How to overcome imposter syndrome when changing sectors

Tips for dealing with imposter syndrome when changing sectors

1. Apply before you feel ready.

I put off applying for heritage roles, convinced my retail background didn’t fit. But I realised that if I waited until I felt ready, I might never apply at all.

Early applications helped me understand how to translate my experience and where my skills added value. The tasks I’d taken for granted, like managing teams, dealing with the public and solving problems under pressure, were more relevant than I thought.

Taking that first step was the key to moving forward.

2. Recognise the real work starts after day one.

Accepting the offer was just the start of transitioning into a new sector, one where not only was my role new but where my previous networks and support were less directly relevant.

If you make a similar move, there will be new people to meet and new systems to learn. Not to mention that any role can inevitably feel different in practice than it did on the job description.

Having confidence in your existing skills and what you bring to the table is essential. As well as being patient with yourself, knowing you will gain more confidence in the areas that are new to you over time.

Starting a new role brings its own challenges and can contribute to imposter syndrome.

3. Stay curious

Being new to any role gives you a chance to ask questions and find out how and why things are done as they are. But changing sector gives you even more opportunity to take the time to really get under the skin of how your new sector works in practice. It’s actually a great time to reach out across the organisation and beyond and make new contacts.

There’s a real opportunity to learn from others. People often enjoy the chance to share their experience and insight. It’s both an opportunity to open up about what you don’t know and to make connections and share the new experience you bring.

4. Seek feedback

Seeking feedback might be the last thing you want to do while already going through imposter syndrome. While it can feel daunting, asking for feedback is a great way to connect with a client or colleague.

If something isn’t quite right, seeking feedback allows you to proactively course-correct. And if everything is great, you will have more confidence and proof that those feelings of imposter syndrome don’t tell the whole story.

5. Challenge your inner critic

Even though your inner critic means well, it isn’t very helpful. It limits you instead of inspiring you to stay curious and try to grow.

If you can challenge this negative thinking, you will be able to fully immerse yourself in your new sector and slowly chip away at your impostor syndrome.

6. Give yourself time to grow into the role

It takes time to adapt, and it’s important to recognise that this will be necessary if you are moving to work in an entirely new sector after many years in another one. It’s also worth remembering your new employer will be aware of the move you’ve made and the benefits as well as the challenges this will bring.

7. Be yourself

A new sector doesn’t require a new you. I’ve now worked in a range of heritage sites, museums and galleries, learning different organisational languages and ways of working along the way. There’s still a lot of what I do that comes back to the training I did in a supermarket, because it’s always working with others or managing teams.

Never forget that the combination of your experience is what shaped you into the person who was given the role you have taken on. In addition, there is a fresh perspective you can bring as someone who comes from a different sector.