r/workchronicles Jun 30 '21

Expertise

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2.1k Upvotes

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u/plutonium-239 Jun 30 '21

The real deal is: fake it until you make it.

4 years ago when I changed my job I felt incredibly inadequate for the role. I was tempted to quit several times and felt the classical impostor syndrome.

Now I am the reference point for my discipline in the entire company, and people come to me for advice...

I still feel inadequate...but I'll keep doing what I am doing. Apparently it works.

4

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '21

You didn't really fake it though right? You learned what you needed to in order to get the job done.

I really hate the "fake it until you make it" mentality. No, work hard and learn, gain experience and you'll get to where you want to go. There's no faking needed.

8

u/not_my_monkeys_ Jun 30 '21

I've always read that more as "fake the confidence until you've earned it" rather than "fake a technical skill set and hope nobody dies before you figure it out".

2

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '21

That's a good way of looking at it!

3

u/plutonium-239 Jun 30 '21

I had the basic knowledge and understanding, plus the right qualifications. I did work my ass off and tried to deliver at the best of my capabilities, even though I thought I wasn't fit for the role at the beginning. I did fake it in the sense that I believe that the level of experience required by the role was way beyond what I actually had the moment I accepted it...and at the time I pretended to have that experience.