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Anonymous
10/15/20 at 4:54AM UTC
in
Career

"We all put our pants on one leg at a time"

I am a junior analyst and was recently on a client call with my supervisor who recently returned from a staycation. I quickly filled him in on the details of what the meeting would potentially go over. During the call he encouraged me to speak up and voice my concerns pertaining to any issues with our current processes to the client and to feel free to answer any questions asked of us. So the client asked a question to our team and I completely froze! Yes I froze when the client asked us a question and I couldn't answer. Thankfully my supervisor was attentive and after a few seconds of long awkward silence, he answered the question! After the call my supervisor spoke to me and the one thing he said that I took away with me is "We all put our pants on one leg at a time" he explained that there is no reason to be nervous when speaking to management or a client because they too are people and they may not be aware of our daily processes; hence, the reason they are asking the questions they do. His words really put things into perspective for me because we all are working professionals who essentially want to be ideal representatives for our companies while advancing in our careers. It is very important to be confident in ourselves and what we have learned and speak up so we can move up. Let me know if you have a similar experience or any thoughts and comments.

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Anonymous
10/16/20 at 2:17AM UTC
I agree with both of the above and good for your boss for treating that as a teachable moment. I was also client facing in my first job out of college. Similar to you I had moments where I froze because I was speaking with executive level professionals who were much more experienced than I was. My nerves would often get the best of me until I had a turning point one day. During my first client event a very senior client of mine helped to change my perspective. We had never met in person until that day and he did a double take after reading my name tag as he walked by. Then he said my name very loudly, in front my senior colleagues and said equally loudly—-‘I can’t believe you’re so young! From afar I thought you were an intern and I mean this all respectfully. I’ve thrown things at you that people 10years into their careers struggle with, I just had no idea you were so young’. Then he shook my hand and said very loudly to my colleagues—make sure to keep this one, she’s definitely going places. That interaction made me realize we often are our harshest critic. And while someone may be more experienced, educated, etc than you, there’s still a TON of value you can offer with a young/fresh/unique perspective. Step confidently into your power darling!
Anonymous
10/17/20 at 10:18AM UTC
I agree we are our harshest critics. Thank you for the confidence boost and for sharing your personal story!
Anonymous
10/15/20 at 8:23AM UTC (Edited)
Congratulations on having a good supervisor who mentors you. I agree with you, also be patient with the clients and the management, think of it like you are the "process owner"
VictoriaP
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110
10/15/20 at 6:29AM UTC
Sounds like you have a great supervisor and an even better mentor.

You're invited.

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