As my internship wraps up and I transition into permanent employment at Summer of Tech, I ponder the following:

1. What have I learnt from this experience?

2. How much will my role change as I step into an entry-level position?

3. Will imposter syndrome rear its big ugly head again?

Cue inner dialogue... 

What have I learnt from this experience?

You are freer when you can be yourself - 100%. If you are: LGBTIQA+, neurodivergent or experience mental health challenges or disability, it can be easy to hide these aspects of yourself due to the fear of being stigmatised. When choosing a place of work, do your research and see if the company values align with your own (inclusion, kindness etc.), and if you do find a workplace that makes you feel shame for who you are, keep searching (and speed dating) until you find one that supports you as you are.

How much will my role change as I step into an entry-level position?

Imposter syndrome has skipped the queue here. The fear is, "Can I handle this next step up?". When significant changes happen in life, it will most likely feel uncomfortable at first. I have to remind myself this is normal and pwn it. 

Hot tip(s) for pwning imposter syndrome:

1. Write down everything you have achieved during your internship.

2. Remember and collate all of the positive feedback or compliments you have accomplished and save them in a file.

3. Reflect on and write down what you know now compared to at the start of your internship. See how much you have learned? See, you can handle this!

4. Say to yourself. "Look how much I have already achieved in my internship, I aced it, and I can ace this new position too."

These tips are also applicable to challenging assignments or finding a new role. 

Will imposter syndrome rare its big ugly head again?

Maybe, but you've got this! Pwn it!

This post is part of a series by our 2021 Marketing Intern, Yana Brewster.

See her last post here: Summer of Tech Internship - Next Steps