One of my favorite magazine sections is the “Fake it, Don’t Make it” recipe in Real Simple magazine.  If you are having company over, or are just busy, these recipes give you shortcuts to preparing your favorite foods—without starting from scratch.  Spinach artichoke dip might include a box of frozen spinach, a few spoonfuls of chopped garlic from a jar, and a bottle of mayonnaise.

If you cooked with these recipes all of the time, you would probably get bored, stop fooling your friends, or suffer from nutritional deficiencies!  However, in a pinch, or when you do not have time, they are lifesavers!  This mentality transfers easily to many areas of life as well.  You don’t want to fake it forever, but a funny thing happens while you do—you learn tips and tricks that will help you really know and understand how to do what you are doing.  At that point, you’re not faking it, you’re making it!

Starting a New Job

There are things you can fake and things you cannot fake when starting a new job.  You want to try to avoid actions that cause financial damage to the company or that will turn off your new coworkers.  There is one particular area that you can fake until you know more—that is during phone interactions.  Thank goodness for the hold button!  In most jobs, you will be required to interact with the customer, a vendor, or a client via the phone.  The best thing about the phone is that the other party cannot see you.  Even if you are so nervous that your legs are shaking, you can control your voice to sound calm, cool and collected.  If they ask a question you cannot answer, you can say “Please hold for a minute while I double-check the answer.” Or “I will call you right back with the details—is there anything else I may help you with now?” Super phone fakers will eventually become super phone talkers.  You will develop your “phone voice” that sounds assured, because eventually you will be assured.

Fill In the Blanks

Faking it is a lot like filling out a form you have never seen before.  You follow the prompts and fill in the blanks.  A new person at a phone and internet business looked at me one day and said “If the phone rings, what do I do?”  I told her to answer it!  Sounds simple, but you start from step one, and go from there.  Listen to the “prompts” given by the person on the other line.  If the person asks a question, do your best to answer it, and go from there.  It will seem weird for a while, pretending to be an expert at something that you are not, but as you continue on, you will learn more about what you are doing and actually be the person you hoped to become.

You Have the Knowledge to Make it

Whatever your situation, chances are that you would not have ended up there unless you had the knowledge and potential to grow into the experience.  The third component of success in a new situation is having confidence in yourself.  The forth, which will come are the skills.  Your knowledge, potential, and self-confidence will allow you to develop the skills so that eventually, you aren’t faking it, and you are making it. 

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