Interview Season Imposter Syndrome
Written by Lindsey Ulin, MD
The match isn’t perfect- it’s a process that manages to be both too objective and too subjective simultaneously. It can make you feel like you are solely defined by what’s on your CV. As fun and exciting as interview season can be, we don’t talk about the stress, anxiety, and uncertainty of it enough. The idea of a room full of people who had only interacted with me for 15 minutes or less and a computer algorithm deciding where I’d spend the next few years of my life gave me palpitations. You will likely never go through a stranger process to get a job unless you plan on doing ERAS all over again for fellowship.
Throughout interview season I found myself intimidated by other applicants from more prestigious medical schools or who already had awards and accolades I could only dream about. This further fueled thoughts of programs are going to realize they made a mistake interviewing me, I shouldn’t be here, even if I match to one of these programs, they’ll figure out I fooled them once I get there. It is well-established that healthcare professionals are a high-risk group for imposter syndrome, especially during career transitions like going through the match.
If you find yourself feeling this way, the good news is you are not alone. You are so much more than your CV, and you are enough! By getting into and almost completing medical school, you’ve already accomplished so much. The bad or perhaps comforting news is attendings tell me this feeling never completely goes away, however, you learn to make that voice in your head doubting yourself quieter. Even if you don’t have complete faith in this crazy match process, you can have faith in yourself. Regardless of what happens, know that you will work hard to be the kind of physician you’ve always wanted to, and that you will bloom where you are planted.
Some practical tips:
· Stay off of the Reddit application spreadsheets, or if you do look take everything with a grain of salt. Comparison is the thief of joy, now is a great time to put metaphorical blinders on. It does not matter how many interviews someone else has, or if they got some vague reply to their thank you email with confusing wording that wasn’t included in yours. It’s not worth the energy trying to read into this.
· Stay connected with people who can keep you grounded in life happening outside of interview season.
· Note when these imposter syndrome thoughts creep in, and let them go.
· I will not be telling you to complete a wellness module, but whatever it is that makes you happy and fills your cup make sure it doesn’t take a backseat during interview season.
Keep going applicants, we’re rooting for y’all!
