How I got over imposter syndrome
Let’s face it, most young professionals constantly feel like we have to prove ourselves. Generationally, Gen Z and millenials are attending and graduating college at a higher rate than any previous generation while earning historically low wages. Nonetheless, Gen Z and millennials are consistently feeling like they aren’t “making it” or don’t fit in their professional spaces.
We have come to describe this experience as imposter syndrome. We all question whether we’re the right person for our job, we feel like we don’t know enough or we need to work harder to get to the same spot as our colleagues. Even the most confident, sure-of-themselves people have, at some point, doubted their ability or questioned their position.
As someone who is driven by accomplishment, I spent my time from ages 15 to 24 chasing achievement. I went to an all academics high school with the goal of going to college to build the “right” career. All throughout college and my master’s program, I felt out of place. In college, I felt like I wasn’t as smart as my colleagues, I felt like everyone knew something I didn’t and I was just doing my best to show up and get through.
After going directly from undergrad into my master’s program, I had some validation that I was smart enough. But then I felt too young and inexperienced compared to most of my colleagues who had been in successful careers for 10+ years.
One evening, I was working on an assignment with some of my classmates and someone commented on how I always knew what was going on in class and they felt so clueless. And suddenly I got it. This person who had a full career ahead of me, whom I respected and whose perspectives I looked forward to hearing in class, felt similarly about me. And she also felt imposter syndrome herself.
Imposter syndrome is mostly discussed in relation to women and minorities, which makes sense because our ability to thrive in professional spaces — universities, workplaces, etc. — is directly measured against white male professionalism. Professional spaces were not made for women and people of color, so we’ll never feel like we belong in them.
Photo by RF._.studio
People who crave achievement are more likely to experience imposter syndrome because we are attracted to high-stress careers that are demanding in order to foster a sense of achievement, which can lead to a feeling of inadequacy and questioning whether you belong.
I used to think that imposter syndrome would improve over time. That as I gain experience and “earned” my place in my field, that feeling of not belonging and being behind would fade. Because eventually, I would belong. But now, I think Ruchika Tulshyan and Jodi-Ann Burey said it best in their article “Stop Telling Women they have Imposter Syndrome,”
“Imposter syndrome directs our view toward fixing women at work instead of fixing the places where women work.”
Imposter syndrome will improve as we shed old views of professionalism rooted in white male supremacy and create work environments that serve the needs and lifestyles of our workforce. Rather than creating a workforce to serve the needs of our work environments. Imposter syndrome will also improve as we talk to one another, lift each other up and acknowledge the ways our colleagues shine and belong. When we do this, everyone benefits.
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