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Is there a fix for impostor syndrome?

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Re: Is there a fix for impostor syndrome?

#91

Post by maxxxxx »

kabouseng wrote: post #45
maxxxxx wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would go for pair programming.

The danger with pair programming is you easily get a partner who sees the activity as a competitive exercise / dick measuring activity* , and some engineers find enjoyment in proving to everyone else (including new hires) their superiority. *excuse my language, but it is the most accurate description I could come up with.

Idiots have a negative impact on any type of job search. I have been in interviews where I showed a valid solution for a problem but failed because it wasn't exactly the one the interviewer wanted. On the other hand if I did pair programming with somebody and it worked well this would be a strong indicator for a healthy comonay culture.

Re: Is there a fix for impostor syndrome?

#92

Post by rajacombinator »

It seems to be a very 'millennial' syndrome. Were people complaining of imposter syndrome 20 or 30 years ago? I wonder if it's because people born after, say 1990, didn't have to 'hack' on computers much growing up, and hence lack some of the environmental osmosis comfort level some older folks have. Or could it be that programming has proliferated enough as a profession, and programmers generally lack the social skills needed to mentor younger generations, that more people seem to be experiencing this syndrome these days?

Re: Is there a fix for impostor syndrome?

#93

Post by qubyte »

I took the nuclear option and switched careers (there were other reasons too, but it was one of the big ones) from academia to software engineering. Since then I've stayed in a job no longer than 3 years and the constant need to learn may have killed it off, which seems paradoxical.

Then again, I'm also honest to a fault since the switch. Nobody can think I'm an imposter if it's obvious when I don't know stuff!

Re: Is there a fix for impostor syndrome?

#94

Post by fouc »

js8 wrote: post #16

I might have an impostor syndrome at work. And I am somewhat anxious about it. And I feel like it decreases my performance by quite a bit. And luckily, my managers understand it and are very supportive of me. However, I have a question (and this is going meta). Maybe my managers are too understanding about it. Sometimes I wish they give me a harder time, and feel like I don't get reprimanded for failure enough and st…

I had impostor syndrome for the first 6-12 months of a job that I felt lucky to get.

I struggled with some anxiety because of that.

However I have a pet theory that a lot of our internal perceptions don't tend to have a big impact on our behaviour. So I just kept chugging a long and gradually came to realize there was no issues with my performance, and the anxiety went away mostly.

Keep in mind there's always good days/weeks or bad days/weeks in terms of our actual performance. Sometimes I was horridly underproductive and I would have to make adjustments in improving my sleep, switching to decaf coffee, exercising more, etc.

Re: Is there a fix for impostor syndrome?

#95

Post by jaggederest »

toomanybeersies wrote: post #46
jaggederest wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the last couple weeks I've had to decline 18 total hours of "challenges" and "work samples" from 4 different interview processes. I'm not sure at what point it became de rigueur to require applicants to complete on average 4.5 hours of work without pay, but I really, really don't think it's reasonable. I've even offered to show them my current projects in lieu of work samples, and no go. Baffling.

On the contrary, when I was last looking for a job, I hit a snag in that a company wanted examples of current projects, but I had none because I don't really program outside of work (I have other hobbies). I wish I could add more to my anecdote, like how I solved this problem, but I avoided it entirely by taking a job offer from a different company the next day.

Yep, also had that problem for years and finally saw something I could build with a reasonable chance of being useful, strictly to serve as an example. Hopefully it makes me the time back someday.

Funnily enough, nobody has asked to see it yet. They all want you to have side projects, but they don't actually want you to drone on about them for an hour. All this time I could have just been saying "Yes, let's talk about the intricacies of accounting for an hour, it'll be great" and passing that part of the interview through sheer aversive stimulus.

Re: Is there a fix for impostor syndrome?

#96

Post by dozzie »

Zombieball wrote: post #53
humanrebar wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> ...urge them to find their "superpower". Might I suggest "specialty", "focus area", or "expertise". Maybe "competitive advantage" if you're talking to business types. I like to tell engineers that their job is to be an expert. Find some area that we need more experts in. Read, experiment, troubleshoot, tweak, document, teach, and whatever else you need to do to be the person others rely on when they need an expert…

For what it’s worth Amazon HR specifically chose the term “superpower”. Not sure it needs to be replaced.

Like "coding ninja" or "rockstar" buzzwords? Those don't need to be replaced either?

Re: Is there a fix for impostor syndrome?

#98

Post by thristian »

rajacombinator wrote: post #92

It seems to be a very 'millennial' syndrome. Were people complaining of imposter syndrome 20 or 30 years ago? I wonder if it's because people born after, say 1990, didn't have to 'hack' on computers much growing up, and hence lack some of the environmental osmosis comfort level some older folks have. Or could it be that programming has proliferated enough as a profession, and programmers generally lack the social ski…

The article cites Wikipedia's "Impostor Syndrome" article:

> The term was coined in 1978 by clinical psychologists Pauline R. Clance and Suzanne A. Imes.

So yes, I imagine people were complaining of impostor syndrome 20 or 30 (or 40) years ago.

Re: Is there a fix for impostor syndrome?

#99

Post by AfterMany »

jaggederest wrote: post #39
taurath wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every high performer at my workplace states regularly that they wouldn’t be able to pass the entrance exam at the place they currently work. It’s a cruel fucking environment.

In the last couple weeks I've had to decline 18 total hours of "challenges" and "work samples" from 4 different interview processes. I'm not sure at what point it became de rigueur to require applicants to complete on average 4.5 hours of work without pay, but I really, really don't think it's reasonable. I've even offered to show them my current projects in lieu of work samples, and no go. Baffling.

Last year a applied for an Android position at an up and coming Banking startup in London. Loved the company and what they were building, but their pre face-to-face interview process comprised of probably around 2 days of work if one were to finish it all.

It's almost as if they were trying to get me to build a whole feature for them for free, as it involved a complex UI that I knew they wanted to add into the Android app.

Maybe companies that want that level of work done in their code "tests" could offer a small amount of compensation. I had already been screened on the phone, so they knew I wasn't a time waster.

Re: Is there a fix for impostor syndrome?

#100

Post by amelius »

From the wikipedia page:

> It is not considered a psychological disorder, and is not among the conditions described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (commonly known as the DSM).

However, I'm wondering if that is justified. Also, I'm wondering if a treatment for a mood disorder would affect impostor syndrome.

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