Six Tips for your ITS internship — Part 2

Everyone expereinces the "imposter syndrome" at some point.

Impostor syndrome is a psychological phenomenon in which people are unable to internalize their accomplishments. Despite external evidence of their competence, those with the syndrome remain convinced that they are frauds and do not deserve the success they have achieved.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome

The imposter syndrome is something I’ve experienced from time to time, especially at school. I constantly feel the need to prove myself -- to whom, I don’t know. When I recognized some struggles I’ve had with this in the workplace in a weekly reflection, Carrie Schumaker directed me to the following article, which explores this issue in high achieving women:

http://www.paulineroseclance.com/pdf/ip_high_achieving_women.pdf

Once I read it, I felt like a source of anxiety for me for years was finally explained! Reading the article didn’t completely fix this struggle, but it helped me to see that I’m not alone. As I read some of the other interns’ reflections, I realized that this issue wasn’t only an issue for me and it wasn't only an issue for the women in the internship. Even some of the upper level students who know a lot about Computer Science mentioned struggling with this as well.

If this is something you’ve struggled with -- you’re not alone! Don’t let it stop you from doing your best and enjoying your work. :)

A Good Boss makes a Huge Difference

Before I worked at ITS, I worked for several different bosses. Some of them were really good, and some weren’t so great. Since I’d learned growing up not to blame anyone else for your shortcomings (which is a great lesson that I still 100% agree with!) I sometimes erred in the other direction and internalized issues that weren’t really my problem. For example, a former boss of mine would ask me to do a task and then decide that it wasn’t necessary after I’d already done it. I would feel bad for wasting time accomplishing the task, instead of recognizing that I’d actually done the right thing. When I started work at ITS, I was pleasantly surprised to find that my boss had clear expectations for what I should accomplish in my job. When I met these expectations, he encouraged me to keep up the good work. When I fell short of these expectations, he didn’t get angry or criticize me in front of my coworkers; rather, he explained what I did wrong and how I could work to fix it. Having a good boss made my experience working for ITS enjoyable. It also stretched me and helped me to develop professionally. Now that I know the impact a good boss can have on my work experience, I will be sure to consider who I’d be working for in all future job offers.