out of your field, and read them to yourself out loud. Get used to speaking out your accomplishments so that when it's time to really talk yourself up, you feel comfortable sharing your successes.

5. Pitch yourself without prompt. Your dream job or internship may not be posted online, or even be in existence yet. If you really want that dream position, you may have to be bold and create it yourself. Pitch yourself, your skills and your services to brands and companies who may not be explicitly looking for a professional like you. Worst case scenario, they won't need your services at that time. But when they do need someone, the person who took a risk and pitched themselves will definitely stand out.

What steps have you taken to boost your confidence and credibility? Any of the tips above?

(image credit)