Have you ever had that voice in your head that tells you “You are not good enough” or “You do not belong here”? This voice is what psychologists call the Impostor Syndrome. When you start to compare your abilities, skills and productivity levels to others’, you may start to experience self-doubt and low confidence. In turn, this can have negative consequences for your mental health – and for your career. Fortunately, there are ways to boost your career confidence by following simple evidence-based steps. Do not let the impostor syndrome take over your career success and read further!
What is the Impostor Syndrome?
The impostor syndrome revolves around negative attitudes about oneself. For example, you might think that your contributions and ideas at a work meeting today were redundant. In turn, this makes you feel unworthy, and can make you doubt how good you are at your job. Moreover, if you find yourself being praised by your colleagues for a successful task, because of the impostor syndrome, you start attributing your success to lucky circumstances rather than your own hard work.
Importantly, the impostor syndrome can give rise to more anxiety, worries about failure, and burnout.
A relatable example concerns the job applicant who writes hundreds of motivation letters, attends various interviews and in the end gets rejected. The impostor voice starts whispering “You will never get a job because you’re not good enough”. Because of this voice, the job applicant will experience much more anxiety during the next interview, become more worried and exhausted. So, how can you get out of this vicious cycle of self-doubt and anxiety?
How to beat the impostor syndrome?
When it comes to beating the impostor syndrome at work, boosting your career confidence is essential. Having high career confidence means to believe that you are capable of developing yourself and achieving success in your career. And do you know what the consequences are of such healthy confidence? Higher salary, an ability to adapt easily to changing circumstances (because let’s be real, we live in a crazy, non-static world), higher chances of employment, and more energy and motivation to build a successful career.
How to Boost Career Confidence?
There are several ways you can boost your career confidence and beat the impostor syndrome. Here are 4 science-based ways:
1. Eliminate negative self-talk.
If you find yourself engaging in negative self-talk, it only gives more power to the impostor inside. You would probably not say these words to a close relative or friend – why would you tell them to yourself? Become friends with yourself by engaging in affirmations and acts of self-care.
2. Remember that you might see yourself as an impostor but others do not see you that way!
When you get caught in your negative thoughts, it may seem like the world around you also see you as the bad guy. But beware, your mind is trying to trick you. Take the praise from others: the same way you recognise others’ skills and abilities, others also recognise yours!
3. Consider your past success as proof that YOU CAN MAKE IT!
Even though failure is an essential part of life and is often as important to your development as success, the little successful moments in your career – like a great presentation, a ground-breaking idea or a happy client – are all signs that you are doing great and you are capable and worthy of success.
4. Focus on Learning
Learning is permanent growth. When you focus on learning something new, or learning from experience, your focus shifts from mistakes to lessons. Therefore, focusing on learning allows you to reflect on what can be improved rather than creating self-doubt and worry where none is necessary.
This concludes Career Resource No. 7. If you want to know more about how to be successful, make sure to read our Ultimate Career Guide!
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November 1, 2021This post is based on the following sources and academic articles
Hirschi, A. (2012). The career resources model: An integrative framework for career counsellors. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 40(4), 369–383.
Hirschi, A., Nagy, N., Baumeler, F., Johnston, C. S., & Spurk, D. (2018). Assessing key predictors of career success: Development and validation of the career resources questionnaire. Journal of Career Assessment, 26(2), 338–358. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072717695584
Katherine Hawley, I—What Is Impostor Syndrome?, Aristotelian Society Supplementary Volume, Volume 93, Issue 1, 2019, Pages 203–226, https://doi.org/10.1093/arisup/akz003
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