It was your typical Tuesday. She was standing at her desk and playing on her phone while she waited for the system to load so she could start entering data. Her boss walked up behind her and said, “Can you come to my office please?”

Crap! She knew she should have kept her headphones off so she could hear when her boss was coming and hide her phone. She was meeting all her goals – that wasn’t difficult because all she had to do was enter data and schedule meetings – so she wasn’t concerned she was in trouble. But still…it didn’t look good to be scrolling Instagram.

She sat down in her boss’s office and was in complete shock when she said, “We have a new position, it would be a 2 level jump, but we need someone quick. You’ll be….blah blah blah…” (the last part is a bit fuzzy because she was in such shock). She didn’t take any time to think about it. She immediately accepted even though she had no idea what she would be doing.

Fast forward 5 weeks.

She still had no idea what she was doing. She was so stressed out. And it was very obvious she had no idea. Every time she walked into work her coworkers would sing, “and everyone knows I’m in over my head…in over my head.” The days of data entry and meeting her goals were long gone. She was beginning to wonder if she needed to be concerned about getting fired soon. A mentor had once told her that you should be worried about getting fired, but she’s pretty sure this isn’t what she meant (more to follow in another post). Or maybe she should just quit.

Okay. Let’s start with: You are your harshest critic (unless you’re arrogant, in which case, this post and blog are probably not for you). There’s a reason they asked you to take the new role or the new project or the new whatever. Assume that it’s because they see things in you that will make you excel in this role. Generally speaking, you failing would not make anyone including the company look good.

Relax. You’re not the only one who has ever been in over their head. Take a breath and find a different way to look at your new challenge. Take a step back from the larger goal and focus on breaking it apart into smaller goals. When you break it apart into smaller pieces, you will find that there are things that you’re already good at and/or know you can add value to. Remember that you have a lot of knowledge and experience. And don’t let imposter syndrome (the fear that any minute someone will discover you are a fraud and are not competent enough to be there) get to you, but also know that all of us feel it (including Emma Watson) every now and then. Shake it off, quickly.

Fake it till you make it. You really shouldn’t fake knowing something. It’s bad juju to lie about what you are capable of. But you should be confident that there is a reason you’re in that position. You need to exude confidence (note we said confidence, not arrogance) for others to believe in you.

Admit that you don’t have all the answers. Honestly, all we have to say on this is: Don’t be a derp. Know what you don’t know and be okay with asking questions and asking for help. Try asking a mentor, a boss, your peers, your mom, even your ex if that makes sense…

It may feel like you’re drowning, but trust us – you can do this. And if you can’t, ask for help and make sure that it still gets done. At the end of the day, results matter. It’s much more valuable to be able to pull people to help you to the finish line than to miserably fail on your own. And you don’t want your coworkers mockingly singing as you walk in (that was definitely a result of not knowing when to ask for help).

From our experience, if you’re advancing your career, you will be in over your head at some point and that’s okay. It’s all about how you handle it. 

You’ve heard our experience, let’s hear yours…