Hey everyone! Bit of an interesting topic but I was wondering how people manage their imposter syndrome in regards to their career?
I know I struggle a lot of days and its often a knock to my motivation. I was interested to see how other people in the design industry manage these type of feelings and what helps.
Replies18
- One thing I’m working on is cultivating compassion, for myself and others. I’m not perfect, I have some skills but much to learn - and that’s okay. And if someone gives me a shot, chooses my services, I’ll respect their decision, even if I’m not sure.That self critic is often trying to help ( although it can be annoying) maybe to keep us safe or avoid rejection. Gaining understanding for that harsh voice can help us make peace. Sometimes it helps to soothe that voice, put the kettle on and make it a cup of tea.
- After 8 years of doing this (not a long time admittedly, and ironically, me answering this puts me in the imposter syndrome seat). I realised that no one really knows what they're doing. Not 100% of the time. And that’s ok. From a junior, to a CEO, the whole hierarchical spectrum is asked to make decisions they’ve never had to make before and as time goes on, you develop a better gut instinct through getting things right, and albeit, fucking things up.The truth is, as much as you try to plan and strategise, you never truly know the outcome. Try not to think of imposter syndrome as unhealthy (that way it will overwhelm you which causes you to stop making decisions and actions). On the contrary, It can be a helpful measure to work out how out of depth you feel. In turn, this can be a helpful drive to working out solutions/approaches to the task at hand.Ultimately, i’ve realised as time goes on that thing’s don’t get simpler with experience, they just get easier deal with as you gain more experience. Accepting mistakes; lack of knowledge, lack of experience, lack of skill, etc et al... its really just an inevitability of the journey. And that's ok.
- Hello,I guess the impostor syndrome has a distinctive feature: you think you are the only fraud on Earth. That's how I have felt (and feel) for along time.I look around me and see people, other creatives, talking so confidently about everything, "knowing what they do"...that I feel completely out of place and inadecuate...Now that I am aware that I am not the only person feeling "all was a strike of luck", "I am not really good / professional / creative"...I feel I can manage these demons better.So, my advise is to get to know these demons, this impostor syndrome: where does it come from? childhood? bad previous professional experience?..., going to the root will help you embrace these demons with confidence, and even humour.I just moved to another country, and therefore a new market, I need to find my space here. That is going to trigger my impostor syndrome again. I know, but I am dealing with it in any creative way I can think about: drawing it, doing a video journalling, dancing it.I feel intimidated by people who is able to create a professional speech with not a single "uhm", or "ahhh". And I am embracing my "uhm", "ahh", my hesitations when talking...because once I overcome them and look at then with tenderness, those little demons, I know it is not a strike of luck, I know I am really a good professional.And it helps me a lot -and I hope it helps you- to be able to share my insecurities, not having to pretend, because behind them, my true creative, visionary, authentic and professional self is melting these insecurities with its glow :)I hope this helps. Being authentic, honest, vulnerable, patient with yourself and using that amazing tool that is humour and creativity is my advice.Let's create the Society of Inadecuates :)
- Unfortunately imposter syndrome haunts you at every stage of your career and tends to affect those who work in creative industries more often, as the work we do is subjective and therefore accompanied by a sense of insecurity. Most of the time the feeling comes and goes irrespective of how talented you are and far you've come. Which means we need to figure out a way to channel it into a possitive. See if you can use those feelings to do better work? You'll probably find you are your own harshest critic which is a good thing! It will keep you moving forward. Pushing for great over good. So I say, welcome those negative feelings and use them to create your finest work.
- I recognise that I am not in the same line of work as you but imposter syndrome is something I have always had to contend with throughout my career. My advice would be for you to be kind to yourself whilst you continue to learn your trade. You are already, very obviously, talented. You have the added blessing of a real passion for the work you do, not everyone has that same passion so please enjoy it. I manage my imposter syndrome by reflecting on my successful experiences and aknowledging that they were achieved by a mixture of good decisions, failures I learnt from, excellent colleagues and mentors, empathy and good old-fashioned hard work. It is a recipe that you can rinse and repeat until the end of time. Good luck with what comes next
- @Javier Navarro Thank you for that advice! I have also recently started a social media diet on both my personal and professional accounts and definitely feel better in myself already. It does pay to be a little picky with social media sometimes!
- Hi Georgie,Great advice here! I would say that the fact that you are not the only one feeling it and that it is labeled as a syndrome, does paradoxically show you a way out: it is more a construction than a real issue, as real as it might feel.That said, I would recommend two things:1- Have a strong focus on yourself and your work. There is an uniqueness by default on your work and finding out your true voice will help you cope with any insequirities and build a conversation with an audience that is a genuinely good match.2- Social media diet. As much as social media is inspiring, it can also leave you with the notion that everything is done and there is literally no room for your work. It is also very tempting to constantly judge your work in a not always healthy manner. By that I do not mean switch it off completely but handle with care.Hope this helps!
- @Victoria Bithell Amazing! Thank you ☺️
- I'm the same way and it has affected me a lot in trying to build my caeer. A couple of things I always try to remind myself are,-When someone has hired you it's off the merit of you and your work. They liked it so they hired you - nothing impostery about that.-You are always learning and improving, as long as you keep at it you will always get better, and a bad project or just a project you're not happy with here and there can be learned from and used to help you move forward-Doing personal work just for you can really help break out a slump and help give you confidence, or bring the joy back to your work.
- It’s amazingly common in the industry, you’re certainly not alone! There’s a great free short course on overcoming imposter syndrome on the D&AD website.
- I think it's pretty normal to feel like an imposter some of the time. Especially in the creative industries. I try to stop comparing myself to others and focus on doing the best I can right here and now.
- @iulia istrate It's definitely an important topic to bring up! It's also nice in a way to hear other people's experiences and know it's more normal than we think! ☺️
- Hey Georgie, going through this myself as we speak. I have always (close to 20 years) worked in recruitment and 8m ago I started a podcast. I do not yet feel like a fish in the water, rather as an impostor :) Having seen others go through this, it helps me to know this is a usual feeling that comes with the fact that I am not as good as I want to be, that I sometimes mimick others in an effort to learn quicker. What I do is just embrace it, know where it comes from and try to get to the level where what I do becomes part of me :) But I am also curious what others do and think. I am very glad to brought this topic up :)
- @Trinity Mitchell I agree, I think a lot of people are struggling with similar feelings right now! I've been trying to focus less on work and more on hobbies too and remind myself my worth isn't just my job ☺️
- I don't think it really goes away to be honest! Each time I push myself to learn something new or change direction I have to go through that feeling of being a fraud but then the passion/obsession to do it pushes me on. I think it's fairly healthy not to be over confident but never too hard on yourself. It's great to have big goals and dreams and focus on that long term but also to look realistically at where you're at now and what you offer compared to people at a similar stage of thier career. We are bombarded with amazing design worldwide on social media all the time but if you look around a bit closer to home it helps to get a more realistic view. I think it's also important to realise that most of us feel exactly the same, just some are more comfortable talking about it.
- Uuufffff that's a biggie! I have a great CV, full of big names and I have achieved a lot..... but that doesn't stop me from feeling like a massive fraud! With the current situation it worsened and I can't help but feel like I've gone back to square one. I don't know what the secret to overcoming this is, apart from continuing to strive for your goals, and listening to the people around you who support you. <3
- @Pablo Espinosa Definitely important things to remind yourself - thank you!
- It's a pretty real struggle!I think you have you have to realize that you're actually pretty good at what you do, even if you are not as good as you'd like to be. It's important to take pride in your work and have a healthy sense of worth.Keep reminding yourself of that, and keep shooting high. ✌️
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