Sometimes I think I have imposter syndrome. Then this person shows up.
Are you even good enough to have impostor syndrome?
Now you’re just fucking with me
Nooo, I’m not. hangs head in shame
This guy’s cover letter
Dear Hiring Team,
I would like to be considered for this role, I have a PhD and have all of the qualifications on paper. I’ve even published in the area you are hiring for, but really you should consider me as an entry level engineer. I don’t know a lot, and I get confused sometimes. But, please hire me.
Best,
- The Guy Who Applied, PhD
This absolutely happens in real life. Guy I worked with was at a large telecom company that liquidated in the 2000s. Dude was high up and had a beach house… you know, rich people stuff.
After the 2000s recession he had major trouble getting hired because he earned too much before and potential employers would think he would leave if they gave him a lower offer.
He ended up working for me building hydroponic farms for about a year making shit pay.
You paid him in shit? Why not use that shit as fertilizer?
This was also the plot of The Company Men, where Ben Afleck’s character took a construction job to make ends meet. It was a good movie.
I have a friend with a PhD in linguistics, worked for years in the SF tech world in i18n, not quite a PM, not an engineer, not a CX person but somewhere between the three. He got laid off and found it impossible to get another role, I think in large part because he’s super over qualified by education and years of experience, but in such a niche skill set that doesn’t really fit into traditional tech company roles. He ended up taking a job at the airport doing plane loading and such!
This guy: “There you are!”
He grabs some tubing and starts squeezing the air out of it.
“You’re gonna pay!”
I feel like you all are misplaying your hands. Find contractors that work for the govt.
They can bill the govt much higher rates because you have a PhD. They don’t have to pay you the extra. You could literally tell them that. Pay me at a junior rate and keep the difference until I prove I’m worth more.
You’d be straight revenue/profit for them. and it gets your foot in the door and you start getting actual experience.
What is my greatest weakness?
I’m aware of my own gaps in knowledge. I have a PHD but the more I ponder on what I learned and the program I was involved in the more I realize what I don’t know.
My greatest strength?
My willingness to not give too much weight to what I know and focus on what I don’t know.
if i was hiring, you would be the top candidate
But you DO have a PhD. Claiming it is somehow not valid is a criticism of the establishment that awarded it to you. You’re just suffering from impostor syndrome, that’s all.
Also, no employer will consider someone fresh out of education, even someone with a PhD, to have vast quantitites of useful real-world experience, so even declaring a PhD won’t see you land your first job with the expectations that you’ll ace every bit of it from day one.
It’s good that you realise you know nothing. That is both accurate and useful. But don’t take it too far. What your PhD proves is that you have an ability to learn, understand and communicate, and THAT is what employers are looking for.
What your PhD proves is that you have an ability to learn, understand and communicate, and THAT is what employers are looking for.
Yes! It also shows the ability of straight hard work. It’s easy to come out of college with a degree or two and not learn this. I’ve only got a BA in math so i have no idea what it takes, but i would imagine earning a PhD is on a different level of work ethic.
Plot twist: they’re applying for a barista position.
Just… Say that you have a bachelor’s degree and that’s it? You really have it anyway for fuck’s sake!
The question is how to explain a five year gap in employment.
Skills based resume format rather than a chronological format. If they still ask just say the intervening years weren’t relevant to the position.
Fake it till you make it. That’s what everyone else does.
This is unfortunately the way of the world, the only difference between you and the others, is, that many people do not feel like charlatans, and believe their own bullshit.
Man I’ve often been confused at jobs too but the difference is that I’ve kept pushing through until I either figure it out or they fire me. So that’s my advice in this hypothetical, fake it till you make it.
🤣
Welcome to the teeter totter of employment. Best you can do is be 100% honest about your situation and hope they are looking for that more than a sheepskin
