You don’t need decades of experience to be trusted. You just need to show up with credibility, reliability, and genuine curiosity. 

For anyone just starting out (e.g. students, recent grads, or career switchers), it can feel like you’re always auditioning. You’re told to build your network, make a strong impression, and sell yourself. But no one explains the human mechanics behind what actually makes someone believe in you. 

That mechanism is trust. 

Whether it’s a recruiter deciding if you’d be a good fit for a team, a manager assigning you your first big project, or a mentor choosing to invest their time in you, their decision is ultimately based on how much they trust you.  

About this Series 

This article is part of a new content series from Relate, exploring the four core archetypes the Relate platform supports (Dealmaker, Growth Coach, Trusted Adviser, and Rising Talent). Each blog will dive into the real-world behaviors, habits, and communication skills that build trust in modern work. 

When we say Rising Talent, we’re talking about the people who are at the beginning of their professional journey. That can be recent graduates interviewing for their first role, new hires who are starting their first full-time roles, or career changers taking a new path. 

They might not have long track records yet, but they’re motivated, curious, and building the foundation of trust-building behaviors that will define their careers. For this group, every interview, networking conversation, team meeting, or big presentation is a chance to earn confidence and trust from others. 

But it’s also a uniquely challenging environment to learn in. Many early-career professionals are entering hybrid or remote workplaces, where relationship-building happens through screens instead of traditional office environments. It can be harder to read body language, pick up informal feedback, or observe how their well trusted colleagues communicate. That’s why developing intentional trust habits, the small actions that convey credibility, reliability, and genuine interest, have never mattered more.  

The good news? Your trustworthiness can be measured, and you can grow it through a set of learnable habits. 

And one of the best frameworks for learning them comes from The Trusted Advisor by David Maister, Charles Green, and Robert Galford. Their Trust Equation breaks trust into four dimensions: 

Trust = (Credibility + Reliability + Intimacy) / Self-Orientation 

Here’s how you can apply each part of that equation to your early career to start earning trust from day one. 

1. Credibility: Show what you know (and what you’re learning) 

When you’re early in your career, you may not have a long list of accomplishments yet. That’s okay because credibility isn’t about experience alone. It’s about how you communicate your thinking, preparation, and curiosity. Here are some tips on how to show up more credible:  

• Be prepared. 
  Before a meeting or interview, research the person you’re talking to. Not just the company’s homepage, but go deeper. Know their mission, recent product launches, or something their CEO said in a press release. Then, instead of reciting your research, ask a thoughtful question that connects your story to theirs. For examples you can say, “I saw your team recently expanded into healthcare AI, how has that changed what you look for in candidates?” That question demonstrates curiosity, context, and initiative, three important credibility subfactors.  

• Use specifics to prove preparation. 
  When you tell a story about your work or studies, use concrete examples: 

“I increased engagement by 25% on our student newsletter” sounds real, while “I’m passionate about communication” sounds vague. Even if your experience comes from class projects, part-time jobs, or volunteer roles, details build believability. 

• Own what you don’t know. 
  Nothing builds credibility faster than honesty. If you’re asked about something outside your expertise, say “That’s an area I’m still learning, but here’s how I’d approach figuring it out.” 

2. Reliability: Do what you say you’ll do 

If credibility earns attention, reliability earns respect. It’s the steady consistency that makes people trust you to follow through. Here are some tips on how to increase your reliablity: 

• Start with small commitments. 
  Reliability can be built over many micro-moments.  Things like showing up on time or early for interviews, sending promised follow-up notes, and turning in assignments when you said you would. Each moment deposits a small trust credit in someone’s mental ledger. Over time, those deposits compound into reputation. 

• Make invisible work visible. 
  When you’re new, managers can’t read your mind. Let them see progress before they have to ask. You can say something like “I’ve drafted the first version and plan to finish the edits by tomorrow, does that timeline work for you?” 

• Build a reputation for dependability, not perfection. 
  Early-career professionals sometimes overcommit out of enthusiasm. Ironically, that erodes trust when promises slip. Reliability isn’t about doing everything but more so about doing what you say you’ll do, consistently. 

3. Intimacy: Build Connection, Not Performance 

“Intimacy” in the Trust Equation means showing emotional closeness and a sense of psychological safety. It’s what makes others feel comfortable opening up, collaborating, and giving feedback. That’s hard to teach, but it’s surprisingly easy to practice. Here are some tips on how to practice growing intimacy: 

• Be genuinely curious. 
  People can sense when you’re only waiting for your turn to talk. In interviews or meetings, try asking questions that draw out personal perspective, not just facts. You can ask “What do you enjoy most about working here?” or “What advice would you give someone starting in this field?” 

• Listen like it matters. 
  Active listening is underrated. Nodding, summarizing what someone said, or jotting notes as they speak shows attention. When you reference something they said later (“You mentioned your team’s focus on accessibility…”), you communicate that you valued their words. That builds intimacy faster. 

• Share small, human details. 
  If the opportunity comes up, connect on something outside work like a shared city, interest, or even a learning challenge. These small disclosures signal approachability and confidence. 

• Create psychological safety. 
  In group settings, the most trusted people are those who make others feel safe to contribute. If you’re in a meeting and notice a quiet teammate, invite them (“Sam, you mentioned something similar last week, what do you think?”).  

4. Self-Orientation: Focus on the other person 

The denominator of the Trust Equation can make or break all the other components. 

When your self-orientation is high (you’re focused on how you sound, how you look, or what you gain), trust plummets. When it’s low (you’re focused on them, their needs, their challenges, their success), trust grows. Here are some tips on how to lower self-orientation: 

• Shift from “selling yourself” to “solving together.” 
  In job interviews, candidates often think they’re performing. But the best conversations feel like problem-solving sessions.  

• Acknowledge others’ ideas openly. Giving credit (“That was a great suggestion from Maya”) makes collaboration feel safe and ego-free. 

• Let go of the need to impress. 
  People can sense when you’re trying too hard. Instead of trying to be interesting, try to be interested. Curiosity is magnetic; self-importance repels. 

Trust compounds like interest. Every kept promise, every well-prepared conversation, every moment of empathy adds up to a personal brand that says: I’m someone you can count on. 

When recruiters talk about soft skills, this is what they mean. Trust is the ultimate soft skill because it hardens into reputation. 

So, the next time you walk into an interview, join a project team, or network with a potential mentor, remember: 

You’re not there to prove your worth. You’re there to build a bridge of trust strong enough for the opportunity to cross. 

At Relate, we believe trust is the foundation of every successful career. That’s why our AI analyst and meeting coach, Sandi, helps people at every stage of their journey to understand how they show up in conversations.  

For Rising Talent, Relate provides a safe space to practice, reflect, and build confidence through real feedback that transforms every interaction into a chance to grow.  

Whether you’re preparing for interviews, joining your first team, or learning to communicate in hybrid and remote settings, Relate helps you strengthen the habits that make others believe in you.  

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