As the year comes to end, different challenges have been faced by many students, including the reoccurring thoughts sparked by impostor phenomenon. Dr. Julie Brill led our last seminar for the year, giving insightful advice regarding the emotions and thoughts of graduate students brought up during our seminar:
“Imposter phenomenon can turn up at expected times (grant or paper rejections, hearing about someone else's success) or unexpected times (getting a prestigious award or invitation).”
Julie states that the best approach to rejection, in her experience, is to accept the situation at hand instead of dwelling on the negatives and try to move on as quickly as possible. And for the positives (such as an award), try to remind yourself that you were provided with the opportunity for a reason, and do not sell yourself short!
“With regard to competition and fear of being scooped…even when two labs are working on exactly the same problem, they will have a somewhat different angle or non-overlapping results and can still publish their research. It's not possible to win every race, but it's usually possible to salvage something worthwhile…[and] can provide a way to stake your claim in making a discovery.”
Students were reminded in the session to choose work based on their interests - this will help motivate you even when things may not be going as planned.
“When having difficulty figuring out how to approach your PI about something that is bothering you (whether it be your research direction, involvement in the lab, a family crisis or mental health issues), remember that they are people too and they are supposed to be there to train and support you. I realize not everyone seems approachable, but I highly recommend opening the channels of communication as early as possible. There's nothing worse than feeling miserable and powerless to do anything about it.”
As mentioned by our speaker, resources are available in the case that this channel of communication is more difficult to access (i.e. department graduate teams, Graduate Wellness Services with SGS, which includes one-on-one counselling, etc.)
“I think [it’s] key for grad students [to take] ownership of their project, i.e., reading, thinking and helping make decisions that drive it forward. This can make a huge difference in ensuring success and therefore provide fewer reasons to suffer [feelings of] imposter [syndrome].”
Be confident in the work you’re doing, and that day by day, you are gaining more knowledge in your field of expertise!
I hope these key takeaways helped, especially in reframing your perspective as a student in the new year. Happy Holidays from our team, and best wishes for the new year!