FCDA October 2019 Newsletter

Uncovering
When I work with students, the most common phrase I hear is “I don’t really have any experience”. This phrase trickles into our conversations about resumes, cover letters and interviews, where the students insist their experience is nonexistent. When prompted, these same students will open up about their classes, organizational involvement or volunteer experience. This discussion tends to result in much more content than the student initially tried to convince me of. Throughout my time in Career Services, I have found that it’s not that the student believes they have no experience. The issue is that the student doesn’t feel that their experience is enough.

Defining
Impostor Phenomenon or Impostor Syndrome is defined as the “...inability to believe that one's success is deserved or has been legitimately achieved” (Impostor Syndrome, 2019). When students have a hard time elaborating on their accomplishments in an interview or struggle to come up with a result for their actions within a bullet point, they can often be influenced by feelings of impostorism. It can make you negate or rethink things you previously saw as remarkable. By comparing themselves to other individuals on social media or in their classes, students can sometimes feel that what they’ve done does not deserve to be talked about in their resume. Author Christina Katz says Impostor Experience “...means you think success is for other people, nor for you” (2011).

I’ve found that many of the students I advise often sell themselves short or believe that success is not within their reach. For context on how widespread this feeling of impostorism is, approximately 70% of millennials experience or have experienced some level of Impostor Phenomenon in their lives (Kerr, 2015). Feelings of Impostor Phenomenon can impact everyone in different ways at different points in their lives but it can be incredibly detrimental for individuals hoping to apply to internships or enter into the workforce.

Combating
Recognizing this phenomenon in ourselves, our coworkers and our students can make a world of difference in the work that we do in Career Services. However, the best way to combat Impostor Phenomenon is not a One-Size-Fits-All solution.

Performing a Gap Analysis is one way to gain a better understanding of skills or talents an individual might feel they need to be improved. This could be valuable for individuals who are analyzers, as this allows them to hone in on where their Impostor Phenomenon is coming from. In identifying my own gaps, I have often found that my they are not as wide as my feelings impostorism sometimes makes them out to be. This can also be valuable for students who are motivated by more tangible accomplishments. Completing the closing of the gap can allow them to reflect and really understand how far they’ve come and the progress they’ve made. That reflection can help combat Impostor Experience by allowing the student to prove to themselves that they are capable and competent.

For students who might be less results-based, identifying their values can be a grounding and exploratory way to combat Impostor Phenomenon. A Values Identification Activity allows students to combat feelings of self-doubt by leaning into their values. By establishing or identifying their values, students are better able to understand what motivates or drives them.

The reality is that Impostor Phenomenon will never fully go away. Overall, in participating in activities that promote self-reflection, students can start to take action against the feelings of impostorism they may be feeling. By working on actions individuals can take to remind themselves of their accomplishments and abilities, they can spend less time being influenced by it.

References

Impostor Syndrome. (2019). In Oxford Online Dictionary. Retrieved from https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/impostor_syndrome.

Kerr, B. (2015, November 20). Why 70% of Millennials Have Impostor Syndrome. Retrieved from https://thehustle.co/why-70-percent-of-millennials-have-impostor-syndrome.

The Ball Foundation. (n.d.). Mind the Gap: Gap Analysis as a Career Management Tool. Retrieved from https://careervision.org/mind-gap-gap-analysis-career-management-tool/.

Katz, C. (2011). The Writers Workout 366 Tips, Tasks, & Techniques From Your Writing Career Coach. Cincinnati: F W Media.

The Good Project. (n.d.). Value-Sort Activity. Retrieved from http://thegoodproject.org/toolkits-curricula/the-goodwork-toolkit/value-sort-activity/.