Conquering Imposter Syndrome
As a Marketer, I always second guess myself and my skills. If I’m honest, I’ve asked myself if I’m good enough since University. I always thought I went to a pretty good school growing up, for every skilled place there was 15 children denied, and for a public school those weren’t bad statistics. When I was at school I did pretty well, I got A’s and B’s for English and it fuelled my passion to become a writer.
But when I reached University, my lectures realised I had a serious issue with Grammar. I was an excellent writer, but I didn’t know my commas from my semi-colons and as a journalist that could have been the make or break of my career.
F*ck I tried hard to fix it, I had workbooks, I took English courses, I did pretty much anything to hone my writing, and I’ve even invested in Grammarly premium as a failsafe. I’m still not perfect.
But isn’t that the case for all of us?
Internet is endless
Working with tech, trends, and living off social media. My career will never be consistent, there’s always a new update to memories, strategies to rejig, and articles on SEO to absorb. There will literally never be a point where I’m done learning in my job. Which is kind of shitty and amazing a the same time. I’ll never be bored but I may spend most of my weekends pouring over Google Skillshop.
If I’m honest, I don’t think I ever really valued the internet and social media until I got to University. My passion had always been writing, I was obsessed with the idea of becoming the next Theroux or Sarah Jane Smith. Anything that gave me the chance to write and get my story out there appealed to me. But halfway through my Journalism Degree in Chester, I realised I didn’t really care too much for political writing, or any sort of journalistic writing. As the media moves from print to digital, our class were taught about social media marketing, getting a story out to the masses in a way that completely obliterated the modern media I once aimed to be a part of.
I kind of liked it. Soon I began to want a career in PR and Marketing, and however vain it may make me, I liked the idea of growing a loyal following, impacting trends and still getting my story out. So I freelanced, helped small businesses grow their audience, I wrote for local magazines, befriended business owners and did my very best to become a name around the area.
Now four years later I’m a marketing executive at a software company in central London and I’m so happy with where I am in life. I live with my best friend from Uni in a tower block so high I can see the shard from my bedroom. I freelance on the sidelines for a selection of amazing businesses and still find time to travel around London to take photos or my personal blog stephwritesstuff.co.uk
I feel like I’ve done pretty well in the grand scheme of things, but I know the learning curve is endless, especially in my career path. I dare you to find me one marketer who knows everything there is to know about our industry.
You’re always learning and growing
Nobody is absolutely perfect, everyone still has a lot of room to grow. There’s always new trends to jump on, content strategies to adjust, and new algorithms to familiarise yourself with at the worst possible times.
To grow my freelancing business I’ve spent hours pouring over skillshop, blueprint, hubspot, and more. I love learning, but at times where I’m spinning plates and pushing away the burnout it can be tedious.
So set goals, learn, grow and explore new avenues of the industry that you never thought possible.