• See mistakes as a way to get better, because especially from mistakes you learn to do things better or differently.
• Realise that everyone makes mistakes from time to time. It is natural to make mistakes. No one is perfect. And striving for perfection also has a blocking effect. Especially when you have an internship, there is a lot to learn and things go wrong. After all, if you already knew everything, you wouldn't have had to take an internship and gain experience, would you?
• You were contracted for a reason.
• Keep in mind your own thoughts, sometimes your negative thought works automatically. For example, because of an unpleasant thing that happened in the past.
• Don't compare yourself to someone else.
• Talk to your supervisor when you feel they could approach you in a different, more pleasant way. Mention your uncertainty. Talk about what the feedback is doing to you. Don't use offensive words and attitude. But keep it to yourself. Appoint the other person's actual behavior and how it affects you. For example, "When you say to me in an unkind tone what I am doing wrong, I get scared and insecure. I then no longer manage to do things right at all'. You will notice that it is still possible to have a conversation at an equal level of understanding. In this way you work together on a safe working relationship.
• If your supervisor thinks you have more to offer than you show, think of a glass that is half full. Because of your insecurity, you cannot see what is in the glass, so the glass is half empty. Your supervisor believes in you: the glass is therefore half full. Apparently, there are a lot of things that you can do. By paying more attention to these things, you can feel more confident. So focus more on what is succeeding, rather than on what is not yet succeeding so well.
• You may be more sensitive to mistakes due to circumstances. Accept this about yourself and share it with the people you work with. They are often very understanding of this.
• Don't overcompensate by doing extra work; this only causes stress.
• Not everything you have to change about your work is 'wrong'. Your supervisor may sometimes prefer a different approach or wording or an approach you didn't think of.
• Celebrate your good results: what went well this week or month.
• In addition to anxiety, perfectionism often comes into play with uncertainty. If you are too perfectionist and want to do everything absolutely perfect, you often spend too much time on details which can cause you problems with the deadline of your assignment. This further increases your insecurity. Be satisfied with an 8 instead of a 10.

Getting some criticism about your work is never pleasant. But what if you see it as an opportunity for growth? Read Maaike's tip (in Dutch) on how to learn to deal with criticism, no matter how insecure you are.