I have imposter syndrome, and what's worse I'm really shy and have trouble looking people in the eye which makes me seem like a liar. What helps me a lot is the move companies are making towards remote interviews. For some reason with skype I can look people right in the eye, it's probably because they're off-center visually or because I know they're not really here. However, that only helps with the shyness it doesn't really solve the imposter part. And, it's not because I'm not competent, I've successfully shipped every project I've ever been part of.
Fixing Impostor Syndrome in Coding Interviews
11–20 of 46 posts
Re: Fixing Impostor Syndrome in Coding Interviews
#12> Here’s the good news: you’re not an impostor Some people are, though. Sometimes, “impostor syndrome” isn’t really a syndrome, but an appropriate way to feel when you’ve been Peter-Principled your way into a position that you’re not competent in.
One of the reasons imposter syndrome is so prevalent in the tech industry is that everyone with more than a few years of experience has worked alongside people who talked their way into the job but cannot code their way out of a wet paper bag. It's directly related, in my opinion, to the terrible state of interviews in this field.
That seems like a bit of an exaggeration, or a popular trope at least by people that feel put upon by their coworkers. I've never worked with another developer that couldn't code their way out of a wet paper bag. I think the the terrible state of interviews is due to people wanting to think (or wanting others to think) that what they do is more complicated than it actually is.
Re: Fixing Impostor Syndrome in Coding Interviews
#13I have imposter syndrome, and what's worse I'm really shy and have trouble looking people in the eye which makes me seem like a liar. What helps me a lot is the move companies are making towards remote interviews. For some reason with skype I can look people right in the eye, it's probably because they're off-center visually or because I know they're not really here. However, that only helps with the shyness it doesn…
There's a great line in Glenn Gary Glenn Ross where one character says "I always get nervous when I talk to the police." and the other character says "Yeah, you know who doesn't get nervous when they talk to the police... criminals."
It's perfectly normal to be a bit nervous or shy during interviews, so don't sweat it so much. A decent interviewer isn't going to hold that against you. I'm more suspicious of people who aren't a bit nervous, and am inclined to interview them more thoroughly because most of the time when companies I've worked for have hired someone who's slick, they've turned out to be an imposter.
Re: Fixing Impostor Syndrome in Coding Interviews
#14Serious question: Could it be that imposter syndrome isn't real, but what people are actually experiencing is imposter syndrome-syndrome?
I don't think there's a person whom I've known who hasn't claimed to have experienced imposter syndrome. It seems like everyone has this feeling when they're engaging in something they have don't have complete experience or confidence in. This is a normal way to feel, but some people are better at overcoming it than others. The people who don't seem like they experience imposter syndrome are either well settled into their roles or are simply good actors who can handle pressure. At some point or another, we decided that this state of being had something to do with being an "imposter" rather than being a human being lacking experience. Unless you outright lied about who you are, you're not an imposter.
This reminds me how everyone says they're an "introvert". Even the people I know who are party animals say they're introverts because they need time to "recharge". We throw around these terms like "imposter syndrome" and "introvert" because they make us feel better, even though they describe most people, in which case they're really not that useful. Sometimes you've just got to buck up and not waste time overthinking, descriptions of one's self being one form of that.
Re: Fixing Impostor Syndrome in Coding Interviews
#15Serious question: Could it be that imposter syndrome isn't real, but what people are actually experiencing is imposter syndrome-syndrome? I don't think there's a person whom I've known who hasn't claimed to have experienced imposter syndrome. It seems like everyone has this feeling when they're engaging in something they have don't have complete experience or confidence in. This is a normal way to feel, but some peop…
Yeah, that matches my intuition. I wish we could focus on giving coders reliable heuristics to self-assess rather than immediately jump to "impostor syndrome" at any expression of self doubt.
Re: Fixing Impostor Syndrome in Coding Interviews
#16Serious question: Could it be that imposter syndrome isn't real, but what people are actually experiencing is imposter syndrome-syndrome? I don't think there's a person whom I've known who hasn't claimed to have experienced imposter syndrome. It seems like everyone has this feeling when they're engaging in something they have don't have complete experience or confidence in. This is a normal way to feel, but some peop…
I think it's the other way around.
It's not that we've forgotten that feeling like an imposter is just being human. It's that almost everyone has always felt this way but never talked about it. As social animals, we're terrified (justifiably) of being outcast from the group, so admitting any feeling of weakness or low utility seems like something that could make the group start to question whether we actually belong. Our rivals can also use it against us. People are more likely to follow someone who projects confidence in their ability over someone who is actually competent but projects uncertainty.
It's only now that imposter syndrome is well known and starting to be understood as the rule, not the exception, that people are getting more comfortable talking about it and learning to be OK with it.
Re: Fixing Impostor Syndrome in Coding Interviews
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
One of the reasons imposter syndrome is so prevalent in the tech industry is that everyone with more than a few years of experience has worked alongside people who talked their way into the job but cannot code their way out of a wet paper bag. It's directly related, in my opinion, to the terrible state of interviews in this field.
That seems like a bit of an exaggeration, or a popular trope at least by people that feel put upon by their coworkers. I've never worked with another developer that couldn't code their way out of a wet paper bag. I think the the terrible state of interviews is due to people wanting to think (or wanting others to think) that what they do is more complicated than it actually is.
> I've never worked with another developer that couldn't code their way out of a wet paper bag.
I have. Not many, but during my time consulting, some of our more pathological clients would have one or two programmers who literally couldn't program.
Re: Fixing Impostor Syndrome in Coding Interviews
#18> Here’s the good news: you’re not an impostor Some people are, though. Sometimes, “impostor syndrome” isn’t really a syndrome, but an appropriate way to feel when you’ve been Peter-Principled your way into a position that you’re not competent in.
One of the reasons imposter syndrome is so prevalent in the tech industry is that everyone with more than a few years of experience has worked alongside people who talked their way into the job but cannot code their way out of a wet paper bag. It's directly related, in my opinion, to the terrible state of interviews in this field.
I don't get this. How does the fact that many people have worked alongside people who cannot code cause impostor syndrome?
It doesn't seem like it would cause it in the first set people - they compare themselves to the people who can't code and feel like the opposite of impostors. It doesn't seem like it would cause it in the people who can't code, because those people really are impostors, so can't have impostor syndrome. So is there some effect on some third group of people?
Re: Fixing Impostor Syndrome in Coding Interviews
#19Serious question: Could it be that imposter syndrome isn't real, but what people are actually experiencing is imposter syndrome-syndrome? I don't think there's a person whom I've known who hasn't claimed to have experienced imposter syndrome. It seems like everyone has this feeling when they're engaging in something they have don't have complete experience or confidence in. This is a normal way to feel, but some peop…
I think there's some confusion here. The effect is meant to describe the feelings being experienced and not the actual objective state of the individual.
I have come across many people who had never heard the term before but immediately identified with having experienced such a state when it was explained to them.
I also disagree that having names for things that is common to most peoples' experience is a bad idea. On the contrary, it helps people better understand their experience as a human. This isn't a competition to see who experiences it the most.
In the case of impostor syndrome I have also found this is true. In my experience, once people are exposed to the idea they find it a great relief to know it is merely a cognitive bias and it makes them more confident about their abilities in the future.
Re: Fixing Impostor Syndrome in Coding Interviews
#20Serious question: Could it be that imposter syndrome isn't real, but what people are actually experiencing is imposter syndrome-syndrome? I don't think there's a person whom I've known who hasn't claimed to have experienced imposter syndrome. It seems like everyone has this feeling when they're engaging in something they have don't have complete experience or confidence in. This is a normal way to feel, but some peop…
> We throw around these terms like "imposter syndrome" and "introvert" because they make us feel better, even though they describe most people, in which case they're really not that useful.
You say they're not useful, but in the very same sentence you say they make us feel better. I can't find a way to reconcile these two seemingly contradictory statements; can you help me understand this?