One of my friends, laid off from Airbnb when the pandemic began, was unexpectedly thrust into job search mode. In describing her search, she reported a tactical change for interview prep. She now made a concerted effort not to look at the LinkedIn profile of anyone she was interviewing with: “I found that I’d get intimidated when I saw they had two Ivy League degrees and an impressive resume. It was causing self-doubt, and I’d think, ‘Who am I to think I can do this job at this company?’”
I made note: My friend has an Ivy League degree herself! But apparently having just one was enough to shoot down her confidence.
We’ve all been there. Feeling like a fraud despite accomplishments. Hoping no one will discover our actual lack of qualification. Believing what we’ve achieved was due to luck, not skill or effort. Imposter syndrome.
The term imposter syndrome was first coined in 1978 when psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Immes studied the confidence levels of women in academic careers. They found that women suffered a particular kind of self-doubt, which they dubbed imposter syndrome. Further research has determined that imposter syndrome affects all demographics and is most commonly experienced by high achievers. Researchers estimate imposter syndrome is experienced by 70% of the general population.
What about tech in particular? A study conducted in 2018 by Blind, an anonymous social network, found that 58% of employees from bold-face-name tech companies like Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple were fighting imposter syndrome. These are the Ivy Leagues of tech companies! The company notes: “On Blind, an anonymous Salesforce employee expressed feeling like a fraud even after 14 years of being an engineer. Another anonymous user wrote about experiencing impostor syndrome after joining an elite tech company.”
Being in an underrepresented employee group—such as being older in tech—can exacerbate imposter syndrome. Rebekah Bastian writes, “When employees do not see people who look like them, or who hold their same identities, in the workplace, that feeling of not fitting in that is correlated with imposter syndrome is magnified.” So, for example, older employees may have insecurities about their tech skills, which can lead to a feeling they need to hide this or are really not qualified for a role.
What are the red flags that can help you identify imposter syndrome? I particularly like these questions that Maggie Taylor and Hannah Bloking, executives at DocuSign and AWS respectively, pose:
- When you receive a compliment, do you often attribute it to factors other than your own strengths, such as luck or increased effort by other people (e.g. “…it was a team effort!”)?
- Do you feel like you should be able to do everything yourself, no questions asked?
- Do you qualify statements you make with ‘This might not be right, but…” or “This might be a dumb suggestion, but…”?
- Do you avoid letting on that you don’t know something?
- Do you agonize over the smallest flaw in your work because you worry you will be “found out”?
Fighting imposter syndrome, like other thought distortions, is challenging. Manny Medina, CEO of AI sales engagement platform Outreach, shares how imposter syndrome has plagued him and offers these suggestions for mitigating it:
- Turn it into a positive motivator.
- Give yourself some extra credit.
- Accept that you’ll make some sacrifices.
- Build a support network.
Imposter syndrome is common but self-defeating. It’s also something that can be managed. Don’t believe those inner voices! You’ve accomplished much in your career. You can learn to stand in that truth.
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