"I'm not going to try to interview for this job. I'm not ready yet. Will do it 1-2 years later."
Sounds familiar, right?
We are afraid of failure. No one likes to be rejected, and nobody likes to fail interviews. We want to avoid these situations, and we do our best to postpone any decision. And we to have that fake feeling that we have more time to prepare.
The key is simple — you will never be completely ready. There will never be a moment when you can say: "Ok, today I'm ready." You will always have a feeling of missing something.
You will never be completely ready and prepared for a job interview. But it's better to try it and figure out your weaknesses instead of training too much. You can spend a year preparing for this interview, but you can hear: "Sorry, this position is already closed.". Worst case scenario — you will not get the job, but you will be able to try again in 1 year or so. And you will be a better version of yourself — you will know what to expect.
It's ok to have a feeling that I'm not good enough. Despite how comfortable this feeling, it's also a dangerous feeling. We are convenient, and we know what to expect. But it's almost impossible to evaluate yourself objectively without an external look.
How could I say that I'm deficient in job interviews if I'm not even trying?
Ask yourself: "If I don't try it now — what would change in one year?"
Nothing.
—
The more we say, "I'm not ready yet," — the more difficult it would be. As a result, all our pure and beautiful dreams are gone and transformed into the following thoughts: "Well, I don't need that job. I'm happy where I am — the job is simple, nothing challenging. Yeah, there are no interesting tasks or career growth, but I don't need it."
But is it what you want?
Storytime!
I was dreaming about moving to live abroad. I lived in Russia, worked as a frontend developer. I was obsessed with the idea of living in Europe. But I had a problem — my English level was relatively low. I could tell myself: "Ok, Maxim, you are not ready. Let's learn English for 1-2 years and then start the job searching."
That sounds fair and logical, but it wasn't moving me closer to my dream. So instead of just studying the language, I started to research and apply to different roles. I started with companies where I didn't want to work, but I had to practice my English skills — write cover letters, talk to recruiters.
My first interviews were so bad. I was sweating, trying to find the right words. I had to ask: "Sorry, can you repeat, please?" multiple times. It's not comfortable, but it's the only way to get the experience. I got the job in a few months when I felt comfortable to speak and not sweating.
It was the best decision — don't wait for a moment when I would know English on an outstanding level but learning by practice.
—
My advice is just that:
Don't wait for an ideal moment. It will never come. Try what you want to do, learn new things. Become the person you want to be.
Top comments (7)
This is awesome 👏. One thing life has taught me is that you need to get started where you are with what you have.
I'm bookmarking this to read every time I get discouraged about not being in the role I want to be in. It is so easy to fall into the "later" trap, and I am guilty of it myself. Thanks for sharing your ideas, thoughts and personal story :)
Please share the path you followed to crack your dream job.
great article Maxim, on my end im now on the other side where im trying to build up the guts to freelance, and maybe launch a startup, this inspires me to do it, thanks
well said.
Imposter syndrome and self doubt can really hold people back.
Some comments may only be visible to logged-in visitors. Sign in to view all comments.