Session II – The Imposter Panel

One of the most popular talks for everyone at Grace Hopper is always the Imposter Panel. The idea is that often we all feel like imposters whenever we are around really quick, smart people and especially when we are starting something new. We don’t see our previous success and we devalue our capabilities because everyone else around us seems to be perfect. Thus, the imposter syndrome is a sort of mentality that affects many people, in particular women in the technical field.

The five panelists that shared their experiences and advice in regards to the imposter syndrome were Shamsi Iqbal (MSR), Jennifer Chayes (Microsoft), Rachel Petterson (Google) Nancy Amato (Texas A&M), Tanzeem Choudury (Dartmouth).

Here is what they said about dealing with imposteritis so that we can achieve the successes we are capable of:

Put yourself in the right context:

• Don’t compare yourself to the best aspects of the people around you.
• Other people seem to be very confident and arrogant but are not necessarily smarter.
• Recognize when people are stereotyping you and ignore them!
• Life has many ups and downs and pressures and everyone faces these.

Convince yourself of your confidence:

• Ignore the nagging voice that says you can’t do it.
• Psych yourself up. Recall past successes. Think “yes, I can!”
• Convince yourself that you deserve to be there.
• If you act confident, you will be confident.
• However, keep in mind that you can fool some of the people all of the time but all of the people only some of the time.
• Practice the uncomfortable things that you know are good for you. If you’re scared of it, if you don’t think you deserve it… Just do it! It will get easier. =)

You’re not alone:

• Look for support from friends and family.
• Seek colleagues, mentors, and managers who give positive but also critical feedback.
• Having role models is really important. Find mentors and mentor others to help them treat their imposteritis. It will help them and you.
• As a mentor, don’t appear invincible. Share the hardships too, because it will show reality and teach them how to outgrow it.
• Listen to other people about their own imposter syndrome.

Yes, you can!

Personally, I don’t often attribute my successes just to luck. I feel that once I have achieved something, there’s no changing that. However, going to new places, or further into the future, feels like having to start from ground zero and build successes all over again which is a difficult task. Having to prove myself to new people that don’t know anything about me is really scary. That is where the nagging doubts come in. Nevertheless, I have been fortunate to have a lot of support from friends and mentors and the people around me and I am very thankful to all of them. =)

The imposter panel is very inspirational and encouraging, which is why I have attended it for both conferences I’ve been to so far.

Session 2 Panelists

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