Being nervous for your first day at a new job is normal; there's a lot to get to grips with, a lot of new information to process, and it can take a while before you truly feel settled in your position.
Here at HUSTLE + hush, we recognise that change can feel overwhelming. It's easy to feel out of place in a new workplace, even more so now with the shift toward remote working. This can leave you feeling isolated and alone.
One way to settle these new job nerves is with some self-reflection.
Take the time to think about what you have accomplished and what you would like to accomplish going forward. If you need some help getting started with your self-reflection, then our deck of question cards is a great tool to help guide you through your first 100 days at a new job. If you’d like to be the first to purchase the cards when they go on-sale, join the waitlist by filling in the form below.
Each day, take a moment to flip through the deck, pulling out the cards that speak to you, and reflect on the questions they present. Keep these questions at the front of your mind as you go about your day, and think on what you would like to achieve going forward in your new job.
It's important to remember that everyone experiences these anxieties at one point or another. They are a part of day-to-day life. What matters is that we do not let our anxieties define us. Once you get into the rhythms of your new workplace, any feelings of unease or nervousness will lessen and with every new achievement you'll grow in confidence.
But if you're still in need of a little reassurance – a helpful nudge – read on below for some quotes and affirmations on anxiety and imposter syndrome from some recognisable figures. You'll soon see that you're not alone in feeling those new job nerves!
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
New Job Anxiety and Experiencing Imposter Syndrome…
“I still have a little imposter syndrome…It doesn’t go away, that feeling that you shouldn’t take me seriously. What do I know? I share that with you because we all have doubts in our abilities, about our power and what that power is”.
Michelle Obama, Former First Lady of the United States
“You can get nervous and be like, ‘oh my god, someone’s not going to like me, I’m going to say something that’s wrong, I’m going to do something that’s wrong, I’m afraid someone’s going to look at me funny or they don’t think my life is cool. Then I realised it’s just, it’s anxiety, and I think it’s something we all go through”.
Lana Condor, Actress, Producer and Singer
“Some years ago, I was lucky enough to be invited to a gathering of great and good people: artists and scientists, writers and discoverers of things. And I felt that at any moment they would realise that I didn’t qualify to be there, among these people who had really done things. On my second or third night there, I was standing at the back of the hall…talking to a very nice, polite, elderly gentleman about several things, including our shared first name. And then he pointed to the hall of people, and said words to the effect of ‘I just look at all of these people, and I think, what the heck am I doing here? They’ve made amazing things. I just went where I was sent’. And I said ‘Yes. But you were the first man on the moon. I think that counts for something’. And I felt a bit better. Because if Neil Armstrong felt like an imposter, maybe everyone did”.
Neil Gaiman, Author and Comic Book Writer
“I think the most creative people veer between ambition and anxiety, self-doubt and confidence. I definitely can relate to that. We all go through that: Am I doing the right thing? Is this what I’m meant to be doing?”
Daniel Radcliffe, Actor
“Every time I write a book, every time I face that yellow pad, the challenge is so great. I have written 11 books but each time I think ‘uh-oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody, and they’re going to find me out”.
Maya Angelou, Poet and Activist
“Start a new job and feel like you don’t know what the hell you are doing? Congratulations - you’ve picked the path of growth. Feeling like an imposter isn’t evidence that you are in the wrong situation, it’s clear proof that you are in the right one. You are exactly where you are supposed to be in order to grow.”
Steven Bartlett, Entrepreneur
Easing New Job Nerves By Being Kinder to Ourselves…
“The greatest obstacle for me has been the voice in my head that I call my obnoxious roommate. I wish someone would invent a tape recorder that we could attach to our brains to record everything we tell ourselves. We would realise how important it is to stop this negative self-talk. It means pushing back against our obnoxious roommate with a dose of wisdom”.
Arianna Huffington, Author and Columnist
“We just need to be kinder to ourselves. If we treated ourselves the way we treat our best friend, can you imagine how much better off we would be?”
Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex
“Everyone experiences a version of anxiety or worry in their lives, and maybe we go through it in a different or more intense way for longer periods of time, but there’s nothing wrong with you. To be a sensitive person that cares a lot, that takes things in in a deep way is actually part of what makes you amazing”.
Emma Stone, Actress
“Never, ever, ever, write off anything you’ve achieved as merely being lucky. You are not lucky: you are hardworking and capable. Don’t ever question it”.
Charlene Walters, Author and Entrepreneurship Coach
Building New Job Self-Confidence…
“We gain strength and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face…We must do that which we think we cannot”.
Eleanor Roosevelt, Former First Lady of the United States
“It is confidence in our bodies, minds, and spirits that allows us to keep looking for new adventures”.
Oprah Winfrey, Talk Show Host and Philanthropist
“I’ve got a lot of imposter syndrome. I think that I’m not good enough and that everyone is going to find out one day. As I get older, I go ‘fuck it, I’m alright. And even if I’m blagging it, I’m going to keep blagging it’.”
Emma Willis, TV Personality
“You never have to ask anyone permission to lead. I want you to remember that. OK? When you want to lead, you lead”.
Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States of America
“Don’t minimise or dismiss compliments by attributing your successes to outside factors or people”.
Stephanie Yeboah, Writer and Campaigner
“You will never climb Career Mountain and get to the top and shout ‘I made it!’ You will rarely feel done or complete or even successful. Most people I know struggle with that complicated soup of feeling slighted on one hand and like a total fraud on the other”.
Amy Poehler, Actress, Comedian and Director
“I’d rather regret the risks that didn’t work out than the chances I didn’t take at all”.
Simone Biles, Gymnast
On Self-Reflection and Doing the Work…
“Why am I doing the work I’m doing? Why am I friends with this person? Am I living the best life I possibly can? Questions are often looked upon as questions of doubt, but I don’t see it that way at all. I question things to stay present, to make sure I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing”.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Actor and Filmmaker
“This is the key to life: the ability to reflect, the ability to know yourself, the ability to pause for a second before reacting automatically. If you can truly know yourself, you will begin the journey of transformation”.
Deepak Chopra, Author
“So I have to admit that today, even 12 years after graduation [from Harvard], I’m still insecure about my own worthiness. I have to remind myself today, you are here for a reason. Today, I feel much like I did when I came to Harvard Yard as a freshman in 1999…I felt like there had been some mistake – that I wasn’t smart enough to be in this company…Sometimes your insecurities and your inexperience may lead you to embrace other people’s expectations, standards, or values, but you can harness that inexperience to carve out your own path”.
Natalie Portman, Actress and Director
“People talk about confidence without ever bringing up hard work. That’s a mistake. I don’t understand how you could have self-confidence if you don’t do the work”.
Mindy Kaling, Comedian and Screenwriter
Prepare confidently for a new role
Impress from day one with our pack of coaching cards, full of questions to support you in confidently navigating your first 100 days.
Written by Lauren Grimes.