The Jefferson Fisher Podcast
Erin McGoff: How to be Instantly More Confident at Work
Tue, 13 May 2025
If you’ve ever found yourself wondering how to answer “What’s your greatest weakness?” in a job interview—or how to ask for a raise without it getting awkward—this episode is for you. Jefferson sits down with workplace communication expert and viral career content creator Erin McGoff to break down the exact words to use in the trickiest on-the-job conversations. From handling passive-aggressive coworkers to quitting your job with grace (and keeping that door open), Erin shares practical advice and real scripts you can start using today. This episode is sponsored by Cozy Earth. Upgrade Your Every Day. Get 40% off at cozyearth.com/jefferson or use code JEFFERSON at check out. Order my new book, The Next Conversation, or listen to the full audiobook today. Like what you hear? Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a 5-star review! Suggest a topic or ask a question for me to answer on the show! Want a FREE communication tip each week? Click here to join my newsletter. Join My School of Communication Watch my podcast on YouTube Follow me on Instagram Follow me on TikTok Follow me on LinkedIn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: Who is Erin McGoff and what makes her an expert in workplace communication?
There is one place that is probably more important in your life than any other place, and it's the place that you spend the most time, the workplace. Today, I've brought you somebody who knows the workplace like nobody else. She's the most followed content creator in specifically career and workplace strategies, and I want to talk to her today, Erin McGough. Erin, thank you so much for coming.
Jefferson, thank you so much for having me. It's so great to get to talk in person after exchanging so many DMs.
Yeah, I know. We were encouraging each other along the way as we were each growing. I know you have over 6 million followers across all your platforms, which is incredible. And it's been really fun to cheer each other on along the way. So congratulations with everything.
Oh my gosh, congratulations to you. Your book is fantastic. It's on my bookshelf. And I have to say real quick, my mom is your biggest fan ever. And she loves your content so much. So shout out to mom.
Shout out to mom. What's mom's name?
Claire. She's the one from Texas from the Panhandle.
Oh, that's right. That's right. Claire, love that you're from Texas. Thanks for following me. That's awesome. This is one of my favorite kind of conversations when I can talk to other creators who are similar in space because it could be a very lonely space when you're getting into it. And this is a question that I ask just about every one of my guests that I have. And this is the first question.
Specifically with communication, Erin, how does Erin McGough talk to herself? Like, I want you to share with people the, how do you encourage yourself? What's the self-talk like before we start talking about how to engage with everybody else?
Oh, so important. The way that you communicate with yourself is the most important person you will ever communicate with is yourself. I always say like my key to confidence is just being your own best friend, you know, talking to yourself the way that you would talk to a best friend. So, you know, if I look in the mirror and I hear that thought of, oh, I don't look very good today.
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Chapter 2: How does Erin McGoff practice self-talk to boost confidence?
So those are pretty much the two things.
Oh, those are awesome. One that caught my attention and one question I've answered in emails from people specifically is the how do I tell my boss that I'm leaving? How do I tell my boss that I'm leaving? So I'm going to ask, I'll ask you that, Aaron. How do you tell your boss or supervisor that you're leaving your job?
Yeah, how to quit your job. You know, something that's so interesting with quitting your job is that it's both extremely professional and kind of personal. We spend most of our waking hours at work. You know, I always say unless you're a trust fund baby or a sugar baby or I guess a regular baby, you're going to spend most of your waking hours at work.
um and so work is very personal despite you know us trying to separate them it is your life life is linear um so i always remind people that when you're quitting a job it's a transactional relationship the they hired you to do a job you did a job and they paid you and now you're moving on to a new job and that's that's it um now if you liked your boss a lot or if you liked your boss just a normal amount they were a normal boss
don't be afraid to tell them that. Like, be appreciative, have some gratitude. But, you know, if maybe you didn't like your boss, you didn't like the work environment, I would still encourage you to leave the job with grace and professionalism. It can feel good in the moment to, you know, stick it to the man and tell him how you feel and get all angry and flustered.
But honestly, it's a waste of your energy. And a year from now, you're going to feel really regretful that you did that because the world is actually much smaller than people realize. And you come across people. You think that your boss just stayed at that job and you can curse them out and leave. But... You know, unbeknownst to you, they're your new client at your new company.
So like you just have no idea. You want to have good karma. You want to leave things in good standing. And that's to your benefit. A lot of the times when I tell people and I encourage them to leave with grace and professionalism, they're like, well, you know, they deserve blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, this isn't about them. This is actually just about you and your mental health.
I highly encourage you if you are leaving an environment which stirs up a lot of anger in you or feelings. go get it out. Like write that glass to review, you know, do that exit interview, go to a kickboxing class, get out your feelings. But that conversation when you're leaving should be done with grace. It should be quick. You should arrange it on the calendar.
You know, Friday afternoon is usually when most people do it. And remember, it's not personal. It's just professional. Your boss, you are not the first person to quit. You're not the last person that they'll have quit on them. But again, if you had a good working relationship with your boss, tell them, you know, I really appreciate working with you.
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