4 Tips to Help You Overcome Imposter Syndrome

The period after accepting a job is filled with a range of emotions. You are excited for what the future holds, but you may also feel overwhelmed by the stress of expectation. This can cause you to experience imposter syndrome, where you believe you aren’t as capable as everyone thinks you are and, sooner rather than later, you will get found out. This can be a debilitating experience that could impact your performance. So how can you overcome imposter syndrome and thrive? Here are four tips to help you.

Gain Experience

Inexperienced professionals are often most prone to experience imposter syndrome, and one of the easiest ways to beat this is to gain experience. Internships, courses, and programs like the HBS 2+2 can all help you prepare for a new role or position and help you understand what a professional environment is like. This approach can settle your nerves and enables you to get a feel for appropriate behavior and decorum within the office. Depending on the type of experience you seek, you can also learn key teamwork skills and improve your presentations to prevent nerves.

Use Positive Self Talk

If you’re someone who uses self-deprecating humor as a defense mechanism, it’s time to make changes and overcome imposter syndrome. Understanding the benefits of using positive self-talk will help you believe in yourself more. Although you might not think self-deprecation is doing any harm, it can eventually rewire your brain to doubt yourself at every turn. Replacing this talk with a positive attitude will alter your entire way of thinking, which will give you the confidence you need to succeed.

Recognize Your Strengths

Similarly, it’s easy to highlight your faults and know what you can’t do, which is one of the major issues with imposter syndrome. But, identifying things you are good at and having the confidence to show these skills off is a great way to overcome any feelings that you’re not good enough for the role. It can be even more effective to write these skills down and use them as a ‘Brag Sheet’ that you can reference whenever you’re feeling low on confidence as it can help you refocus.

Have Someone to Talk To

You don’t need to deal with imposter syndrome alone, and having someone to talk to will give you the emotional support you need to cope with any doubts you might have. This support network, whether it be your partner, friends, fellow professionals, or even strangers, is crucial for gaining a different perspective and helps you approach your problems from a new angle. It’s easy to gain tunnel vision when you feel overwhelmed with imposter syndrome, but getting advice from others will broaden your scope and give you positive reinforcement.

Overcome

Often, your biggest enemy is yourself, but it doesn’t need to be. It is natural to feel you are not good enough, but knowing there is a reason you were hired and reminding yourself that you are good enough will help you overcome imposter syndrome and excel in your career.