You're Qualified. Know It!
EMMA HOOD, GWI ‘17
EMMA, A 2019 KENYON COLLEGE GRAD, SHARES HER EXPERIENCES STARTING OUT IN THE INVESTMENT INDUSTRY, TRUSTING HER SKILLS, AND LEARNING TO OWN HER CONFIDENCE.
“This new process for investing flows will better leverage our internal research and save significant amounts of the portfolio manager’s time,” I stated.
As I ended my presentation to the head portfolio managers of some of our biggest portfolios, I thought back on the months I spent analyzing the different parts of the existing process and brainstorming ideas for new workflows. All of my preparation led up to this presentation, and I was confident that the portfolio managers would go for this new process (and we did end up implementing my idea!). Two years ago, when I started working, I would never have imagined the types of presentations and level of responsibility that I’m entrusted with today. With the help of my managers and mentors, I’ve gradually built up my confidence in my work and in myself.
When you are starting out in your career, it’s completely okay to be unsure about a lot of things. As you learn and pick up new skills, you’ll figure out what your strengths are. When you do have a new result that you found in your analysis or you have a project that you worked really hard on, be proud and confident in the work that you’ve done. I often used to (and sometimes still do) preface my statements with qualifying phrases such as “I just”, “I think”, “probably”, etc., but if you know that something is right, leave off those qualifiers. When you are clear in communicating when you do or do not know something, your team members will appreciate the honesty and have greater respect for your ideas.
In the time that I’ve been working, two things have helped build my confidence—being overly prepared and believing that people want to hear what I have to say. It can be stressful when you have to present an analysis you’ve been working on to your team and even more stressful when you have to do a presentation in front of a large group of people. When I’ve spent a lot of time preparing for a meeting or presentation and am confident that I know my material, presenting my ideas becomes less stressful.
As a junior employee, it can sometimes feel like the only thing you can contribute is crunching numbers in a spreadsheet, but as you listen in on meetings and figure out how things are currently done, you’ll think of new ideas and better ways to do things. You bring a different perspective than the people who have been doing the same job for 20 years, and sometimes it can take fresh insight to bring necessary innovation. I go into meetings knowing that my perspective is valuable, making me confident to speak up and voice my thoughts.
You are a strong and powerful woman, so don’t ever shortchange yourself!
In the beginning, it’s okay to fake confidence on the outside when you’re not feeling totally confident on the inside. As you build up your knowledge and have more opportunities to present your work, your confidence will grow. And on those days when you need an extra boost of confidence, count on your community to hype you up.
There have been times where I’ve felt bogged down by the day-to-day grind and lost sight of the bigger picture of my work, but events like the yearly GWI Alumni Conference—where other GWI alumni are excited to hear about what I’m working on and I get to hear about the amazing things they’re doing—inspire me to keep going and aim for the stars.
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