"Marie Roker-Jones You're Not an Imposter, You're an Outlier in Tech

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You're Not an Impostor, You're an Outlier

Today we'll be discussing the idea that you're not an impostor, but rather, an outlier, especially in the tech industry. Outliers are the individuals who have chosen to follow their unique path, regardless of conventional norms. These are individuals who have bold dreams and unconventional approaches. They tend to stand out from others due to their individual accomplishments.

What it Means to be an Outlier

Being an outlier means that you're not necessarily comparing yourself with others, but rather you're focusing on your own personal accomplishments. These could be anything from starting a new career in the tech industry, graduating in computer science especially as a woman, or any other achievement distinct to your journey. Being an outlier means celebrating your uniqueness and unconventional approach in striving for success.

Five Tips to Embrace Being an Outlier

  1. Find your own definition of success: Everyone has their own understanding of success. The trick is to identify your personal definition, understanding the patterns in your own personal successes, and celebrating these daily.
  2. Cultivate intellectual humility: Keeping a healthy perspective about success and failure is critical. As an outlier, it's essential to maintain a perspective that favors learning, rather than a black-and-white view of success and failure. This also includes embracing the fact that you can't know everything and that it's perfectly okay to ask questions.
  3. Let your passion project shine: Showcasing your skills through your passion projects is a unique way to introduce yourself, giving you social proof and making you stand out from the crowd.
  4. Incorporate systems of accountability: Setting goals is more effective when paired with systems of accountability. This could be having hype pods or accountability partners who help you stick to your goals and facilitate a better understanding of your daily progress.
  5. Strive for progress, not perfection: The pressure to be perfect can be overwhelming. However, focusing on progress instead of perfection can alleviate this pressure and help you monitor your growth better.

Discovering Your Niche

Discover your niche where you can stand out and garner attention for your unique skill or knowledge. By emphasizing what sets you apart from others, you further establish yourself as an outlier. You don't have to know everything, but if you can find a niche where you excel and can showcase your knowledge, then this definitely helps establish your outlier status.

Overcoming Impostor Syndrome

Impostor syndrome is a common plight particularly amongst women and people of color in tech jobs. However, qualifying as an outlier can change this narrative. Remember, if you're in the same space as other people, you've earned the right to be there. Even as you put out resumes and may not get immediate callbacks, believe that your time will come and when it does, you will have earned your position.

Supporting Each Other: Changing the Narrative

As outliers, we must support each other and make concerted efforts to change the narrative. Impostor syndrome might hold us back, but together, we can overcome this and embrace the outlier role. So let's cheer each other up, change the narrative, and remember to always stay curious and keep learning.

So when you're feeling like an impostor, remember, you're not an impostor, you're an outlier. And you've got this!


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