What is Imposter Syndrome?

Imposter Syndrome is a mindset that manifests as doubting your abilities and feeling like a fraud when it comes to school or work. This isn’t true since most people that experience it are very successful, just a trick your mind tries to play. When it comes to CS, this may be having thoughts like:

If any of those thoughts sound like you, check out the following resources to help you deal with those thoughts and feelings a little more productively.

5 Strategies for dealing with Imposter Syndrome more effectively

  1. Reframing thoughts and beliefs + anchoring in a growth mindset
    1. The way to begin to do this is to first understand what thoughts you currently have that would fall under the category of Imposter Syndrome (you can use our Imposter Syndrome worksheet to get started).
    2. Once you know what recurring thoughts come from Imposter Syndrome, start thinking about what someone you are close to would say instead (eg. if the thought is “I don’t know anything” you can reframe to “I am learning about this topic and slowly getting better) and let those be your Powerful thoughts.
    3. Once you have both your Imposter Syndrome thoughts and your Powerful thoughts written down, take note of how many times each shows up in a day and set a goal for how much more often you’d like Powerful thoughts to show up.
  2. Managing self expectations
    1. Most of us are very high achievers who have always been expected to perform at a 100% or better, however, a person is only meant to perform at 100%a fraction of the time and recover for the rest of the time. Think about all great athletes, they all take time off to rest and recover, and so should you! So if you feel like you are getting close to burnout, try to take as much of a break as you can in that moment and schedule in a longer break in the weeks to come.
  3. Seeking out mentorship
    1. Mentorship is what most leaders would say is what got them to where they are today because you usually can’t be successful alone. It is something that a lot of folks can find daunting or scary due to the perceived power that the mentor has, but most people in Tech are very open to being mentors and providing guidance.
    2. You can find a mentor anywhere! It can be at your university (one of your TA’s, professors, counselors, at a previous internship or job (old manager, old leader), or even online (check out our Networking guide on great tips on how to start connecting with people on LinkedIn.)
    3. If you have never had a mentor and are not sure where to start, please check out our Mentorship Guide.
  4. Accept imposter feelings as a normal part of working in Tech
    1. Remember: 70% of people have experienced Imposter Syndrome at some point in their career. You are not alone!
    2. Remember: If you have Imposter Syndrome feelings, you can always chat with one of our Career Coaches and they can help provide support.
  5. Stay anchored in your strengths by keeping a BRAG doc
    1. One of the reasons that we feel Imposter Syndrome is that we feel we aren’t contributing or doing enough. To combat that, you want to start a BRAG doc (example here) so you can keep track of your successes weekly, monthly, or quarterly. It may seem weird at first, but once you see everything you’ve been able to accomplish, you will start feeling more confident about what value you can add as a new employee.

Additional resources this topic: