{"id":70926,"date":"2014-05-08T08:00:38","date_gmt":"2014-05-08T13:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=70926"},"modified":"2014-05-08T10:05:33","modified_gmt":"2014-05-08T15:05:33","slug":"dealing-with-imposter-syndrome-and-feeling-like-you-belong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=70926","title":{"rendered":"Dealing with Imposter Syndrome and Feeling Like You Belong"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Clare Sobotka, Head Editor,\u00a0INALJ Idaho<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Dealing with Imposter Syndrome and Feeling Like You Belong<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"Clare<\/a>I\u2019d like to introduce something that I have struggled with in starting out in the field of librarianship. For\u00a0my first library-related job after graduation with my MLS, I struggled with the feeling that once I had\u00a0been working for a short time the people that hired me would feel disappointed and realize that they\u00a0had picked the wrong person. In my mind, I didn\u2019t know what I was doing, I had no experience, and\u00a0didn\u2019t they know there were so many better people out there? As it turns out, these feelings are so\u00a0common that they are known as imposter syndrome.<\/strong> I came across the term sometime last year, and\u00a0once I understood what imposter syndrome was about, I felt more confident that some of my feelings\u00a0of insecurity stemmed from this particular mental phenomenon rather than a real mismatch with my\u00a0job. I wish someone had told me about imposter syndrome at the beginning of college, so I think there\u00a0is merit in becoming familiar with the concept sooner rather than later. Perhaps you will recognize it in\u00a0yourself!<\/p>\n

So what is imposter syndrome? Generally speaking, it is the feeling that you aren\u2019t cut out for the\u00a0position you are in, that you are a fraud and don\u2019t know what you are doing, and that you will be found\u00a0out. Even though you are competent, you feel as if others will discover that you accidentally arrived in\u00a0this role and really shouldn\u2019t be performing the job. It can manifest itself in other ways: chalking up your\u00a0success to luck or discounting your own success (you didn\u2019t really put in that much effort). This feeling\u00a0can be strong even for those already deemed \u201csuccessful,\u201d including published scientists and CEOs.\u00a0It affects both men and women, students, and those just starting a career as well as established and\u00a0respected workers.<\/p>\n

Some tips for dealing with imposter syndrome:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. \u201cFake it till you make it.\u201d<\/strong> It has been run into the ground, but keeping the old adage in mind\u00a0can help. As a beginning professional or as someone starting a new job you may feel uncertain\u00a0of yourself, but sometimes you just have to get started or you won\u2019t accomplish anything. Or\u00a0people will talk to you like you know what you are all about. Pretend they are right.<\/p>\n

2. Give it time.<\/strong> Getting more experiences under your belt help alleviate some of these feelings as\u00a0a beginning professional. You can even be extra pro-active and decide to shore up your self-confidence with some new skills. However, for some people the feeling never entirely goes away\u00a0or may reappear at times, such as when you begin a new job or an ambitious project.<\/p>\n

3. Ask questions and ask for help.<\/strong> Most librarians are open and friendly about answering questions\u00a0and providing guidance. No one expects you to know everything right away in a new job, or\u00a0even when you have been in an established position. They also recognize that everyone makes\u00a0mistakes.<\/p>\n

4. Realize that you are not alone.<\/strong> In general, most people have insecurities, and so many people\u00a0experience imposter syndrome at some point in their lives that it is quite normal. Read through\u00a0some of the articles below and their comments for variations on how people experience\u00a0imposter syndrome.<\/p>\n

5. Acknowledge that there is always someone better than you at certain things, and remind\u00a0yourself of it periodically.<\/strong> There will always be a person you know of with more experience, or\u00a0who does more activities, or who stretches the boundaries more. People who are more efficient\u00a0and more professional than you. But that\u2019s okay. No one is perfect and there is no reason you\u00a0should be either. Also, remember that people you work with didn\u2019t become brilliant overnight;\u00a0they\u2019ve had years to develop some of the skills they have.<\/p>\n

If you feel that you struggle with imposter syndrome and it might be holding you back, it might help\u00a0to have someone to talk to. Ask for help from a mentor or licensed professional such as a therapist or\u00a0counselor.<\/p>\n

Here are articles that elaborate more on the subject, but plenty more can be found on the internet:<\/p>\n

\u201cImposter Syndrome: When You Might Be A Fraud<\/a>\u201d by Alison Green<\/p>\n

\u201cDo You Suffer From Imposter Syndrome?<\/a>\u201d by Olivia Fox Cabane<\/p>\n

\u201cDo You Suffer From The Imposter Syndrome?<\/a>\u201d by Morty Lefkoe<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Imposter Syndrome<\/a>\u201d by Caltech Counseling Center<\/p>\n

\u201cImposter Syndrome: When You Feel Like You\u2019re Faking It<\/a>\u201d (PDF) by Rose O. Sherman<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Clare Sobotka, Head Editor,\u00a0INALJ Idaho Dealing with Imposter Syndrome and Feeling Like You Belong I\u2019d like to introduce something that I have struggled with in starting out in the field of librarianship. For\u00a0my first library-related job after graduation with my MLS, I struggled with the feeling that once I had\u00a0been working for a short…<\/p>\n

Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":57046,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[145],"tags":[146,69,3592,5878,6211,3653,6212],"class_list":["post-70926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-advice","tag-article","tag-blog","tag-clare-sobotka","tag-imposter-syndrome","tag-inalj-idaho","tag-what-is-imposter-syndrome"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Clare-Sobotka.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-irY","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=70926"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70926\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/57046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=70926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=70926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=70926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}