Impostor Syndrome: Be Proud of Your Achievements!

Impostor Syndrome: Be Proud of Your Achievements!

Mark Niebergall https://joind.in/talk/15d2c

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About Mark Niebergall• PHP since 2005 • Masters degree in MIS • Senior Software Engineer • Drug screening project • UPHPU President • SSCP, CSSLP Certified and SME • Drones, fishing, skiing, father, husband

Attend UPHPU!• Pizza, pop, cookie brownies • Meetup group https://www.meetup.com/Utah-PHP-

User-Group/ • July 13: OpenWest Review on Thursday 5:15-6pm • August 17: Tom Anderson on Git • September 21: PHP TestFest 2017 • October 21: Mark Niebergall on Defensive Coding

Crash Course • November 16: Looking for a speaker

Impostor Syndrome

Impostor Syndrome• Feeling you are an impostor around others • Reaction to an experience • Fear of being found out as not smart enough

Impostor Syndrome• Running Cross-Country in High School

Impostor Syndrome• Smoothie shop

Impostor Syndrome• First IT job

Impostor Syndrome• First Item Writing

• Certified in 2008 • Subject Matter Expert in 2011

Impostor Syndrome• Speaker lounge at SkiPHP

Impostor Syndrome• Talking tech

Impostor Syndrome• Organizer of UPHPU

Impostor Syndrome• The nano user

Impostor Syndrome• Lunch with conference crowd

Impostor Syndrome• Why did I tell you those experiences?

• Can you relate? • Start thinking about experiences you have had

Impostor Syndrome

Impostor Syndrome• My Experiences • What impostor syndrome is • Who experiences it • How to handle the experiences • Recognizing accomplishments

Impostor Syndrome• What impostor syndrome is

Impostor Syndrome• What impostor syndrome is

• Impostor vs Imposter • Merriam-Webster: a person who pretends to be

someone else in order to deceive others, especially for fraudulent gain

Impostor Syndrome• What impostor syndrome is

• Impostor Phenomenon (IP) • Impostor Experience • Fraud Syndrome

Impostor Syndrome• What impostor syndrome is

• Not a mental illness • Not a personality trait

Impostor Syndrome• What impostor syndrome is

• Reaction to an experience • Fear of being exposed as a fraud

Impostor Syndrome• What impostor syndrome is

• Just got lucky • Good timing • Deceiving others • Fraud hiding amongst others

Impostor Syndrome• What impostor syndrome is

• Incompetent • Self-doubt • Not smart enough • A fake • A phony • A fraud

Impostor Syndrome• What impostor syndrome is

• Don’t belong with peers • Need to be better to be accepted • Not qualified

Impostor Syndrome• What impostor syndrome is

• Smile and nod like you know what others are talking about instead of asking

• Research afterwards • Talk about it the next day like you knew about it all

along

Impostor Syndrome• What impostor syndrome is

• Inability or unwillingness to internalize accomplishments, recognition

• Not accepting that accomplishments are a reality

Impostor Syndrome• What impostor syndrome is

• Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes in 1978 • Study of high achieving women

- Felt over-evaluated - Believed they were not intelligent

Impostor Syndrome• What impostor syndrome is

• Pauline Clance:"If I could do it all over again, I would call it the impostor experience, because it’s not a syndrome or a complex or a mental illness, it’s something almost everyone experiences."

Impostor Syndrome• Who experiences it

Impostor Syndrome• Who experiences it

• 70% of all people • Most common in women and minority groups • High achievers • All industries

Impostor Syndrome• Who experiences it

• Tom Hanks - Actor • Look, the title is “Lucky Guy.”

It’s about somebody who is almost good enough to deserve what he achieves. And I understand that. I still feel sometimes that I’d like to be as good as so-and-so actor. I see some other actors’ work, and I think I’ll never get there. I wish I could.

Impostor Syndrome• Who experiences it

• Sheryl Sandberg - Facebook COO

• “There are still days when I wake up feeling like a fraud, not sure I should be where I am.”

Impostor Syndrome• Who experiences it

• Denzel Washington - Actor • That last five minutes before

you go on that first [Broadway] preview, if you don't have that 'what .. am I doing here [feeling]' if you don't have that then they say it's time to quit.

Impostor Syndrome• Who experiences it

• Sonia Sotomayor - Supreme Court Justice

• “I’m not a classic impostor-syndrome person because I have that initial insecurity but I’m capable of stepping outside of it and proving to myself it’s wrong.”

Impostor Syndrome• Who experiences it

• Neil Armstrong - Astronaut • Felt out of place at a gathering

for people who had accomplished great things

Impostor Syndrome• Who experiences it

• Twenty One Pilots - Stressed Out - I wish I found some better sounds no one's ever heard

I wish I had a better voice that sang some better wordsI wish I found some chords in an order that is new I wish I didn't have to rhyme every time I sangI was told when I get older all my fears would shrink But now I'm insecure and I care what people think

Impostor Syndrome• Who experiences it

• Rampant in the IT world, including software engineers - Bill Gates - Mark Zuckerberg - Many other greats

Impostor Syndrome• Who experiences it

• Rampant in the IT world, including software engineers - Constantly changing technology - New topics

Impostor Syndrome• Who experiences it

• Conference Speakers - Apologizing - “Just” - Lucky - Feel insecure

Impostor Syndrome• Who experiences it

• Blog Authors - Joe Ferguson: “I’ve been really lucky to have

opportunities…I’ve been lucky enough to have some really awesome people mentor me… I’m lucky enough that other conference organizers value my input…”

Impostor Syndrome• Who experiences it

• Twitter poll: 100% had experienced impostor syndrome - 9 out of 9

Impostor Syndrome• Who experiences it

• Have you experienced impostor syndrome? • Share your experiences

Impostor Syndrome

Impostor Syndrome• How to handle the experiences

Impostor Syndrome• How to handle the experiences

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZNNUs0v1cU

Impostor Syndrome• How to handle the experiences

• Share feelings with others - Many have experienced same feelings

Impostor Syndrome• How to handle the experiences

• Ask questions • Ask for help

Impostor Syndrome• How to handle the experiences

• Write feelings - Writing therapy - List accomplishments - Associate accomplishments with reality - Reflection of experience - Journal, blog, tweet

Impostor Syndrome• How to handle the experiences

• Develop a support group - Positive feedback - Discuss experiences with - Attend community events (user groups,

conferences)

Impostor Syndrome• How to handle the experiences

• Be a mentor to others - Be positive, not toxic

• Consider how others may be feeling • Sincere acknowledgements

Impostor Syndrome

Impostor Syndrome• Recognizing accomplishments

Impostor Syndrome• Recognizing accomplishments

• Acknowledge your successes and accomplishments • Pat on the back

Impostor Syndrome• Recognizing accomplishments

• Accepting recognition and compliments

Impostor Syndrome• Recognizing accomplishments

• No need to apologize • Don’t diminish recognition

Impostor Syndrome• Recognizing accomplishments

• Self-confidence

Impostor Syndrome• Recognizing accomplishments

• You do belong • You have accomplished something

Impostor Syndrome• Recognizing accomplishments

• Community support

Impostor Syndrome• Recognizing accomplishments

• Push your career ahead - Consider 5 year plan - Promotion, job title, roles

Impostor Syndrome• Recognizing accomplishments

• Push your career ahead - Salary surveys

- Software engineer national average $95k - Salary.com: Entry $55k, Mid $70k, Senior $88k,

Staff $124k - My observations: 0-3 Years $45-$70k, 4-6 Years

$70-$90k, 7-9 Years $90-$120k, 10+ $100k+

Impostor Syndrome• Recognizing accomplishments

• Push your career ahead - Salary surveys

- System Administrator national average $60k - Salary.com: Entry $55k, Mid $68k, Senior $85k,

Staff $105k

Impostor Syndrome• Recognizing accomplishments

• Push your career ahead - Salary surveys

- QA Engineer national average $80k - Salary.com: Entry $60k, Mid $70k, Senior $85k,

Manager $105k

Impostor Syndrome• Recognizing accomplishments

• Push your career ahead - Review current salary and salary history - Research averages for your specialties and

experience - Make a justified request for a raise if underpaid - Make a job move if underemployed

Impostor Syndrome• Recognizing accomplishments

• Push your career ahead - Impostor syndrome can result in

- lower income - missed opportunities

Impostor Syndrome• Recognizing accomplishments

• Push your career ahead - Expand experience - Aquire certifications - Network through conferences, user groups - Feel confident in expertise

Impostor Syndrome

Impostor Syndrome• My Experiences • What impostor syndrome is • Who experiences it • How to handle the experiences • Recognizing accomplishments

Impostor Syndrome• Reflect on your past experiences • Accept your accomplishments • Keep pushing yourself towards goals

Questions?• https://joind.in/talk/15d2c

Sources• OSMI https://osmihelp.org/ • Quotes from https://www.thecut.com/2017/01/25-

famous-women-on-impostor-syndrome-and-self-doubt.html

• Source of all knowledge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome

• Therapy http://impostertherapy.com/