Impostor syndrome - Geek Feminism Wiki
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For sufferers of impostor syndrome
– Being aware of it is the first step. Read and talk about it.
– When writing a resume/professional bio/etc or otherwise describing your skills/experience, try to avoid minimising your experience or using softening words like “just”, “only”, etc.
– Have someone else review or write your resume for you (you can pay people to do this as well). Choose someone who is good at self-promotion. Often men are more likely to be socialized to self-promote than women, although women are often likely to be socialized to help other people promote themselves.
– If you are invited to do something (speak, apply for a job, etc), remember that the person inviting you thinks you are qualified. Denying the person’s judgement may be perceived as being insulting, though you don’t have to feel pressured to act on the invitation either for whatever your reasons may be.
– Talk about impostor syndrome with friends, back each other up, and offer impostor syndrome support to others if you catch them doing it.
– Pay attention to your language: don’t call yourself a failure, don’t attribute to luck what is the result of preparation and work and being open to opportunity. Don’t insult yourself and don’t apologize for yourself.
– Preparing or studying excessively is often recommended as a way to feel more confident, but it confirms impostor syndrome rather than combating it. It also imposes extra cost on people suffering from impostor syndrome and puts them at a disadvantage.
– Asking other people for their opinion of you or to describe your qualifications, keeping a record of your accomplishments and reviewing it, and otherwise seeking objective positive feedback is helpful.
– Distinguish time management skills from your technical abilities. If you did a shoddy job on something just because you ran out of time, recognize it as such and watch your calendar more closely in the future.