New Job, New Me: the struggles of adapting to the workplace and imposter syndrome in young professionals

Leaving college and entering the workforce comes with a variety of emotions; these are complex and may feel incompatible at times. Often, commencement speakers discuss the world of possibilities that come along with graduation and encourage these graduates to reach for the stars as they enter the workforce. As a new graduate, you often feel that you have dedicated the past four years to building a knowledge base for a specific area and may enter the workforce in a role different than what you spent your time studying. Even in cases where you enter a directly related field, many find that the job responsibilities and requirements go beyond what you initially expected or were promised.

This is combined with the radically different environment that you are asked to function in. There is no longer the built-in support system found on your college campus; you no longer are able to walk down the quad to see your friends or meet at the local watering hole to catch up on the day. Instead, this lifestyle is replaced by long hours, new people, and what before was a five-minute walk to a friend’s apartment is now turned into a long-distance phone call and attempts to coordinate time differences with these friends that previously seemed so close by.

It makes sense that, given these radical changes and new responsibilities, stress and anxiety run rampant within us as we enter a new stage in life. The internal turmoil may eventually bubble over to affect us within the workplace, and experience anxiety symptoms, as we begin to question who we are and where we are going in life. Where previously plans seemed clearer, and a path had been set out for us, we are now faced with a world of possibilities and many directions in which to turn. Many newly graduated professionals discuss feeling underprepared for their roles or unsure of decisions. They may ask: “Should I have taken this job? What am I going to do if they ask me to take the lead? I barely know what I am doing here.” We might feel these ideas picking away inside of us, making us feel like imposters or that we should not have been hired for this position.

This is a normal reaction to a new experience that many young professionals find themselves in. It is called imposter syndrome, and rather than placing focus on overcoming this feeling or experience, you should try to understand its origins. That feeling of being an imposter and the worry that comes with it is a normal part of taking on new roles. An important question to ask yourself as part of this is “why do I feel fearful of this new job?” This fear is based on your need to accomplish and feel recognized and seen; rather than a negative, it is a sign that you wish to succeed. We often get caught up in the feeling of anxiety, which is understandable given the distress it causes, instead of the meaning behind this distress, which is the need to succeed and come out stronger from new experiences. The two major lessons to take from this experience are understanding what our emotions are trying to signal to us and using them as a guide for our behaviors. As most good managers will tell you, this is part of the learning process, and we can learn to become comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Another relevant aspect is the common tendency to feel that this should be hidden away and mark it as an unacceptable feeling. This can lead to feeling isolated from those around you, or as if you are the only one who seems to be experiencing this emotion. The reality is that this is much more common than you would think, and we are not alone in experiencing this anxiety. It can be beneficial to rely on your trusted support system or a reliable coworker to share these experiences, which, while it may not resolve the emotion, can help you by showing you that you are not alone in this experience.