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Hello Guys,
I joined Cognizant recently, the project interview calls which I am getting is not from my base location.
I have the location constraint, should I wait for the right opportunity or raise this concern to ADP team so they can look in to it?
As per ADP policy, one should not have any constraints and take the project as FCFS basis.
Cognizant
Coach
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What should be the designation for 6.8 yrs experience as lateral hire at HCL? HR and promised to give Senior Tech Lead but on offer letter it is just Tech Lead. When asked now they are stating like finance payroll team are saying that Senior Tech Lead can be offered only for 7.5 yrs experience. HCL Technologies
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6 years in consulting and I also feel the same way. A stomach full of butterflies before I start every project. Imposter syndrome hits hard and I honestly don’t know what advice to give except to lean on what’s true…that you’ve survived every project thus far and have managed to perform well enough to stay at your company and keep doing what you’re doing.
I have been an online RTT hypnotherapist specializing in transforming anxiety into confidence in one session. My clients vary in range from entrepreneurs, supervisors, managers, employees, and spouses. We are all affected by our past experiences. We can learn how to effectively permanently release negative self-talk and incorporate better, constructive ideas to inspire a fabulous future.
30 years of consulting. Same. Every project whether leading, sole doer, or using staff or contractors. Welcome to the world of consulting and change and caring about serving others well!
Now, remember you have a head on your shoulders. Not every project with be a great fit for you. Figure it out. Communicate. Work hard.
Good luck!
Try reading/rereading Meditations by Marcus Aurelius before each new engagement.
When you enter a new client environment:
* You don’t control the culture, politics, or prior decisions
* You don’t control how competent or difficult the team may be
* You don’t control unclear requirements or shifting expectations
But you do control:
* How you interpret ambiguity
* How quickly you judge people
* Whether you react defensively or stay objective
Only the paranoid survive
Some things that help me:
-No one is dying if I do a bad job. I’m not saving lives here.
-What are positive outcomes from my fears?
Once I run through them, I’m not consumed by dread. Examples below.
Making a mistake: Builds character and I learn/remember more about the subject than if I’d aced it.
Get laid off: What do I dislike about this job? What would be great about suddenly not working here?
TL;DR
I remind myself that this job is not important. Removes the paralysis and fear of failure.
This is similar to what my dad used to say to me when i would get stressed over work earlier in my career.
He'd say, "what's the worst that can happen? So long as you're not in communist China, it's not like they're going to drag you out into a field behind the building and have you executed by firing squad "
Always made me feel better
No one truly knows what they’re doing. Everyone is learning and figuring things out.
Your value lies in your availability to think beyond the day-to-day grind and understand the bigger picture. Unlike your clients who have a day job, you’re dedicated to solving complex problems and finding solutions.
Clients don’t hire you because you’re smarter or an expert in a specific field. They hire you because you’re capacity allows you to take on an initiative. In that sense, they should provide you with the space and time you need to think and develop solutions. Use this opportunity to listen, understand the current situation, and let the solution emerge naturally.
Maybe this depends on the type of consulting. For example, with implementation work, clients definitely expect expertise.
It's like this on every job:
- lean into relationship building and talking to people first - seniors, your client, peers. It will help break the ice and more importantly get you oriented on where the project is and where you might fit in. Replay back your understanding of the project and what the client needs in your work stream.
You want to spread the uncertainty and not feel like you are holding the bag/on the hook for delivery and a single point of failure, but sharing your concerns, your understanding, be realistic about what might be achievable.
- Lean into your technical strength areas from here. Areas where you can speak confidently as that will build your credibility in the team and give you confidence.
- if you are a credible expert, then this is the point you shape and influence what your work should actually look like, rather than letting the client decide. You've done the discovery bit on your workstreeam, you've talked to key stakeholders. You tell them the best way to go about the outcome. That's what they pay you for. Network, speak to colleagues to test your approach.
Best of luck. This is normal. Consulting is the only job where your entire team and boss (client in this case) and can change every few months. That's unsettling by nature but you can develop strategies to soft land the first couple of weeks.
Consulting is an industry founded on insecure overachievers. You just have perfectly normal imposter syndrome!
Nature of the job
Your post made me smile because I am always working on transformation. I have been a Rapid Transformational Therapist since 2019 and my clients transform their anxiety into confidence in just one session.
Sadly, clients expect experienced expertise for the top prices they pay consultants. Too often consultants are learning on the job which is a complete disservice to clients. It’s the consulting way. Glad I’m out of it.
From a person who got laid off and who has lost out on multiple round interviews recently and can't catch a break. I would much rather have your stress than the one I do right now. So hope that makes you feel better. :) At least you have an opportunity to be useful. Your attitude determines your days. Chin up and take it one day at a time. It's not that deep. Start your day as an interested person. Consulting is interesting if intentions are aligned. Clear communication and manage your own expectations with yourself. It's navigating the corporate bureaucracy that drains you. Find your bottom necks to success and mitigate them. Be kind to yourself. It's Contagious.
Thanks! Just sent a DM. Lmk.
At manager level, give yourself some more credit! You wouldn’t have gotten there if you weren’t decent at your job. 20 years in consulting and I finally got a few things I’m an expert in (during the last 3 years), but I do get a little anxious when I’m doing something other than those. Sounds like you’d benefit from some confidence and imposter syndrome coaching.
Look at it this way: its not that you don't enjoy what you do, but when you do it at home for friends and family and you do it at work it starts tu blur the lines a bit and then the benefits no longer outweigh the drawbacks of the position. As far as getting nervous... maybe a bit but I know its essentially all in my head, and he'll, the advice I'd give myself or someone else is just act like you've been there before. Head up chest out, you do it right and no body will ever know the difference.
It's just stage fright. It's pretty common, and it's perfectly healthy. If anything, it's probably more worrying if you feel each new engagement is utterly routine and predictable; every day should be a school day, and if you've not learned a new skill or perspective at the end of each project, you're at risk of stagnating.
Don't think of it as imposter syndrome. Think of it as an awareness of your current limitations and areas of growth.
Also, consider engaging with a coach if there's a particular area where you feel stuck. The right coach can be transformational.
(Forgot to mention they get results in one session.)
It does get better with time.
11 years in a Big 4. I feel the same but I've learned to reign it in, earlier the feeling would last for hours but I try to focus on looking at the big picture, understanding the business, the deal parameters and key hypothesis we want to prove and break it down into key questions and that immediately lifts the feeling.
It's natural, you're dealing with a lot of unknowns, eyes are on you and the weight of responsibility to deliver is what causes the feeling.
As someone here has said, you've got the experience, you've been through the grind, just try the above next time you feel the same.
Beat of luck
I think if you don't feel that way then you are either incredible at your job, you have done this project before or you have got complacent. It is a totally normal feeling.
You will discover pattern recognition over time. For now, take the above advice and always focus on basics: what does success look like, how is it measured, what are the levers we need to pull to drive that success, when are we gonna do it
Yep. Its more about anxiety. Gotta practice getting that under control. Worry about stupid stuff because its new people, you just have to recognize those moments and the walk yourself down. If you can, meet with a therapist to practice to recognition and regulation skills
Yes. I have been an online confidence coach and hypnotherapist since 2019. My clients typically gain results after a single 2-hr session and a month of transformative actions.