“Always have your sense of intrinsic worth separated from whatever is happening to you so that even in a storm, you can be a steady ship.”

M Pavia, Product Marketing Expert, shares her experience of reclaiming her career self-confidence to embrace her intrinsic worth during a difficult career phase, which took place during a difficult, bizarre phase of the job market.

First M shares her biggest lessons that began with her courageous leap into an Ivy League business school for her MBA, then her mismatched job experiences and management styles. All of which led to self-doubt and application rejections that shook her confidence.

We discuss the process of managing dips in self-confidence when negative, external factors seem relentless, particularly during a tough job market in the tech industry. M shares her insightful strategies, including therapy, reframing her experiences positively, and recognizing her value beyond external validations, coaching, and building specific career skills.

We also explore the impact of class differences, opportunity gaps, and cultural differences that impact access, growth, and professional development.

This episode underscores the importance of trusting your own brave career journey, even when the job market or specific positions don’t, as well as the power of getting support to craft your own narrative.

To all the courageous listeners striving in their careers: remember, your worth is intrinsic and unconnected to your professional phase.

Hot topics from this episode:
  • M’s career advice on maintaining awareness of one’s value during tough times
  • The Struggle With Negative Thoughts and techniques to live through them
  • The difficulty of seeking external recognition with the importance of recognizing and valuing one’s intrinsic worth
  • The process of moving away from brand-name identification, while acknowledging the power of brands to visibility and opportunities
  • Societal Biases and Personal Anecdotes: class differences, privilege, affirmative action, white supremacy, misogyny and patriarchy in career growth