1. Oh, the Places You’ll Go! Building Confidence Katie A. Siek University of Colorado ksiek@cs.colorado.edu By Dr. Seuss
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Notes de l'éditeur
I think we can learn how to overcome our feelings of being an imposter by reviewing some children’s literature… For my story, it’s Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
My absolutely hardest imposter moment was doing an academic job search… I would be invited to do interviews and I would look at who else they were interviewing and wonder if they got my name right… everyone looked so much better than me… But, when the going gets tough, I remember what got me through basketball…. I have these little kernels of success in my head…the time I gave a great talk; the time I held an all american basketball player to 3 points… and what got me through it was preparation and practice. So when I started interviewing for jobs, I made it my job to know all about the school and program; read up on everyone I’d be meeting with; and learning about the weaknesses of the other people they were interviewing. You are pretty special – that’s why they are considering you… so find out why. Then I practiced everything from how I would present myself to what I’d say on some standard interview questions.
Another way to build up your confidence is to have mentors and sponsors – these could be the same people. Mentors help you figure out your way and sponsors help get your name out…
Everyone has at least one… my first was my mom. In high school, I was in a job skills track to become an administrative assistant – it helped for my current career because I can write interviews verbatim thanks to shorthand. But I wanted to take science classes like my friends and sister. So my mom fought for me to get there. The counselors said they’d give me one shot – and if I messed up, I’d be back in the job skills track because I couldn’t risk falling behind. Given that one shot, I worked my butt off, with her assistance, to be successful. But it felt horrible to know that all of your teachers know you shouldn’t be there… you should be in the job skills track.
Lots of women have helped me – including my PhD Advisor, Kay Connelly who helped me with my 2 body opportunity/problem. I had my top 15 schools I wanted to apply for and my husband had his top 15 schools… we only had about 5 schools in common… so she helped my letter writers submit the 25 letters we needed – now as a faculty member I realize what an incredible time commitment this was.
But I’ve also had my share of women who worked against me – as if they broke through the glass ceiling only to throw shards down – which makes me feel like more of an imposter. First thing I try to do is take it in stride – keep moving and thinking about what just happened. Is it me – am I being too emotional? Although that leads into the imposter syndrome – so let’s coach ourselves to say, “NO IT’S NOT YOU!” and then I figure out what I really want. Is this issue we’re conflicting on really that important for my career/life goals? If so, I find a way to work around it by consulting with the women I trust. And sometimes those are caused by others… To cope with calmly, without interrupting one's normal routine
So things to take away from this… Speak up – I asked my mom/advisor who asked others… Sometime you have to speak up and have people speak through you Build up your kernels of success and reflect on them… Modus Ponens (but don’t get hung up on the logic of 2 unique events)
![How do you build up your confidence? ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],… you’ll play lonely games too. Games you can’t win ‘ cause you’ll play against you.](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)