How Getting to Know Yourself is Your Greatest Strength – An Interview with Emily Jackson
- Jun 10
- 6 min read
Confidence and self-awareness are often the hidden drivers behind meaningful career transitions. After years of navigating roles that didn’t align with her strengths, Emily Jackson discovered how deeply confidence shapes the choices we make, the risks we take, and the value we bring to any professional environment.
Her journey from uncertainty to clarity has informed a practical approach to career growth, showing how understanding your skills, transferable experiences, and personal values can open doors to unexpected opportunities.
In this interview, she shares insights on building self-trust, recognizing your unique strengths, and navigating career transitions with confidence, particularly for women rethinking their professional paths.
Emily Jackson, Speaker, Author, Career Transition Coach
What first made you realize that confidence and career direction are deeply connected?
When I started out in the professional work environment right after college, I was definitely lost & remained lost for over 8 years in a career path that wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t right for me and the direction I wanted my career to be going long term. It didn’t allow me to utilize my strengths & my values. But here’s the problem, I didn’t know my strengths and values. Why is that? Because I had zero confidence! When you build confidence, you start to realize the importance of self-awareness and how being self-aware goes hand in hand with your confidence level. Once I was able to build my confidence and understand myself better, I was able to create steps towards my desired career path. Plus, once I had some success in those career steps, I was able to continue to grow because of my confidence in myself.
How did moving from industries like fitness and aviation into tech sales reshape the way you think about transferable skills?
I think a lot of us instantly get fatigued when we hear “transferable skills”. It seems like such a monotonous thing to figure out, plug into your resume, or talk about during an interview. But transferable skills are more than that. When I was looking at where to go next in my career (either by goal or force), I had to look at my transferable skills deeply in order to navigate how I could bring value to roles, organizations, and career paths that I had no obvious experience in. Diving into my transferable skills helped me build confidence in my capabilities to really go any direction I desired. Now, I re-evaluate my transferable skills consistently in order to understand any skills I’m lacking for success in my role & what headways I can start working on now to get to my 5-7 year career goal.
What do most women misunderstand about career transitions when they’re trying to reinvent themselves professionally?
Women tend to focus on what they lack first and foremost as opposed to what value they bring to the table. For example, when I was let go from my job in the aviation industry during the COVID-19 pandemic and looking for what’s next, I could have looked at the tech industry and thought, “I don’t have any background in tech specifically, so I shouldn’t apply to those roles.” But what I did instead was focus on the skills and value that I do bring to the table within my varied background. A lot of employers out there hire based on potential and personality, not solely on your specific experience for the role. We all know that the knowledge needed for the role can be taught, the right fit for a team cannot.
Why do introverts often struggle to see their strengths in leadership and sales environments?
When you hear the word “salesman,” what do you think of? You likely think of an outspoken man, possibly at a car dealership, who is pushy and won’t take no for an answer. Ultimately, when you think of sales, you think of an outspoken, loud, aggressive individual. When I first got into sales, I assumed that was the personality type I needed to fake in order to succeed. As an introvert, I went into my first sales role thinking I had to make myself stand out and I needed to play a part in order to be taken seriously. This stems from the negative connotations we often hear about introverts. Things like: “she’s oddly quiet”, “she never talks to me, she must think she is better than me”, etc. I’ve found that being an introvert has been great for a sales role. I am an active listener, empathic, and observant.
Those are all great skills for sales success!
What patterns do you notice in women who stay too long in careers they’ve already outgrown?
Quiet quitting is the first thing that comes to my mind. I’ve seen many women (& experienced this myself) who are in a career/role that is no longer suited for them & they simply start to shut down and convince themselves that they don’t care and don’t have further aspirations. I’ve also seen women start to panic and feel burnt out and stressed, even when they have been achieving in a role for a long time. Once you are past your “expiration” date of a specific role or career path, you often start to have physical symptoms telling you it’s time for a change. This will happen before your mind even catches up with this need to change, so it’s important to stay in tune with what your body is telling you.
How do you help someone rebuild self-trust after years of self-doubt or professional misalignment?
Building self-trust is all about continual self-evaluation, giving yourself grace, and not being afraid to fail. Think about the most successful person you know. Do you think they got there by never failing and never having times of doubt and mistakes? Absolutely not! We all make mistakes, have moments of doubt, and make not-so-great career decisions. When that happens, you just have to keep getting up & learning from your mistakes. That’s where self-evaluation comes in.
When I experience self-doubt, I think about all the WINS I’ve had recently. I think about all the skills and strengths that I have & I give myself grace for stumbling. Reference those transferable skills (hopefully you’ve written these down) and keep adding to them as you gain new experiences in your career. You are always growing professionally, whether you realize it or not. That is the best way to combat self-doubt.
What does “confidence breeds abundance” mean in practical terms for someone trying to advance in their career?
When you are confident, you take bigger leaps in your career. If I hadn’t built up my confidence, I never would have applied for a role in an industry that I had no prior experience in. I was confident that I could learn an entirely new industry, jump into a sales role as an introvert & continue to grow in my career with new challenges. Confidence breeding abundance also means that confidence helps to ensure you are in the right role, organization, and industry. I say that because you wouldn’t have confidence without knowing yourself fully. When you know yourself fully, you are leading with your true self & your whole self. This opens the door for leadership roles as it becomes apparent to your peers and colleagues that you are confident you will rise to any new challenges.
How has your own experience with anxiety changed the way you lead and communicate today?
My experience with anxiety and self-doubt makes me have more empathy towards those I lead. I am aware of what those on my team may be experiencing & am in tune with the type of support I should provide. Of course, everyone experiences anxiety differently and what worked for me may not work for others.
However, as an empathic leader, I am always listening to those I lead and ensuring I am leading with awareness & the utmost support. This also makes me think about vulnerability and how that has been such an important growth driver for my issues with anxiety over the years. When I’m speaking with my team and mentees, I always encourage vulnerability & not separating out the “home you” from the “work you” as I did for far too long.
If someone feels stuck but afraid to make a change, what’s the first step you believe they should take?
If you are feeling stuck & afraid to make a change, the first thing I would do is reach out to your network. Reach out to mentors, friends, and associates that you are close with & ask if they’ve had this experience and what they did to take that next step. There is nothing more valuable than an outside perspective. What would be even better is if you know of someone in your network who recently made a big change. Reach out on LinkedIn; it never hurts to ask. People enjoy helping others.
Plus, what’s the worst that could happen when you reach out? They ignore you?
Who cares! When I encounter a tough situation in my leadership role, my mentors are the first people I go to for advice. Even if they haven’t experienced the same thing, their viewpoint is extremely valuable. Lean on your support systems!
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