I was working with a client yesterday who is a very experience marketeer and took a sabbatical for 6 months. Wanting to return to the work place, she has been busily interviewing. In the early days, she turned down a couple of offers as they won't quite right. And since then, things have not gone her way. She's got long way down line in the interview process in a number of opportunities but with no offers.

Her own assessment was that she was coming across as “confused, waffly and a little bit desperate”. The antithesis of what she's like in reality. Understandably, she's lost her confidence.

And this is a good example what happens when we become vulnerable due to a combination of small knock-backs. The “are you good enough” voice becomes louder in our heads. The self-doubt starts to eat away at our confidence, self-belief and self-esteem. It's in these moments that you forget how good you really are.

It's a lonely place and this is where the help of a coaching conversation can be really valuable – airing your thoughts out in front of you, rather than in your head, allows you to get new perspectives and a more realistic version of the truth.

In our conversation, my client realised that she needs to get back to her authentic self and demonstrate her structured, organised approach. I’m sure a great job offer will follow shortly.