On the 10th anniversary of self-employment, I’ve been reviewing and updating my services. This post is part of a series introducing you to what I offer.

Sometimes you need help finding your way. Sometimes you are travelling along your path and you get to a crossroads, or a tree falls across the road and you need some help figuring out just-this-one-thing.

• a job interview
• a job offer
• a request to collaborate
• a request to take on a leadership role
• a publishing opportunity
• your article was rejected
• you didn’t get the grant

You know where you are going. You just want to talk through how to deal with this particular situation with someone before you make a decision.

You have mentors and other folks you can ask for specific advice and support. However, you are feeling a bit panicky and you don’t want them to see you in that mode. You know you can do this but you might need to freak out a bit first and your regular mentors aren’t really the people to freak out in front of.

When I first described this service to my resident cartoonist, she immediately thought that talking to me about this big decision would be like sitting down to a calming cup of tea.

We talk. You get to bounce ideas off me, freak out optional but totally okay.

I notice the important stuff and remind you that you know how to do this thing. We figure out a strategy.

We also figure out who you can ask for specific advice about this particular opportunity (or roadblock), and develop some concrete strategies for asking them.

You go away and make a decision, drawing on others in your network as appropriate.

A Confidence Boost session is an hour on the phone to figure out a really specific thing. I don’t normally do last minute, but a lot of things you’d need this for are urgent so I will do some schedule juggling to make it happen within a week if possible.

Learn more about Confidence Boost and book a session.

If you don’t know where you are going, or your issue is not urgent, there is a library of advice from across this decade and beyond, featuring my musings and essays on a variety of topics in academic life.

If you need help with this particular thing Right Now!, then a Confidence Boost will help with that specific thing.

If you’re still unsure, add your name to the newsletter for updates, new monthly articles as well as the monthly review prompts to get you planning like a pro.

You can do this!

This post has been substantially revised as services have changed across the years. Confidence Boost is now available to Academic Writing Studio members only.