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NOTE: Due to COVID-19 concerns and Philadelphia's stay at home orders, the Self(ish) Philly Conference has been postponed to September 18th. This episode of The Stress Less Show was recorded prior to the postponement.
Knowing your worth is easier said than done. Many of us don't spend a lot of time thinking about our value to our loved ones, to our employers and the world overall. However, that value cannot be understated. The reality is we have so much to give to the world and one of the most important things we can do for ourselves is to recognize our worth and stand up for it. That is why I brought on the Stress Less Show this week Stephanie Heath, a job search consultant and career coach, to talk all about the importance of knowing our worth so that we can reclaim selfishness and put ourselves first.
Working in Recruitment and HR in the corporate world, Stephanie learned her own value through soul-crushing layoffs, burnout, and disillusionment with the corporate career she poured everything into. After a transformational trip to Japan, Stephanie found the confidence in herself to go into business on her own.
“I think everyone should do it at some point. For me, it was definitely needed. And I'm a completely different person because of it.”
Now, Stephanie helps soft-spoken men and women land soul-aligned, six-figure, corporate careers and transform their professional confidence. Through her journey and her work with countless clients, Stephanie has a few tips for beginning to recognize your worth so you can put your needs first and perform at your best.
Tip #1: For Job Seekers, You Are Already Qualified
An area where knowing your value truly comes into play is when we are looking for a job. Job-seeking can be a very discouraging process. It can be easy to feel discouraged when we hear so many rejections in a row, and often, that discouragement turns into self-doubt. However, Stephanie stresses that when you are looking for a job and land an interview, it is important to remember that you are already qualified.
“Recruitment teams typically don't get on the phone with you unless you're a 70 [or] 80 percent fit. So [they’re] not wasting time. [They’re] not doing you a favor to interview you.”
Keeping this in mind is important because it allows us to remember that an interview is just as much about the job seeker interviewing the company as it is about the company interviewing the job seeker. When we’re able to recognize that we have what it takes to succeed and we have value to bring to the table that the company needs, that self-confidence is what sets us apart from everyone else.
Tip #2: Think about what it is costing the organization/people around you.
While knowing your value and worth as a job seeker is key to showing the confidence you need to land your dream job, it is also important to remember that value and worth within yourself as you continue working in your career. In some ways, it's easy to think about valuing yourself when we’re interviewing, but when we start to fall into the rhythm of a day-to-day job we tend to lose sight of what we actually bring to a company and the impact we have on its success. That's why an important thing to keep in mind, Stephanie mentions, is to remember the importance of you functioning at your best.
“You're costing the company money by not embodying who you really are and just being as powerful as you deserve to be.”
This is a lesson that Stephanie herself learned in her own career. She began to realize that her hesitating on decisions and worrying about stepping on other people's toes or upsetting others were resulting in decreased productivity for herself and her team in those around her.
It is absolutely necessary to remember that you play an important role in the work that you do. So you need to make sure that you are doing everything in your power to make sure that you can perform at your best. That means giving yourself what you need personally and professionally.
Tip #3: Remember that people LOVE people that put themselves first.
There can be a lot of fear around valuing ourselves and putting ourselves first as we’ve talked about before, and a lot of that fear stems from the worry that people will not love us if we aren't devoting ourselves to other people first. However, Stephanie notes that in actuality the people that are putting themselves first end up being the people we gravitate towards.
“I had someone in college like this. Everyone was obsessed with her. And we all did so many things for her birthday… If you look at her objectively, potentially someone could say that she's like selfish and vain, but also, all these other wonderful qualities, too.”
The ironic thing about putting yourself first is that in reality when we start really valuing ourselves, that is when other people start to show that same care back to us; and the love we feared we would lose from “being selfish” is actually what we end up gaining.
“I like to invite all of us to kind of take that on because we cater to people like that. And as long as you're not hurting someone and you're being kind. What's wrong with it?”
If you are ready to put yourself first, join me and Stephanie at Self(ish) Philly on September 18th. Self(ish) Philly is a transformative self-care conference filled with Philadelphia’s best wellness resources, speakers and more! Learn more and grab your tickets here!