7 top tips for boosting your accounting self esteem

As an accountant, it’s important to have conviction in your skills and decisions. Without it, you could often find yourself doubting your work. And nobody wants to feel like they’re not good at their job, right? If you have to advise a business director on their finances, you want to come across as confident and knowledgeable. Similarly, if you’re self-employed, you want to make sure you’re charging the right amount of money for your time and expertise.

That’s why we’ve put together these 7 top tips for keeping up your accounting self-esteem…

How do I build my accounting self esteem and confidence?

1. Celebrate your successes

This is possibly the most overlooked tip on this list. How often do you do something well and then congratulate yourself? Most of the time we just see it as being ‘part of the job’ and move onto the next thing. Remember to reward yourself for all the amazing things you do. It’s so easy to get yourself down when you’ve not done something well, so why not focus that energy on your positives instead? Which takes us onto our next point…

2. Don’t get knocked down

If you do make a mistake, don’t let it negatively affect you. Now this is easier said than done, but if you change the way you think, it can make all the difference. Ask yourself what went wrong? How can I prevent it from happening again? You could make notes or even create a full process document for next time. This way you won’t make the same error again and you’ll know that you’ve completed it to the best of your ability. Understanding why it happened in the first place is key to preventing it happening again. Perhaps a payment goes out for the wrong amount, just make sure to reflect and pick yourself up again.

3. Accept praise

Ever heard of negativity bias? As humans, we’re wired to focus more on the negatives than the positives. So don’t feel like you’re alone. Whenever you do get good feedback, celebrate it like your successes. Take it on board and give yourself a pat yourself on the back. Something as simple as this can give you a boost and make you more confident in what you do everyday. Completed the payroll in record time? We think that calls for a reward, however big or small.

4. Practice and develop

Assessing your strengths and weaknesses regularly is a great way of developing your career. If you struggle with the ins and outs of double-entry bookkeeping, why not look at a training course? Not only will this make you feel more confident, but it might also give you some handy tricks to improve. Similarly, it doesn’t have to be a work-related course if it’s out of hours. Self-esteem conferences are hugely popular and for good reason. You can take these newfound skills and apply them to both your work and your personal life.

5. Remember, you’re only human

You’ve probably seen and heard this phrase hundreds of times before. But have you ever really applied it? Sometimes you have to admit that things go wrong from time to time. As long as you can identify problems and you know your weaknesses, all you can do is work to the best of your ability. Don’t let that spreadsheet formula mishap ruin your day.

6. Recognise your value

Take a step back and appreciate the amount you do, and the quality of your work. Think about all the positive feedback you’ve ever received. Do you often get asked for advice from your colleagues or clients? Then you must be a fountain of knowledge that people look to. Those around you can see the value you bring to the accounting field and you should too. Don’t take yourself for granted, you’re in this position for a reason.

7. Take risks

We’ve covered the ways in which you can reflect on your current work and build your self-esteem. Now, we want to talk about taking risks. We’re not saying you should do anything too drastic. But, if you have a case for why you think something new would work, go for it. There will have been a bold accountant out there who championed using computers for the first time. Nobody progresses by doing the same things over and over. And if your risk pays off, imagine the confidence boost you’ll get.

So, armed with these top tips you’re ready to go out there and show the accounting world how brave and bold you can be. Have you got any tips of your own that we’ve missed? Give us a follow on social media and share them with us.

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