Is It Time to Get Over You?
Curt Skene’s In2Win! Career Coaching Supplement.
Confidence is great but too much can lead to trouble. Many executives are shocked to find out that the phone simply doesn’t ring off the hook once the word on the street says they are available. They are also surprised to learn that not every organization places the same value on their experience as they do. Because of ego and expectation there is often a temptation to wait for offers to come to you.
This seldom happens! As you embark on this journey start with an open mind, tuck in your ego and show your desire to work hard in every meeting you attend. When you are overconfident you allow yourself to become too casual and many times you’ll shortcut answers assuming they simply trust your abilities. This is especially true when you are interviewing with a friend or previous business relationship.
Employers appreciate confidence. They appreciate executives who are self-assured but when you cross that line into arrogance then you will close many doors. Take into consideration that your personality style can have a lot to do with how confident you appear. A driver, expressive personality and to some extent analytical type, can convey the illusion of arrogance.
So make sure you know to pull your personality back when you need to. Always look to “earn” credibility and recognize you are the one who is there to win their respect and the opportunity to work for them.
Transition requires humility. Your former title does not open every door; current value and relationships do.
Why I Wrote This Page
Because your sense of your own value is often calibrated to an earlier peak, a bigger title, a hotter market, a different company, and that calibration doesn’t automatically update just because circumstances have changed.
This isn’t about competence declining. It’s about confidence built on outdated data, and outdated confidence reads as arrogance to people evaluating your current value, not your historical one. The market doesn’t care what you were worth two roles ago. It’s pricing you against what you can prove today.
Recalibrating isn’t the same as diminishing yourself. It’s making sure the confidence you project is backed by current evidence, not memory.
Action Steps
- Research current market conditions in your field honestly, not the conditions from when you were last hired.
- Ask a peer or coach to flag moments where your confidence seems anchored to an old title rather than current proof.
- Walk into every interview prepared to earn credibility fresh, regardless of what you accomplished before.
In2Win! Afterthought
Curt’s current observations and updated guidance will be added here.
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