Felicia is going to start a new job tomorrow as an assistant to the dean. On her last job she had

Question

a boss who found fault with everything that she did, co-workers who backstabbed each other,
and the overall atmosphere was hostile and negative.

In addition, she heard that the last
person in her new job left suddenly, and no one really would tell her why. Now, Felicia is
extremely nervous about starting her job tomorrow. The textbook discusses seven strategies
for enhancing one?s self esteem. Apply at least four of those strategies to Felicia?s situation to
show how she might improve her confidence in her new job.
What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Just as negative self-talk can increase our apprehension and decrease our motivation,
positive self-talk can give us confidence to fulfill our goals. Felicia needs to tell herself
she can do the job, and that she was hired because she is competent. She can extend the
self-talk by using visualization. She can picture herself getting ready for work in the
morning, looking good! Then, see herself entering the office, smiling confidently and
shaking hands with her new co-workers. She can picture herself throughout the day
having successful interactions with everyone. A third method she might use is
reframing, in which she redefines a situation. For example, she might note that her last
boss was critical of all his workers, so his harsh criticism did not mean that her job was
inadequate. She might think that the person who left the job as deans assistant had
personal problems. It probably had nothing to do with the dean. A fourth method is to
develop honest relationships. She needs to seek a friend who can give her realistic
feedback about her skills. The fifth method is to surround yourself with positive
people. Felicia can do this by avoiding people at work who are cynical and sit around
complaining, politely engaging in small talk with them, but not participating in gripe
sessions. She can also seek out the people at work who are positive about the job.
Finally, Felicia can lose her baggage. Chalk up her experiences at her last job as a
learning experience, not as a reflection on who she is and what she is capable of.