Beyond imposter syndrome: How to navigate a job mismatch

Estefi Herrera has always loved makeup so when she saw a job posting in the beauty industry, she eagerly applied. “I didn’t get the job but they ended up calling me a few months later to do a slightly different role,” she recounted. Learning what the position entailed, Herrera expressed her concern to the hiring manager that there were a few things she hadn’t done before. She was essentially told: “We’re willing to teach you, as long as you're willing to learn.”?

Herrera decided to go for it, recalling, “Month one was rough. I was just completely on uncharted territory. I think by month six, on paper, I was doing fine. I was never the kind of person that liked to do fine. I like to do great. There were one-off moments where I was proud of the work that I was doing, but if I had to give myself a grade, I was averaging a B. Some days a C and some days an A-, but I was never really that star student that I knew I wanted and ultimately could be.”

Herrera struggled with the realization that, despite her efforts, she might not ever find this particular job fulfilling. She turned to a coworker to discuss her dilemma, figuring the response she’d get would be something to the effect of, “People dream of being here. You haven't been here long enough to really give it a go.” But instead, her colleague told her she was proud of her because it’s not easy to identify you might be in the wrong place and harder still to make a change.?

“That conversation really stuck with me because my mind flipped and I went from seeing this as a total failure to a win,” Herrera said. “To be introspective enough to realize that I'm not where I need to be and not care about what the outside world thinks, that takes guts. That's the win. So after eight months of being in my dream industry and what I thought was my dream job, I put in my two weeks notice.”

Herrera was “incredibly intentional and thoughtful” about finding her next role, making sure it was something she could do and somewhere she could see herself long-term. “I'm being challenged so much, but I'm already seeing those wins,” she shared. “That's how I know I'm in the right spot.

“When it came to recognizing whether this was really imposter syndrome or if I really just wasn't in the right place, it wasn't just the fact that I felt uncomfortable. Being uncomfortable is okay, that's how you grow. The big difference was I just also wasn't succeeding. I was doing enough, but it wasn't where I knew I could go. I don't regret any of my journey up until this point, but if I could go back and tell myself, I would say, really be intentional and think about why are you taking this job If you can't quite put that thought away in the back of your mind of, ‘I don't think this is it for me,’ or, ‘This might just not be what I thought it was,’ dig into that and see where it takes you.”

How do you distinguish between imposter syndrome and a bad job fit?

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