AIBU to think no one knows what they're doing at work?

[Miajk]

Well, some of you probably do. But wondering if anyone feels like me?

I get good feedback at work and meet all my goals and deliver results required, but at the same time I feel like I have no clue what I'm doing.

I'm terrified of getting promoted because I feel like I won't know how to handle budgets, knowing how to resolve things, who to speak for xyz, etc. Right now there's someone above me I can go to but if I were to be promoted I'd be the person who needs to figure it all out

Does anyone else feel a bit like they're faking it til they make it but occasionally panic about how they will get along?

Google imposter syndrome. Marvel at the knowledge that lots of people feel this way

Entirely normal. I found that basically when push comes to shove, i find a way. It used to be that if there was a "safety net" I'd fall back on it. Use this time to practise little things so you get to find your feet - maybe ask to be more involved in budgets, so you won't be thrown in the deep end later. I love when my team come to me and say "I think I should speak to x, what do you think" - even if they're wrong, it shows they've put some thought in and we can develop on that. Much better than "who should I speak to " !

Honestly, I know it doesn't feel like it, but I swear by faking it till you make it. I made mistakes, learned from them - now it's not fake any more...

Entirely normal, made worse by the fact that I’m the only one who does my job in my organisation and yet everyone seems to think they know how to do it. (marketing manager in a small firm - everyone’s got an opinion!) It’s hard sometimes to remind myself that my job isn’t just common sense and ‘anyone could do it’.

I saw something good on LinkedIn the other day which said “I spent 5 years learning how to do a task in 20 minutes. When you pay me, you owe me for the 5 years, not the 20 minutes’. It reminded me that while a lot of the things I do feel like common sense or just ‘bumbling through’ for me, I’m doing them with years of experience. Whether I know it or not, those years inform my abilities and what’s ‘common sense’ for me is borne out of that and shouldn’t be undervalued.

I get it though, it’s so hard! You’d think at 31 and manager level I’d have grown a bit of confidence!