3 Ways To Overcome Imposter Syndrome As A New Engineer
Are You Really Good Enough For Your Job?
I recently did a career event at a university for work. I was talking to young college engineers, all looking for advice on how to get a job after school. I ended up connecting with one of the students over LinkedIn after the event to give him more advice on how to get an engineering job.
I explained to him that there are really two things that employers look for.
- Do you have the skills/knowledge/potential to do the work?
- Do we like you?
He then mentioned something that I realized was a big problem…
I will forever be concerned with 1. Mostly just imposter syndrome. — Engineering Student.
He was referring to having the skills/knowledge/potential to do the work. He was concerned with having imposter syndrome.
I knew how he felt.
I had imposter syndrome for about the first year and a couple of months of me being in my first engineering job.
It doesn’t feel good.
But don’t feel like an outcast. I’m pretty sure almost everyone experiences imposter syndrome at some point in their life. Especially new engineers going into their first job.
It leaves you with feelings of …
- Self-doubt.
- Not feeling good enough.
- Afraid you’re going to get fired (Or if you haven’t gotten a job yet that you won’t get hired).
So how do we overcome this?
Well there are 3 ways that helped me overcome imposter syndrome. Lets talk about them right now.
1. Talk About It With Other Entry-Level Engineers
As I mentioned above, I had imposter syndrome while I was interviewing and even during my first year working as an engineer. What really helped me was talking about how I did not feel like I was good enough to other entry-level engineers.
I had mentioned this in a previous post that I will link here, but the main reason I did not feel good enough was because a majority of the other engineers there were better than me. And rightfully so, since they had +10 years of experience on me.
But speaking with other entry-level engineers helped me feel at ease because I realized it was not just me who felt this way.
We all felt like there was so much that we didn’t know.
I believe we always find comfort in a community of people who are going through the same thing as us.
It almost makes what you are going through feel normal. But better yet, if you see one of your entry-level engineering co-workers gaining some success, it may also motivate you that you can do it too.
So if you are experiencing imposter syndrome, try talking about what you’re going through with another entry-level engineering buddy.
2. Set A Goal To Get Better
Part of the reason why I was feeling imposter syndrome was because I felt like I was NOT up to the level of the engineers working there.
Now does this mean I’m not a good engineer?
No, of course not. But…
It may be an indication that I need to improve my skills.
Here’s why this could be the ultimate solution for you.
Tell me, what is the opposite of self-doubt?
Confidence.
If you want to get rid of self-doubt, one method is to gain more confidence.
The great thing is that you usually rise (or fall) to the level of the people you surround yourself with. So if you are always around great engineers, you will start to see how they think and approach problems. Whether you want to or not…they will influence your approach and your behaviors as well.
But instead of waiting to have a really great engineer on your team (because you are probably not picking your team as an entry-level engineer), you could ask other engineers what you should be able to do in order to really succeed in the company.
Once you’ve asked about 3 or 5 engineers then set a goal to go learn those skills.
By trying to improve your skills, you will gain more confidence in your abilities which will eventually decrease your self-doubt.
This is something that helped me while I was starting off as an engineer.
This may not work for everyone, but it’s worth giving it a shot.
3. Just Give It Time
And finally…
Just give it some time.
I like to think we all experience imposter syndrome at some point in our life. And over time I find that it will fade. So as long as you are strong willed and can push through some of the mental stress, you will eventually come out of it.
Now if you don’t come out of it…Then you got a problem. If you are experiencing pro-longed states of imposter syndrome to the point where its affecting your work or life… then you should probably go to talk to your doctor about it.
BONUS POINT/CONCLUSION
I recently saw a post by a entrepreneur I follow named Dan Lok. At the basis of his post was a question.
That question was…
Are you playing to win? Or are you playing to avoid failure?
You see, if you are in self-doubt, you are probably in a mindset of avoiding failure.
- I don’t want to screw up.
- I don’t want them to think they hired the wrong person.
- I don’t want them to think my design is stupid.
The bullet points above represent a mindset that is focused on avoiding failure. It creates stress, worry and is not a mindset that you should be in.
But…
If you are playing to win, that is totally different.
Now you’re asking questions of…
- How do I get better?
- How do I over-deliver?
- What feedback do they have on my design so that I can improve it?
This is a mindset that will allow you to flourish.
I think it goes without saying that the Imposter Syndrome feeling is a mindset where you are playing to avoid failure.
So ask yourself… are you playing to win…or are you playing to avoid failure?
I hope you guys found the article helpful! Check out some of my other posts on medium.
