I trust that if you’ve clicked on the link to this blog you’ve faced the feeling: even as others praise your abilities, you write off your achievements as down to just timing or good luck.

You don’t believe you earned them on your own merits, and you worry that others will eventually realise the same thing. But how does this relate to the workplace?

On the first day of my legal traineeship, I walked into the firm’s office in Edinburgh to meet the other trainees starting that day. They all looked so excited and absolutely raring to go. So was I, to begin with anyway.

I had had a great summer playing music and running an open mic night which I absolutely loved. But that first day of work was the day I had been waiting for. Five years of hard study to get to this point…

First impressions count

As the day went on and as we received various training sessions, I suddenly felt like I wasn’t cut out for life as a trainee lawyer.

Everybody around me absolutely seemed like they knew what they were doing and I just felt completely overwhelmed. A two year traineeship was about to start and I was convinced that I was not ready for it.

But throughout that whole first day and the days that followed, I must have seemed like the happiest, most confident person in the room. I chatted away to everybody giving the impression of being excited and up for the impending challenge of the traineeship and masking my inner turmoil.

Inside, all I could think that there was no way I was smart, talented or knowledgeable enough to become a lawyer at Scotland’s leading commercial law firm.

At the end of the day I was, and am, just a wee guy from the East End of Glasgow who had felt like an imposter since I set foot in university, and even more so when I managed to get this amazing job.

I constantly expected someone to walk in and say “Oh sorry, we made a mistake, you are not good enough”. But, after looking up how to go back to university to become a teacher that night and working out my backup plan, I returned to work the next day and had a chat with fellow trainee Ben, who was also one of my good friends from University.

Turns out he was feeling the same way, but you would have never known. We were both (apparently very good actors) coming across as extremely positive and excited, showing all of the rest of the characteristics that we thought a trainee in their first week should be showing.

Everything is not always as it seems

But this is how Ben was actually feeling:

“I’d spent the best part of three months travelling across North America – an unforgettable trip, but enough time to forget everything I’d told myself would be important for starting my training contract.

There was a great sense of excitement when I met the other trainees way back in September 2019. We’d all put in five years of graft to be here, but what next?

When you start University your goal is to graduate, whilst having a good bit of fun along the way. When you do a summer placement/internship, your goal is to be offered a training contract. But what is the goal when you start work?

I certainly felt excited about starting in a new environment, but there is a lot to learn from day one of the training contract. With that uncertainty I began to feel that maybe I am not as competent as others perceive me to be and began to question what I had achieved at University; a form of self-doubt I now know as imposter syndrome.”

Now, we are both lawyers at Burness Paull, having successfully completed our traineeships and been offered newly qualified positions at the firm.  Being newly qualified brings with it a whole lot of other imposter syndrome opportunities.

However, the difference is that, having been empowered by the firm’s open and inclusive culture, we feel confident to talk about these things, indeed the firm and its partners actively encourage it.

How to overcome imposter syndrome

Being surrounded by so many talented people is amazing – but it is also no wonder we can feel like imposters at times.

We are surrounded by some of the smartest people in the country, but instead of comparing ourselves to them we have learned to learn from them to improve as lawyers and attain the standards that we set for ourselves.

Feeling like an imposter can help to drive performance and constant improvement if managed properly - but it can also create a pressure that can take a toll on your mental health and wellbeing.

It is important to always remember that you are there because you put the work in and deserve to be there. Out of all the many applicants for the job that you are in, you were picked – you are the right person for that job.

If you are looking for a job, just remember that nobody is better at being you than you are. Be your best, authentic and unique self because, behind all the brave faces and confidence that we all display outwardly, most people feel like an imposter at times.

Our advice to combat it: talk about it, laugh about it, and remember that every feeling, good or bad, passes. It’s natural. Acknowledge the feeling, challenge it, take confidence from your successes to date and (this one is especially hard) don’t compare yourself to others.

If you succeed at that last one, please let us know your secret!

And, one last thing to remember – you are NOT an imposter.

Related News, Insights & Events