Show Notes
Do you remember when you started your first engineering job? I’m sure you came in with some initial optimistic expectations. And the extent to which those expectations were met probably had a big effect on your attitude and your outlook.
There’s this thing that typically happens soon after you start a new job. It’s a kind of disillusionment.
Disillusion is a feeling of disenchantment that occurs when there’s a conspicuous difference between what you expect and reality. A difference between your understanding of what it was supposed to be like and what it actually is.
There are many examples of people who get disillusioned about their jobs for various reasons. But I’m talking about a special case of disillusion that affects your initial excitement about the possibilities for you in your new job or organization.
Let me explain.
You are an enthusiastic and optimistic new hire. You come in with great anticipation. You can see so many possibilities. You see yourself going places.
You imagine yourself becoming one of the world-renown experts and an influential leader. You see executives in your new organization and think “I will do that job some day.”
And then reality sets in.
How Disillusionment Can Shackle Your Engineering Career
Back when you first learn about a job you create an idea in your mind of what it will be like:
It meets most if not all your requirements. The work, the people, the benefits and the potential all sound awesome. It’s the perfect job for you at this point in your engineering career.
Your initial idea of this job is largely influenced by how it’s marketed to you. Especially if the position is highly competitive.
There’s some hard selling going on by the recruiter. And you get the beautiful glossy brochure version – or the flashy social media version – of the story.
Your initial idea of this job is also influenced by the fact that you’ve worked hard to get to this point. And you’ve been reaching toward this goal for a long time. All the preparation and strategizing has led you to this job.
So now you have an oversized and near utopian image of it.
After you’re hired on and time goes by, you start to see the unglamorous side of things. You notice not all of your tasks are exciting. You find out what people are really like. You see the organizational bureaucracy and politics among leadership.
Your enthusiasm cools a bit. An that’s when the disillusion sets in. Welcome to the real world.
This scenario is not unusual. I’ll even go so far as to say you should expect it. Your anticipation of what your job will be is often an exaggeration of what it’s really like. But give it some time and your expectations will slowly even out with reality.
Beware How Job Disillusion Can Trap You
What I want you to be careful of is short-changing your potential. When you first came in you had an unblemished view. Before reality hit you, you were setting your sights on who you would become in the organization. You aspired to high level leadership and greatness.
What I want you to be careful of is losing that vision.
Because when reality sets in your original hopes and aspirations from the first day on the job start to fade. You become more short-sighted and pessimistic. And along with the disillusion, you start to doubt yourself.
The trance of fear takes over and tests your confidence. You question your goals and if you’re even on the right career trajectory.
This is what I call the disillusion trap. It can slow down your progress and inhibit your upward mobility potential. You feel like things are looking bad for your engineering future.
Overcoming the Disillusion Trap in Your Engineering Career
But just like the scarcity trance and imposter syndrome, the disillusion trap can be overcome.
While your initial optimistic expectations may have been exaggerated, so are the pessimistic thoughts that counteract them. The pendulum has swung from one extreme to the other.
Your skills, abilities, and potential have not gone away. You have just as much possibility now as you did on your first day. It’s just that you had to take off your rose-colored glasses.
Your possibilities are not impossible. Your imaginings are not unrealistic. You had some misconception about how it all works, but the what is still possible, even probable.
To avoid falling into the disillusion trap, recognize when it emerges. Acknowledge it and resolve to sidestep it. Not that there won’t be a measure of disenchantment, there usually is. But expect it. Keep it in check. And don’t let it take over your aspirations.
Stay objective and level-headed. Rewrite any stories of fear or unworthiness. Find managers or mentors to talk to about your career path. Get support and affirmation.
For every positive aspect of your job, your mission, your organization and the people who work there, someone will come up with a negative. As is true for all things in life, you can choose to align with a positive attitude.
Meanwhile, put your focus on applying your strengths and building your skills for the job. Refine your career vision to incorporate what you discover. In time the disillusion dissipates and the possibilities for you come back into focus.
The organization needs you. It needs good leaders and good people to define the future. This role is always open to you.
Sometimes you need a change in perspective to get through the roadblocks in your career. You just need some options for how to reframe things so you can find the answers within you and open up the doors of possibility.
Through my Signature Program I work with clients to see a much greater potential than they realize they have. We can schedule a discovery call and I’ll give you all the details.
The next episode of Her Engineering Career Podcast will be Episode 50. That’s a milestone for me and my podcast. So I’ll be highlighting several topics we’ve covered over the last year. And giving you a bit of a preview of what’s to come.
Join me for a very special Episode 50 next time on Her Engineering Career Podcast.