This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s spring editorial intern Jeanny Sánchez Gómez. Find them on Instagram at @jeanny_sanchez. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
One thing I’ve noticed the longer I’ve spent trying to start a career is that no matter the role, there is always a fear of not being a good fit. My inner teen would’ve been shocked at the struggle of finding a job after graduation after being told that a college degree would open all the doors of opportunity. While I have had plenty of good opportunities, nothing made me feel like this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life- until recently. If the imposter syndrome I felt at past jobs was already bad as it was, it’s worse now that I have an opportunity for a job that seems too good to be true. So, how do you prepare yourself for this kind of opportunity?
First-day jitters happen no matter what, at least in my experience, but they can still be a really scary feeling when you’re already nervous. The sense of anticipation and just tossing in your sleep because of that anxiety can be both a good and bad thing, and as a lot of comments said, it kind of makes you feel like a little kid again.
While first-day jitters are easier to work through, the tricky part is when you have unacknowledged work and career anxieties that begin to pop when you reach a point where it could change things for you.
I want to clarify that while dream jobs can exist, these aren’t specifically the jobs that I’m talking about. I’m talking about the jobs that might not be your dream job or that you even expected to have but will still open a lifetime of opportunities. When I first graduated college back in 2022, and I was stressed about finding a job, it only took me about a month before receiving an offer for a full-time role at a law office. But much like the TikTok above, I applied on a whim, and the possibility of law school down the road, plus the pay, was too good to turn down for a first job. Then, down the road, once I decided to leave and find a new role, it was impossible to find anything. All of a sudden, I was saddled with experience that pigeon-holed me, and I struggled to find anything remotely related to my field. I ended up picking up random gigs as a nanny or working as a server while continuing the job search and just kept hitting a dead end for more than a year.
Since this year started, though, something seemed to shift. My partner explained the astrology of it all to me and basically said that it was a good year and that something had changed in the house of my career. While that might seem silly to some, hoping that the cosmos will have something better in store instead of going out there and getting it, it still shifted my mindset regarding the job hunt. Feeling invigorated once more, I started working with some recruiters and, all of a sudden, had two really good job offers on the table.
Imposter Syndrome
This is where the struggle and the imposter syndrome really flared up for me. At this point I had spent about a year and half, working jobs that physically kept me busy, paid very little and overall just had me questioning how I ended up there.
On the one hand, one job offer is boring but stable, has a chance of internal growth, and could be safe and long-term. The other job was scarier; it had a lower chance of long-term opportunity, more independence, and a bigger learning curve at the beginning. The most significant difference is the safety of each choice. I had played it safe and settled for jobs I hated before, and picking job number one would just continue this trend.
Picking job number was terrifying because this felt like the first opportunity to do something meaningful with my career and that made the imposter syndrome huge. The feeling of not being good enough, of not deserving the opportunity I now had, was a feeling I had gotten used to over the course of my college career but was now multiplied. Of course, there are many good ways to fight imposter syndrome, but after being out of a professional office setting for so long, the battle seemed more significant than ever.
Remembering that everyone faces imposter syndrome at the start of a new job has been the most helpful piece of advice so far. Whether it’s a dream job or a job to pay the bills, the anxiety of starting somewhere new can be high, so remembering that everyone has experienced this at some point is helpful. As you continue your journey, you will see that this isn’t the only time you will experience this feeling, but learning to handle it from the start can be a great way to set the tone for a new job.
Support System
One of the tips I kept seeing and hearing about was having a support system. My first thought was that that felt kind of exaggerated, but then I looked back and thought if my partner hadn’t been insanely supportive and optimistic about the job, I probably would have rejected it because it felt too good to be true.
“You have to bet on yourself now.”
Simple but effective, and if you’re like me and wondering why and how you got a big opportunity, that is the biggest thing to remember. It was a good reminder that despite where my career was at the moment, you have to trust in yourself to do scary things even when they seem impossible.
You might have thought I had more advice if you were going through something similar, but this is one of those things that is a lot more internal. As cliche as it sounds, believing and trusting yourself will help you go a long way. And remember, you deserve all the good things to come to you!
How do you handle new job anxiety? Do you have advice for not feeling good enough?
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