Bag of Nerves!

Last month I blogged on my nervousness about moving into my new role as a Junior Consultant so I thought I would write an update on how the last month has gone...

As I suspected, I was very anxious about what the month might have in store for me. I know from past experience that being nervous is completely unavoidable for me so I have had to try and figure out ways to overcome this. At the risk of sounding like a Nike advert, I really think the answer is to 'just do it'. The first case of this was working on my first role and speaking to my first client. It would not be an exaggeration to say that I thought my heart was going to physically leave my chest and my hands were trembling. I realise that for many this may seem like an overreaction but in my case I don't have a choice about the way I respond to such situations.

I remembered that when I started my role as a Resourcer, I experienced exactly the same nerves and that over time, the more I did something the easier it got. I am now at the point where I can confidently deal with any matters that arise in my current role which made me realise that, this time, I need to go through that same process but from a consultant's perspective. Having spoken to my first client and worked on my first role, it has helped me to overcome the initial worries that I had, which already shows me that the more I do it the easier it will be.

I had to make a particularly difficult call to a client yesterday and I was waiting for my nerves to calm down before I rang them, or for my colleagues to get on the phone so that nobody could hear me try and fumble my way through the call. Neither of those things happened - so rather than sit there getting more nervous, I just picked up the phone and called. Needless to say, the conversation was nothing to be afraid of and once I had put the phone down I felt like I had achieved something.

When I am feeling nervous it's easy to forget that actually this is the sort of career move that I want, and that I have worked hard to achieve. I have a great team around me and am learning from experienced and successful consultants. I hope that over time I will become more confident in myself and less anxious! I really think the only way I am going to get over it is to directly put myself into situations that make me uncomfortable, so that I will eventually be able to do that task without feeling worried.

Do you get nervous when put in a new situation? Do you have any tips on how to deal with nerves? I would love to hear them! Please feel free to get in touch or connect with me on LinkedIn.