4d • Career development
Insight from Inner Circle call
During our last Inner Circle call, we spent almost half the session not on methods, not on journals, but on… confidence.
The research novelty was strong.
The research design was solid.
But the real friction was internal:
“Some days I’m sure journals will be interested in this.
Other days I’m convinced no one will care and it’s already outdated.”
If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone.
A few patterns keep coming up with PhD students and early‑career researchers:
- “No novelty” from reviewers often means the gap and contribution aren’t visible enough, not that they don’t exist.
- International/visiting scholars carry an extra “Who am I to publish on this?” when their context isn’t the “usual” one.
- We quickly forget our small wins and treat a single rejection as a referendum on our entire career.
Here are three shifts that helped the person on that call – and might help you too:
1. Keep a “wins log”
Every week, write down specific wins: a clear paragraph, constructive feedback, a good question you answered at a seminar, a supervisor saying “this is promising”.
On the bad days, you have evidence that you’re not standing still.
2. Treat confidence as a practice, not a personality trait
Confidence is not “I always know the answer”.
Confidence is “I’m willing to show my work, listen, and improve.”
Every time you send a draft, ask a question, or present unfinished work, you’re doing a rep in the confidence gym.
3. Separate your value from reviewer decisions
In many fields, 10–20% acceptance rates are normal.
Rejection is the default outcome, even for very good work.
The useful question is not “Am I good enough?” but “What is this decision telling me about how to sharpen my problem, gap, and contribution?”
On that call, once we normalised the imposter feelings and anchored back to actual evidence of progress, you could feel the shift: from “Maybe I shouldn’t be doing this” to “Okay, how do we get this paper out?”
In my Inner Circle, this is exactly the mix we work on every week:
– the technical side (structure, methods, responses to reviewers)
and
– the human side (confidence, mindset, navigating rejection without burning out).
If you’d like a small, focused space where you can bring both your drafts and your doubts, check it out here: https://www.skool.com/research-career-club-8446/plans
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Insight from Inner Circle call
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