Embracing the Unfamiliar: Handling Imposter Syndrome as a Workplace Newbie
Written by: Kristen Kuhn, Strategy Intern (she/her)
Throughout my life, I’ve hated going into things unprepared. I was that kid who would spend hours studying for an open-note quiz, or the girl who would write a script every time she had to make a phone call. I found comfort in knowing exactly what I was going to say or do at any given moment. In hindsight, I now realize I was simply just terrified of being the only one that wasn’t prepared.
When I started my freshman year at the University of Pennsylvania, I was convinced that my peers were all smarter and more prepared than I was. I was silent in my lectures, afraid to ask any questions because it would reveal that I was the only one who was confused. I decided that the only way to keep up was to simply put my head down and work twice as hard as those around me.
As I prepared for my first day as a Strategy Intern at Razorfish Health, I was faced with a wide variety of emotions. All the excitement, gratitude, and pride I felt with being a part of the Razorfish team was accompanied by immense fear.
This internship was going to be my first real workplace experience; unlike my classes, being a productive and successful intern was not something I could study my way through. No matter how hard I tried, I would never be fully prepared for this.
Heading into the office for the first time, I doubted my readiness for the role. I questioned why anyone on the Strategy team would even bother hearing my thoughts. My soon-to-be colleagues all had years of experience in the field, whereas the only knowledge I could lean on came from a select few relevant courses in my two years of college.
As the new kid on the block with no experience in advertising, I was ready to do what I thought all interns did—shadow my manager, sit in on meetings, learn about how the industry operates, and maybe grab coffee for everyone. What I did not anticipate is that I would be immediately welcomed and respected as a valuable member of the team.
I quickly realized that my unique position as the company newbie was more of a strength than it was a weakness. In my manager’s eyes, the fact that I was new to the team and unfamiliar with their work was not a nuisance; rather, it was a fresh, new perspective. Asking questions not only gave me a better understanding of the projects at hand, but it pushed the rest of the team to think critically about how they presented their own work.
Just one week into the job, I was given tangible, real-world assignments that would benefit the Strategy team. And though I was absolutely petrified when my manager told me I would be presenting my work to some of Razorfish Health’s best and brightest, these experiences proved to be some of the most effective ways to fight my imposter syndrome.
During my time as a Razorfish intern, I have felt welcomed and supported just as much as I have felt challenged and pushed outside of my comfort zone. By learning to embrace my position as a newcomer and combat my imposter syndrome, I’ve been able to discover my strengths in the workplace and find ways in which I best contribute to the Strategy team. I am confident that these skills will continue to shape my career long after my time as an intern comes to a close.
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If you are interested in joining the RFH team, check out our open roles. We know you are not your resume; we understand you are not your work, and we respect that you are so much more than a job description. You are you. So come be you and do you with us.