I found out something fascinating today, whilst practising my German:
The German word “Selbstbewusstsein” translates into English as both Self-awareness and Self-confidence.
In other words, self-awareness = self-confidence.
This came as quite a quite a revelation to me at first. But the more I thought about it, the more it felt like a powerful insight, especially in the context of career planning.
This connection sits right at the heart of a career planning model, which frames career development around four key elements: Decision-making, Opportunity awareness, Transition learning and Self-awareness (DOTS).
Of these, self-awareness is often described as the starting point – but in practice, it runs through every stage of the process.
When you have a strong sense of who you are – your values, strengths, motivations, and preferences – you can start to make clearer, more confident decisions.
Your opportunity awareness becomes sharper too. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by the job market, you can focus your research, networking, and applications on roles that genuinely fit you.
And when it comes to transition – whether writing applications, building an online presence, or performing at interview – you’re able to communicate your story with much more clarity and conviction.
In other words, self-awareness doesn’t just inform action, it strengthens the belief behind it. In others words, your self-confidence.
So, I can see how self-confidence is interchangeable in German. It makes sense.
If you have high self-awareness, you should feel more confident to trust yourself to manage your wants and desires. This will then help you to take positive and purposeful action, knowing that it is taking you in your desired direction.
Of course, this idea has been around for a while longer than before I posted about it here on LinkedIn!
As Lao Tzu said: “At the centre of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.” And Carl Jung: “Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”
But it’s a useful reminder in a career context.
When planning your next step, it’s tempting to start looking at the job market, updating your CV and online profile. However, consider starting first with yourself.
Because when self-awareness comes first, self-confidence follows and the rest of the career planning process becomes not just easier, but more purposeful.
If you’re looking to increase/enhance your self-awareness take a look at my blog archive in the comments below, which has a list of blogs related to ‘Self’, and also consider attending career workshops or signing up with a career coach to help you with your self-discovery.
Wishing you greater self-awareness – and the confidence that comes with it.
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