Why Your Mid-Career Confidence Dip Means You’re on the Brink of Real Growth

Ever wonder when you'll finally feel confident at work? If you think everyone else has it figured out, here’s a secret: 700+ professionals told us they didn't. The true path to confidence is not a straight line. Understanding that makes all the difference.

Three insights from our landmark survey will help you unlock your own potential.

1. Confidence Grows Over Time, But Not in a Straight Line

Imagine this: about 75% of people with less than three years of experience say they're confident in their abilities. But by the three to five year mark, that number barely budges. Surprised? So were we. In fact, it takes five to ten years before that number jumps to 85%.

Takeaway: If you’re not feeling expert-level confidence yet, you’re not alone. This is what about 10% of your peers go through for years, even if no one talks about it. Growth isn’t always smooth, expect plateaus before breakthroughs.

2. The Inevitable “Dip” Isn’t Failure, But a Sign You’re Levelling Up

Professional doubt doesn’t fade as you gain experience. It peaks especially between years three and five. In our survey, self-doubt rose from 15% to 22% at this stage, higher than at any other point. Despite gaining experience, self-doubt spikes at a critical career milestone often marked by increasing responsibilities. But here’s the persuasive truth: this dip is the hallmark of progress, not a warning sign.

Takeaway: Those who push through this trough, who keep going when confidence wavers, are overwhelmingly the ones who eventually reach higher, lasting self-assurance. When you want to shrink back, remember: others have been there, and perseverance makes the difference.

3. Your Supervisors See Your Potential Even When You Don’t

Early in their careers, twice as many people thought their supervisors doubted them than doubted themselves (31% vs. 15%). Ironically, as people gain experience, their own doubt outpaces their perception of others’ skepticism. Only at the five to ten year mark do these numbers align.

Key Point: The gap between how we see ourselves and how others see us is real. But over time, external confidence in your abilities rises faster than self-confidence. People notice your growth before you do.

The Bottom Line: Don’t Quit Before the Breakthrough

If you’re in that three to five year “confidence dip,” you’re standing where thousands of successful professionals have stood before you. The plateau you’re feeling isn’t the end, it’s the launching pad.

⚡ Stay the course. Professional confidence is forged through experience, especially the tough years. Your real breakthrough is likely just beyond the moment (or half decade) where you feel most uncertain.

⚡ You are not alone and you are not behind. Keep showing up. Confidence is coming, just as it did for the many who walked this path before you.

⚡ Everyone has a story about bouncing back from self-doubt. Share and inspire others in the same boat.

-E.S.