It all depends on the need for a successful outcome. I talk confidently when there’s no real pressure for me to get the job. But if I need a positive outcome it is less so. Maybe it’s nerves but interviews are stressful.
Fixing Impostor Syndrome in Coding Interviews
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Re: Fixing Impostor Syndrome in Coding Interviews
#32> 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.
I interviewed once with a database startup. I don't know anything about databases. I just thought 'yeah I can probably blag that.' I probably looked like an impostor while I piled in in the interview, because I was.
My initial reaction to this comment was "uh, so you were an actual impostor... who cares?" Almost downvoted.
But I wonder if this experience has value. Literally go in with a firm, well-justified expectation of failure. Would that bring peace of mind, in situations where you're skilled and you might be otherwise predisposed to impostor syndrome? The biggest fear that comes up for me is "what if I'm a better bullshit artist than I think, and I actually land the job?"
Curious to hear if you got anything deeper from the experience.
Re: Fixing Impostor Syndrome in Coding Interviews
#33I frequently get imposter syndrome, or terrible realisations that I am in fact an imposter, I'm not sure which, but one situation in which I would be supremely confident that the imposter was the one sitting on the other side of the table would be if I were being judged by my (in)ability to perform leetcode tricks unrehearsed.
Re: Fixing Impostor Syndrome in Coding Interviews
#34It all depends on the need for a successful outcome. I talk confidently when there’s no real pressure for me to get the job. But if I need a positive outcome it is less so. Maybe it’s nerves but interviews are stressful.
Yeah, the more necessary you feel the job to be, the worse the nerves are. Many years ago I was desperate to escape my job to one better suited to my skills. Did fine on the phone screens.
However, the nervousness of the whole in-person interview situation caused me to basically blow it. Stuff I knew like the back of my hand, or would get almost instantly under calmer circumstances, I simply kept stumbling on.
Re: Fixing Impostor Syndrome in Coding Interviews
#35Serious 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…
You're right. And it's the adult version of "everybody gets a trophy" in that we all by default assume each other equally capable. Look at every single answer that pops up on the academic exchange forum - someone inevitably brings up impostor syndrome, almost no one, except in extreme cases, ever suggests that maybe someone is in the wrong field or in over their head.
Yes, but then again, Dunning-Krueger effect is quite real -- I've seen it.
And you know who never has to worry about Dunning-Krueger in a given field? Folks with "impostor syndrome" in that field.
Yes, it's possible that some folks with traits of impostor syndrome are genuinely incompetent and incapable of learning a given field, but much more likely that it's something the opposite of Dunning-Krueger at play. And as a software developer, I've seen many more genuinely incompetent people with Dunning-Krueger than I have genuinely incompetent people with imposter syndrome.
There's always the rare supremely-confident 10x developer, but as a general rule, people with no zero doubt in software development make me very nervous, because I've send it turn out badly much more than I've seen it turn out well.
Re: Fixing Impostor Syndrome in Coding Interviews
#36While it wasn't said, this somewhat implies that people are faking their way into companies, guessing and pulling other tricks to get through an interview. The simple solution is for people to be honest with themselves and their interviewer about their capabilities. This is my approach and it sometimes means that I don't get work because I flat out said that I know nothing about a certain technology or don't have mastery over something yet. Today, someone must have thought I had excellent SQL skills and I clearly let them know that I can do CRUD and stored procs (the typical developer toolset), but much of my recent experience is with ORMs. The gig might not come through, but I don't have to worry about imposter syndrome or my relationship with the other developer.
Re: Fixing Impostor Syndrome in Coding Interviews
#37am i the only one that doesn't experience imposter syndrome? i actually feel highly qualified and good at my job.
Re: Fixing Impostor Syndrome in Coding Interviews
#38I know that I'm somewhat of an impostor because interviews don't test for what's really important in this field - namely grit - and rely on gut feeling in this regard instead.
Couldn’t one say that sticking it out to study and practice for interviews is itself gritty?
Re: Fixing Impostor Syndrome in Coding Interviews
#39People talk about imposter syndrome without thinking about the other side of the coin. There are actually tons of actual imposters in our midst as well.
Inept and incapable people often get promoted because they either know how to play the political game or are perceived not to be a threat. A great number of these people are aware they are imposters and they are actually right.
Re: Fixing Impostor Syndrome in Coding Interviews
#40I don't understand this article as applied to the interviewing experiences I've just had. The wide berth of interview questions I've had in the past does suggest that I do need to know quite a bit, and in addition, the slight mistakes I've made have led to many rejections.
It's not just knowing your comp sci basics such as recursion or closure or BigO, but knowing quirks in multiple languages, and know them well enough to catch them in a coding interview. If you don't get everything exactly correct, then you are rejected and labeled an imposter (and labeled so much so, Amazon will block you from any further interviews for one year).
It also takes knowing as many platforms as possible if one wants to be as employable as possible. The current hotness is React, but I've still seen some good Angular jobs out there, and knowing both to a high degree will make one a tad more employable. How much of an imposter am I if I know React, MVC patterns, but just a little Angular, and apply to an Angular job?
None of the jobs I've applied to are senior level, yet it makes me shudder in fear to ever interview again beyond the entry level. The imposter syndrome is real, not because of my insecurities, but because of the outcomes of the interviews I've had.