Teachers in Transition – Episode 216: Revisiting Imposter Syndrome, Fun with Clips and Racks, and Tricky Interview Questions

Today on the podcast Vanessa revisits the topic of Imposter Syndrome in a little more detail and shares some strategies to reframe those negative thoughts and feelings. She shares a couple of hacks unrelated to each other, but one of them has applications with frozen meat AND laptops.  And  Vanessa goes over some trickier, but common interview questions with some suggestions on how to approach your answer to them.

Link to the Scene in Captain Marvel where Carol gets the full measure of her power. 

I’d love for you to come and join us on our Facebook Page! Join the discussion and toss in your two cents!

And remember to send your comments, stories, and random thoughts to me at TeachersinTransitionCoaching@gmail.com!  I look forward to reading them.  Would you like to hear a specific topic on the pod?  Send those questions to me and I’ll answer them. Feel free to connect with Vanessa on LinkedIn!

The transcript of this podcast can be found on the podcasts’ homepage at Buzzsprout. 

Transcript

Teachers in Transition – Episode 216: Revisiting Imposter Syndrome, Fun with Clips and Racks, and Tricky Interview Questions

Are you a teacher who is feeling stressed out and overwhelmed? do you worry that you're feeling symptoms of burnout - or are you sure you've already gotten there? Have you started to dream of doing something different or a new job or perhaps pursuing an entirely different career - but you don't know what else you're qualified to do? You don't know how to start a job search and you just feel stuck. If that sounds like you, I promise you are not alone. my name is Vanessa Jackson; and I am a career transition and job search coach and I specialize in helping burnt out teachers just like you deal with the overwhelmingly stressful nature of your day-to-day job and to consider what other careers might be out there waiting for you. You might ask yourself, What tools do I need to find a new career?  Are my skills valuable outside the classroom?  How and where do I even get started?  These are all questions you deserve answers to, and I can help you find them.  I’m Vanessa Jackson. Come and join me for Teachers in Transition.  

***Hi!  And Welcome back to another episode of Teachers in Transition. I am your host, Vanessa Jackson – I’m a career transition and job search coach specializing in teachers. I am here to help you reach your goals and figure out how to navigate the journey from stressed overwhelmed and burnt-out teacher to the career of your dreams with margins in your life to spend with your family, your pets, and whatever else you want to. I provide tips and suggestions to help with stress and mental health, hacks to help your day, and job-hunting tips.  If you are frustrated with your current teaching position, if you are stressed, overwhelmed, and burned out you are in the right place – Welcome! Today on the podcast I am going to revisit the topic of Imposter Syndrome, I have a couple of hacks that help at home and in the classroom, and I touch on how to answer some interview questions that are likely to come up.
 
 I want to start off with imposter syndrome. Have ever felt like you’re not good enough or that you don’t deserve this career change that you’re contemplating? Some of you might think that there’s nothing else you can do. Au Contraire y’all!

Imposter syndrome is something many of us experience, especially when we’re stepping into new and unfamiliar territory. But I’m here to tell you that you are not alone — and you absolutely deserve this career change IF you want to. 

 First, let’s talk about what imposter syndrome is. Imposter syndrome is that nagging feeling or perhaps very loud intrusive thoughts that tells you that you don’t belong or that you aren’t good enough.  That you’re not as competent or qualified as others think you are, and that, at any moment, you’ll be discovered to be a fraud and sent on your way. Sound familiar? It doesn’t help when we are so often told that everything we do is wrong even though WE are the expert in the classroom!
 
 For teachers, imposter syndrome often shows up when we think about leaving the classroom and entering a new field. We worry we don’t have the right skills, that we won’t be able to compete with people who’ve been in the industry for years, or that we don’t belong. But here’s the thing — these thoughts are just that: thoughts. They don’t reflect reality.

 Well, it’s only natural that this hits when we are contemplating a change like this.  When you move from the classroom, where you’re the expert, to a new environment, it’s easy to feel like a beginner again. You’re stepping into the unknown, and that can be scary.

Plus, there’s often an internal narrative that we carry, like “I’m just a teacher” or “I don’t have any corporate experience.” Which is a line we’ve heard from so many people who underestimate what we can do when we are allowed to shine. The truth is, teachers are some of the most adaptable, resilient, and skilled professionals out there. There's a scene in the movie Captain Marvel near the end where Carol Danvers is talking to the Supreme Intelligence, and she is fighting it. We see from an outside POV that she is in a kneeling position, and she's covered with whatever these little fibers are. But inside her mind, she is talking with The Supreme Intelligence who is telling her that everything she is she owes to the Kree – our antagonists in this movie. And at this point Carol starts to fight her way forwards in her mind and you see from the outside POV that she is starting to break loose of these fibrous bonds and inside of her head she tells the supreme intelligence “I've been fighting you with one hand tied behind my back what happens if I just” and she flicks off the device that's been on her neck that she has been told gives her her powers, but in reality, it restricts her powers. It is at that moment that we see from the outside POV that not only has she broken these bonds but she is at full power capacity floating in the air and glowing – and she fully awakens. Not exactly a subtle metaphor in that movie for the power that lies within us but a pretty good one

Reframing is one my favorite techniques. Consider it a byproduct of my innate ability to look on the bright side. I’m not exactly an optimist – I’ve been told I’m a pessimistic optimist?  I tend to expect the worst, but I still look for the best in any situation. Let’s reframe  some of these thoughts. First, recognize  that you have valuable, transferable skills. Think about all the things you do every day: you manage diverse groups, communicate effectively, solve problems on the fly, plan meticulously, and lead with empathy. These are incredibly valuable skills in any industry. We’ve heard many times that teachers build the plane while it’s in the air, project management is the art of building the plane while it’s still on the ground! One of THE most desired skills right now is the ability to effectively communicate. That’s your jam! How often have you carefully phrased things to communicate with parents, colleagues and administration? The other most desired skill in 2024 is the ability to problem solve. Teachers do that a 1000 times before lunch!

Next, challenge these negative thoughts. If you catch yourself thinking, “I’m not qualified,” try reframing it to something like, “I am a skilled communicator with experience in leading others to be able to do things they never thought they could do.” 
 Instead of telling yourself “No one would want me in the workforce because I am ‘just’ a teacher” tell yourself instead “I am exactly what a company wants in their workplace because I have the ability to plan with the end in mind in an organized way all while convincing people to work together who might not want to.” Remember, your words have power, and you have courage and creativity and dedication – all things employers want. 
 
 And hey you middle school teachers out there?  I see you – you should be afraid of NOTHING. You’ve seen it all! 

Adopting a growth mindset is also crucial. Hang on, don’t come at me for saying ‘growth mindset.’  This is another one of those wonderful phrases that has been weaponized to hammer at us in faculty meetings and professional development without really thinking about what it means. Instead of focusing on what you don’t know, focus on what you can learn. And you can learn pretty much anything. Every new challenge is just an opportunity for growth, not a test of your worth. Remember YOU are a professional at Learning.  Why, I repaired my ice maker just this past week.  That was not a skill I had last month. Teachers are always learning new things on the fly with often very little training.
 
 

Here are some ways to fight imposter syndrome, because - no lie – it’s a battle. 
 
 

1. Build a Support System: Connect with others who have made similar transitions. This could be through LinkedIn, online groups like on Facebook, or professional associations. Find people who understand what you’re going through and who can offer encouragement and advice. You could even join the Teachers in Transition Podcast Club on Facebook. 
2. Celebrate Small Wins: You know how I feel about those “Ta-Da lists.” Keep a win journal where you document every achievement, no matter how small. Did you send out your resume? That’s a win. Did you have a great networking conversation? Another win. Recognizing these small steps will help build your confidence. Next:
3. Seek Professional Development: Take advantage of workshops, online courses, or certifications related to your new or your intended field. We never stop learning.  Not only will this help you build skills, but it will also boost your confidence and show potential employers that you are committed to growth.
4. Find a Coach: A career coach can provide guidance, offer feedback, and help you see your strengths from a different perspective. They can be an invaluable resource as you navigate this transition.  It is important to find one that you feel comfortable with. That could be me – it might be someone else. Just make sure they are addressing YOUR needs and understand you.  (I totally think that would be me!)

 And now for a slightly woo-woo portion, we are going to practice visualizing what we want.  If this isn’t your cup of iced tea, or if you’re driving or otherwise not in a place to want to participate, fast forward to about 12 min, 18 seconds. 

Close your eyes.  Picture yourself dressed and you would be dressed for your new position. You go into your office – whatever that is: indoors/outdoors/office building/home/airplane and you start your day. You know that you will have interactions with others who value what you have to say, and seek your input.  You will have people who appreciate your work and value your time. Imagine yourself being able to go to the bathroom when you need to, and imagine a world where a one-hour lunch exists.  These things are real. Imagine you - thriving in a new career. See yourself enjoying new challenges, being recognized for your unique talents, and learning to feel a sense of confidence and joy in what you are doing. Then imagine that at the end of that workday, you close the laptop, turn out the light, shut the door, and head home – where all that is awaiting you is… home.  Not unpaid laborious expectations of the job.  Hold on to this picture and remind yourself of it whenever you feel doubt creeping in.
 
 Just remember this:  Imposter syndrome is normal, we’ve all been there.  And this is especially true during a career change when you start to question everything you thought you knew, but it doesn’t have to define your journey. You have so much to offer, and you deserve to pursue a path that brings you joy and fulfillment.  This is why I do what I do – because educators are the best people we have in society, and I am horrified at how the system treats all of them.  

I challenge you to – at minimum – take note of all things you can do.  Maybe even make a list.  

Next up is our teacher hack: I have a couple of little hacks to share today.  The first up has to do with all those borders you’ve collected over the years for your bulletin board.  I used to keep them carefully coiled in a transparent box just for that purpose.  It was fine but hanging curly borders is not all that helpful.  For this hack, you’ll need a tension rod, binder rings or cheap shower rings, and binder clips.  
 
 Use the binder clip to clip the section of border together.  Then you can use one of the loops on the binder clip to hang it on the binder ring or shower ring. And you can use the tension rod as a place to hang them. If you do not have a closet with that kind of space, sometimes you can create that sort of space between two filing cabinets. I trust your creativity

My second hack today involves laptops and frozen meat.  When my mom would thaw meat, she would leave it out so that it could slowly come out to room temperature and at some point she would turn it over. OK, maybe not room temperature but you know, not frozen.  Our microwaves tell us the same thing when they are defrosting something. Time to turn it over. I reasoned that it was all about air flow, so I started putting my frozen meat that needed to thaw on a cookie rack. This allowed air to flow all around it, and it allowed the meat to thaw more quickly.

But how does this apply to laptops? I would get frustrated when my laptop would tend to heat up and run the fan – (especially when recording this podcast), and I thought about those wonderful little things with the fans underneath them, and I reasoned that it just needed air flow very much like the frozen meat, so I now have a cookie rack under my laptop, and that has solved all those sorts of issues.  It is also low enough that it doesn’t hurt your wrist angle.  
 
 I hope these are helpful for you – if you try either of them, I’d love to hear how it worked! You can send me an email or leave a message – my emails and phone number are at the end of the podcast and always in the show notes!

And in our segment on job hunting, I am going to talk a little bit about a couple of popular interview questions and how to consider answering them.
 
 Interviewers often love to start with “tell me a little bit about yourself”.

Be careful how you answer this one period it is often a little bit of a sneaky way to get you to willingly give up information that they are not legally allowed to ask you - like your marital status, your child's status, or other things like religion and whatnot. They don't need to know anything about any of that because that has nothing to do with the job. So you are going to answer this question by flying by the seat of your pants. Remember the word seat. In this case, SEAT is an acronym that stands for Skills, Education and Experience, Achievements ,and Type of person

let's start with Skills:
Highlight your key skills that are directly relevant to the job you are interviewing for. Focus on what makes it a good fit.

Next up is your Education and Experience:
Briefly mention your professional background and the educational qualifications you have. Since you'll be coming out of education, you might talk about what you have done that ties to what you're going to do and translate your experience for them.

The next  letter is Achievement: (A for Achievement!)
Share something that you are proud of that you have done.  Bonus points if it applies to something that also demonstrates a quality a company might be looking for.  As an example, outside of my children (remember, don’t talk about your family here!), my proudest achievement was the fact that I “ran” the race at Lost Lake Trail Run in Seward Alaska.  The words “race” and “ran” are a little loose here.  I did a lot of walking.  It’s a 15.75 route, up a mountain, across the top of a short mountain range, and back down.  I got a little lost, so I went about 16 miles. I trained for this diligently for months and I had the endurance to finish.   

And finally T is for Type of Person:
Talk about your work style, your personality, and the unique value-add you have.  That value-add is what helps you to stand out from the crowd.  Remember the Pink Socks story. A hiring manager was hiring from a very large pool of highly qualified applicants. She was asked how she was possibly able to choose the absolutely best one once she got down to her top ten.  Her response was that she picked the candidate with the pink socks – because she remembered that one the most.  So while this story makes a great metaphor- I suspect there’s a hidden moral in there about dressing to be remembered.
 
 Another question that you can prep for in advance is:
 Why are you leaving the position you have. Why are you leaving teaching?
Spoiler alert – it is not appropriate to reply with any variation of “the people running the show are idiots, and they suck my life of every vestige of joy with overwork and bureaucracy”
 Instead, focus on the fact that you are interested in fully utilizing your skills in a way that cannot be realized in a classroom.  Or, you have realized that your passion lies in [job related skill here] and you really want to pursue that.
 
 Another question could be “How do you think you will handle not having summers off and those long breaks”
I’ve shared the math on this before in episode (19:03). Y’all know I love the cold, hard math.  Teachers often work longer hours than most of corporate America and it is squished into a shorter time frame. When faced with these questions, I talked about how I looked forward to only working 40 hours a week so that I could enjoy weekends with my family.  And truly, I didn’t miss the summers all that much (to be fair my kids were older), and my weekends started to feel three days long. I actually got back into some hobbies that had fallen off due to the demands of teaching.
 
 I’ll address some more questions in a future episode, but I’ll close with this one:
 What are your salary demands?

This is another land mine of a question.  If they have a salary range of, say, $75,000 to 100,000 and you ask for 65?  You’re getting $65,000 and they have saved a honkload of money.  If you have done your research via O-net and Glassdoor, then you have an idea of what the general salary is, so you’ll know if they try to lowball you, but sidestep this one in the interview.  The interview is NOT the place to negotiate or discuss salary.  Instead, a good answer is “I am looking to be paid according to the unique value I will bring to the team based on what is usual and customary in this area.”  You should reword that to sound like you.    
 
 Most of us understand on a basic level that it costs different amounts to live in different places in the country, but many companies have qualified different zones to align with different salaries. You will see many jobs that show a salary range on Indeed and LinkedIn.  This is to comply with the laws of some states.  Here in 2024, we have nine states that have these pay transparency laws.  They are: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New York, and Rhode Island.  These salary ranges also cover things like experience and the aforementioned location zones.  They have an equation that dictates the cost of living in a particular area and they align salary to that. Note that this is not necessarily aligned with state lines or even city size.
 
 If you're unsure how your skills translate to other jobs, that's what I help with. I work with teachers just like you to help them translate their skills and show just how valuable a teacher’s skills really are to a potential employer. Let's work together to transition your teaching experience into your next career. 
 
 Some folks are just getting ready to go back into the classroom, but many people have been teaching for quite a few weeks now and the excitement and hope that this year will be better is probably gone. If you have realized that this will be your last year of teaching, then this is a great time to start working on your exit strategy and how to prepare for the next career. It's a brutal job market and it takes a while to find the job you want, so it's best to start all of that while you're finishing out the year that you were in. If you’re ready to have that discussion,  you can reach out for a complimentary discovery call through the website at TeachersinTransition.com/calender.  That’s teachersintransition.com/calender.  I have a link to it in the show notes. If you don’t know if you are ready to have that discussion with me, so we can talk through some of your options.  Absolutely complimentary. 

And as stated a little earlier in the pod, join me on Facebook! You can search for the Teachers In Transition podcast club on Facebook and we pop right up. You just have to answer a couple of questions so that we know you are not a bot.
 
 Remember, navigating a career change like this can be tricky and it can be scary and you don’t have to do it alone.

That’s the podcast for today! If you liked this podcast, tell a friend, and don’t forget to rate and review wherever you listen to your podcasts. Tune in weekly to Teachers in Transition where we discuss Job Search strategies as well as stress management techniques.  And I want to hear from you!  Please reach out and leave me a message at Teacher in transition coaching at gmail dot com.  You can also leave a voicemail or text at 512-640-9099. 

I’ll see you here again next week and remember – YOU are amazing!