Dealing With Impostor Syndrome As An Intern
At some point in our lives, most of us have experienced feeling inadequate or unqualified in the face of a new job or challenge. We can doubt our accomplishments and feel that we are unworthy of our success. Sometimes, these feelings can be so strong that we have a fear of being discovered as a “fraud,” despite our ample qualifications for the job. This experience is so common, there is actually a clinical term for it: impostor syndrome.
For a lot of us interns at NPR, we are all too familiar with impostor syndrome. Being surrounded by renowned journalists and experts in our fields can be intimidating. And so, despite evidence to the contrary (i.e. getting hired as an intern at NPR), we still doubt that we have what it takes, or that we belong here. Navigating a new workspace is hard enough, let alone dealing with such strong feelings of self-doubt.
Isabeth Mendoza, the national desk intern at NPR West, bravely shares her experience with impostor syndrome and sheds some light on how she’s learned to cope with it:
I had impostor syndrome since before I wrote my cover letter for the NPR internship. Since then, it has come in waves and during my first week I became more aware of how it was showing up on a daily basis. I felt nervous, my back was tense, my stomach was acting up and I was being socially awkward.
Dealing with impostor syndrome is a process, but at this internship I made a conscious decision to work through the feelings and not let it take the reins on my months here. I chose September to be the month of informational interviews, putting myself out there, getting coffee with NPR staff, connecting with reporters at NPR member stations and making sure I felt comfortable.
The NPR West office is smaller compared to DC headquarters and it has a welcoming energy that all the employees contribute to. I visited peoples’ desks to say hi and they visited mine to introduce themselves and check in on me. As the only intern here this Fall, I really appreciated it and it made a huge difference.
I reached out to NPR staff I admired, felt connected to and/or looked like me. I got coffee, talked on the phone and shared lunch with them while being honest in what doubts I had, how I was settling in and my goals for the internship.
I think a big piece of what led me to being here was actually imagining and believing that I deserved holding space at NPR. My support system constantly subbed in to remind me of that when I forgot. They affirmed that NPR was lucky to have me.
What continues to help is that I have women of color in the newsroom who are physical reminders that it is important to be my authentic self, be unapologetic and trust that my talents and story ideas are valuable. I feel staff is looking out for me, thinking of me when projects come up and ultimately want to see me succeed. They truly make me feel like the possibilities are endless at NPR and if I need any help they’re a short walk away.
