How do I know if I am good at my job?

There appears to be a simple answer to the question of “How do I know if I am good at my job?” as surely, you would have been told by your employers if you were not any good and if they felt you were not performing to the best of your ability or did not match up to their expectations.

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But sometimes, managers don’t behave as they should and forget to praise their staff for the good work they do as they don’t feel that it is necessary. The work is getting done, the member of staff has stayed in the job so everything must be fine.

They forget that we all need reassurance, validation even, especially when we are starting out in our careers or when we are older and starting a new job or even when we have been in the job for some time. It is hard to read people’s minds and often, it is hard to ask the direct question of “Is my work ok – are you happy with how I am performing?”.  We fear the answer and might be embarrassed to be asking the question.

There can be a stigma around asking questions as we can be made to feel a bit stupid by being the one to ask the question when everyone else is silent. But we all know that feeling of being confused about something, being nervous to ask and then the wonderful feeling of someone else asking that very same question! You were not the only one who was confused! So, the same applies to asking a direct question about our performance at work.

As Tony Robbins rightly said:

“Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers.”

We only really grow by asking questions and finding out the answers to things that we don’t know or are not sure about. We should never be embarrassed to ask questions.  

Curiosity is one of the best skills we can have as humans – genuine interest is such a gift.

So, if you are brave, ask!  

Ask your line manager, your boss whether they are happy with your work. Don’t wait for your review (if you have one) if it is something that is worrying you as the worry might just eat you up and make you under-perform.

But if you are worried to pop the question, then here are some signs that you are doing ok at your job.

Signs that you are good at your job

1. You enjoy getting up and going to work – it doesn’t feel like a chore, and you don’t have that terrible Sunday evening feeling. 

You like your job.

2. You complete your tasks readily and actually enjoy doing the work.

You are content.

3. You get given more and more tasks as the time goes on.

You are trusted.

4. You have made some good friends and feel like you are a valued part of the team/company.

You are liked and fit in.

5. You get invited to more meetings and are given more responsibility.

You are trusted.

6. You are asked your opinion and it is listened to.

You have a voice.

7. You are asked to represent the company.

They are proud that you work there.

8. You are given more feedback.

They want you to grow in confidence.

Of course, there is another side to this question of whether you are good at your job.

Often, this worry or anxiety about how good we are at work is nothing to do with the actual job and is linked to our own feelings of self-esteem. So, if you look at the eight signs above, realise that if you tick each of the points, but you are still unsure about your skills, worth and work-related performance, then maybe it is time to explore how you can believe in yourself more and what it is you need to do to rid yourself of the limiting beliefs you hold.

A life coach can help you acknowledge and explore these feelings, understand where they might have come from and work out a way to move forward.   

We all have times when we doubt our abilities and feel that everyone is better than us.  Once you start talking about it, you will hopefully start to believe in yourself and stop asking yourself whether you are any good at your job and accept just how good you really are!

The views expressed in this article are those of the author. All articles published on Life Coach Directory are reviewed by our editorial team.

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Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire, SG6
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Written by Sema Rubins, Life & Career Change Coach | ACSTH (ICF) | BA (Hons) | DipM
Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire, SG6

Sema Rubins is a transformational life coach working with all ages but with a special interest in young adults who may be going through a quarter life crisis.

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