We recently had the pleasure of hosting Tazmin Suleman for an Ask Me Anything (AMA) in our Slack #wts-amplify-me channel, diving into career growth, confidence, and mindset for ambitious professionals. She shared practical advice on building expertise, tackling burnout, networking, and stepping outside your comfort zone.

Tazmin is a coach and co-host of The SEO Mindset Podcast, and founder of Revitalise, a program supporting ambitious women to build confidence, align with their values, and create careers and lives full of purpose, balance, and fulfilment.

Want to join our next AMA or see what else the WTS Community Slack has to offer? Head over here for more info.

Confidence, Self-Belief, and Letting Go of Imposter Syndrome

What is your advice for someone who is only a few years into their SEO career and looks up to so many experts in the space but has no clue where to start to actually position themselves as an expert too (and with doubts that they actually are an "expert" since many are much older)?

Firstly, acknowledge that you have years of experience in SEO.

You are already ahead of many, and they may see you as the expert.

How we see ourselves, and speak about ourselves is hugely important.

• Build on that by looking back at all your roles, paid and unpaid and write down all the skills you gained, projects you worked on etc. Seeing this in black and white makes us realise we know more than we think.
• All the 'experts' you are looking up to started somewhere, and also experience confidence and belief wobbles. I was nervous coming on to this AMA today, so confidence doesn't been absence of nerves.

How do you convince yourself to pull the trigger and just write/post/apply to opportunities while also not letting yourself feel down if not accepted/paid attention to?

Ok, so that is some mindset stuff, now to take the action.

You won't have a clue until you start, so start.

Even a small step.

Ask yourself what are some small steps you can take (maybe teach someone something, write a post about something you experienced recently, give a talk to a few people at work.

The goal here isn't having your 'pitch' accepted or your post acknowledged, it is getting comfortable taking these actions.

One thing a coach once said to me is my goal was to write a post a day.

Just that. It took the pressure off.

So I'd encourage you to write a list of small actions you can take, and commit to taking one by next week. And have no expectation of outcome. Keep repeating this and before you know it, you will be pulling 'triggers' everywhere.

Do you have any tips for not tying self-worth to work performance and finding other ways to find fulfilment and confidence?

Gosh, yes! plenty!

Ok, excuse the cheese but the honest truth is we are all born wonderful, and life can sometimes knock that belief out. If this sounds like you then your job is to rekindle that belief. Here are some ways how:

• Everyday write down 1 thing you did well. It could be how you handled a tricky conversation, how you stepped in helped someone solve a problem, a post you wrote, how you complimented someone, etc The idea here is you are seeing all of you, not just work you, and you are validating yourself, and not seeking external validation.
• When you wake up and first see yourself, refrain from negative talk, instead speak to yourself respectfully and treat yourself respectfully.
• When you commit to doing something for yourself DO NOT let yourself down. If you struggle with this, start small, but make it happen.

Communicating With Confidence

What are ways to tackle nerves around presenting / public speaking? From speaking on stage to in a client meeting?

This is a biggie and it takes time and practice. One technique I teach is the BRAVE technique. There is a free video describing it here: https://www.tazminsuleman.com/training

If you are feeling nervous do the following:

Breathing - A simple box breathing method which calms down the body

Reframe - this is reminding yourself that you are not in danger! You are just sharing your experience/knowledge with a group of people who will benefit from it (This starts calming down your emotions)

Affirmations - speak to yourself in a way that will help you. Instead of saying something like 'I am going to tank at this', tell yourself you are going to do your best.

Visualise yourself acing the talk/pitch/presentation!

Energise - now that you have calmed down your body and emotions, do something that will boost your energy. Star jumps, stepping outside for a walk, what ever it is, but shift the gear of your energy up!

Do you have any advice for approaching people and starting conversations at networking events without feeling overwhelmed or embarrassed?

People at networking events want to speak to other people.

Sometimes we forget that!

If they have given a talk then they are always happy to chat to people afterwards, so that can be 1 way you can connect with them.

Know why you want to connect.

• Is it to learn from them?
• Is it to build a relationship?
• In that case connecting online is usually easier, and then when you meet them in person, it is much easier.

Again as with many things, the more you do it they easier it gets.

Perhaps have a 'line' that is a bit different. Kirsty Hulse speaks about this. Something like 'What's been your experience of the conference so far?'

Growth, Change, and Moving Forward in Your Career

Any advice on feeling continuously behind with work? From systems that help with efficiency to mindset shifts?

I have felt that this year, so I will share what I am going to do differently next year.

• Know what you want to achieve/how much you want to earn (this is probably more relevant to freelancers/founders etc)
• What ever your 'goal' is, make sure your actions are taking you there - I have spent too much time on things that were not aligned.

Be realistic with how much time you actually have. Get a big calendar and mark out key events so you know what is 'left.

For example: next Ramadhan I want to work fewer hours, and I struggle podcasting, so I will pre-record in Jan

Batching is now my best friend. From cooking, to writing to recording, it saves me soo much time.

I’ve worked in the same place for almost a decade and love the people and culture, but I’m not challenged and feeling like I’ve stagnated. How do I get out of the head space of feeling “guilty” for leaving a small team who I love working with?

My podcast talks about this very topic. It is called the 6 human needs so give it a listen!

So a question back to you, if you found out that one of your team felt like this but was only staying because of guilt, what would you tell them?

How do I get into the right mindset to step out of my comfort zone to take on a new role and challenge?

The first thing to realise is, If nothing changes, nothing changes.

And all humans have a need to grow, and suppressing that leads to feeling stagnated.

If you are finding it difficult, start small. List the 'things' you need to do to secure a new role. For example (these are in no particular order)

• Update LI
• Update CV
• Think about what type of role I want
• Think about the skills I want to learn

and so on.

Then, if it helps, break it down further

• Update LI
• Update banner
• Update About section
• Go through my roles and experiences
• Add a new profile pic ...

Keep repeating until the steps seem doable and then commit to doing a step a day.

Key Takeaways

You’re already an expert
Recognise your experience and skills - others may already see you as the expert.

Confidence comes from action
Take small, consistent steps without attaching expectations to the outcome.

Start before you feel ready
Experts begin by showing up; clarity and confidence follow action.

Separate worth from work
Build self-validation through daily reflection and respectful self-talk.

Nerves are normal
Feeling nervous doesn’t mean you’re not capable - it means you care.

Use tools to calm fear
Breathing, reframing, affirmations, visualisation, and movement help regulate nerves.

Networking gets easier
Most people want to connect; practice and purpose reduce fear.

Alignment reduces overwhelm
Focus time and energy on actions that support your real goals.

Break big goals down
Turn intimidating tasks into small, doable steps and commit consistently.

Growth requires discomfort
Stagnation is often a sign it’s time to step outside your comfort zone.

Want to join our next AMA or check out what else the WTS Community Slack has to offer? Head over here for more info.