Out Over Your Skis? 3 Powerful Steps to Overcome Career Transition Imposter Syndrome

Feeling lost in your new role? Worried you can’t do the job? You’re suffering from career change imposter syndrome. Here’s what to do.

This post was first published on my Medium blog—follow me there for the most up-to-date entries!

Let’s acknowledge that feeling you’ve been trying to ignore. It’s like the feeling when you’re downhill skiing: you’re in motion, and everything is happening fast, but your body is just a little too far forward. You haven’t lost control, but you can feel the realness of that possibility. That’s what imposter syndrome has felt like for me at every major pivot point — especially when I left something familiar (like bedside nursing) for something unknown. I needed to figure out how to overcome career transition imposter syndrome.

I’d felt the grip of imposter syndrome too many times. It had always been with me, tucked into the corners of my thinking like an old habit. The transition to a non-bedside role wasn’t my first episode of imposter syndrome, but it was the worst. I recognized that feeling of being out over my skis.

I felt it during my rookie year as a registered nurse. It struck again when I was appointed to a faculty position at a prestigious university before I was 30. Then again as a new clinical nurse specialist in a new hospital. And again, in a high-level administrative nursing role at a huge medical center. When I was offered a contract for my first book with a big publisher, imposter syndrome struck very hard. Every time I stepped into something new — especially if it was high visibility or came with more authority — I would feel this uneasy shift. Not panic, but a lack of groundedness. I didn’t doubt my work ethic or my commitment. I doubted whether I belonged at that level.

That’s classic imposter syndrome. But what can you do about it?

What imposter syndrome really is

Imposter syndrome (originally called imposter phenomenon) was first described in the classic 1978 study by psychologists Pauline Rose Clance, PhD, and Suzanne Imes, PhD. They first defined the “impostor phenomenon” in high-achieving women as the internal experience of doubting your abilities. And yes, that study was conducted on women — high-achieving women. I’m guessing you fit that description if you’re reading this.

In this same study, they found factors that contribute to the maintenance of impostor feelings over time are

perfectionism,
people-pleasing,
procrastination,
the tendency to attribute success to external rather than internal factors.

Later works, such as Dr. Clance’s book The Impostor Phenomenon: Overcoming the Fear That Haunts Your Success, help readers recognize and internalize their accomplishments, challenge self-doubt, and let go of the fear of being “found out” for being “fraudulent.”

Why it’s harder to overcome imposter syndrome in a career transition

If you’re stepping out of a well-defined role into a broader or less structured one, imposter syndrome can feel overwhelming. You’re no longer grounded in a role with clear expectations or job descriptions. You may not have a title that people instantly recognize. You’re new to the context, even if you’re not new to the work. You’re suffering from career transition imposter syndrome.

This often rings especially true for nurses. We’re highly competent but conditioned to defer, follow protocol, stay in our lane, and keep our heads down. In our world, praise is rare, mistakes are expensive, and perfectionism is practically encouraged.

No wonder it’s hard to internalize success when we shift into something new. We’re not just trying to learn new skills — we’re trying to unlearn the belief that we don’t belong.

The voice that won’t quit

In her insightful and entertaining 6-minute TED talk, Dr. Valerie Young notes that 70% of high-achieving women feel like imposters. Her work helped me realize that imposter syndrome isn’t just a passing insecurity. It’s a thought pattern — a set of habits we can examine and change. That’s why her framework is so valuable for anyone trying to figure out how to overcome career transition imposter syndrome.

She outlines 10 steps for overcoming imposter syndrome. You don’t need to do all ten at once. I didn’t. I started with just three: Step 1, Step 2, and Step 7.

What can help you overcome career transition imposter syndrome

Step 1: Break the silence. Say it out loud. Just naming it helps. (Clinical psychiatrist Dr. Daniel Seigel’s video explains the “name it to tame it” principle: that simply naming our feeling emits soothing neurotransmitters in our brain.) If you feel comfortable, tell a trusted peer or mentor. (Or book a call with me.) In the original study, Clance and Imes used group therapy, where simply hearing others talk about their doubts had a powerful normalizing effect. When I started talking about it, I found people who’d been through the same thing. Their belief in me helped me rebuild my own. It felt like a straightforward, easy way to learn how to overcome career transition imposter syndrome.
Step 2: Separate feelings from facts. This step is a little harder, but it’s critical. You need to recognize that feeling like a fraud doesn’t make you a fraud. I found it helpful to create an “evidence file.” This wasn’t about ego — it was about clarity. I collected thank-you notes, testimonials, certifications, peer-reviewed articles I had written, and other examples of work I was proud of. When that voice whispered, “You’re not good enough,” I could pull out that file and see proof that I was.
Step 7: Reframing. This step is about interrupting the story you tell yourself and writing a new one. The internal script that says “I’m not ready,” or “I don’t belong” isn’t the only possible story. I started changing mine. Instead of “I don’t know what I’m doing,” I said “I’m learning something new, and I know how to learn.”

Why overcoming career transition imposter syndrome matters

This isn’t just a mindset issue. Imposter syndrome can lead to missed opportunities, undercharging, staying stuck, or holding back. It can make you shrink yourself into roles that no longer fit. But once you name it and start responding differently, everything shifts. You begin to trust your voice. You stop asking for permission. You get bolder.

You also get more honest with yourself and with others. Saying, “I’m growing into this role” is both brave and true. And it gives others permission to do the same.

Final thoughts on how to overcome career transition imposter syndrome

Feeling out over my skis was uncomfortable, but it wasn’t dangerous. I wasn’t failing. I was simply in motion, just ahead of my comfort zone. And that’s the thing about imposter syndrome during a career pivot — it often shows up when you’re growing.

If you’re out over your skis, it means you’re in motion. You’re not crashing. You’re learning to glide into the next stage of your career.

Once I found my footing, I moved forward with more clarity. That voice still visits, but now I know what it is. I tell it to shut up, and I replace it with a different story.

If you’re in a career transition and feeling like a fraud, start with those first two steps: break the silence and separate feelings from fact. And next, maybe start your new story (Step 7), as I did. Then keep going. Build your evidence file. Talk it through. Keep showing up.

You’re not unqualified. You’re just not used to being seen.

You don’t need to wait until the feeling goes away. Start where you are. I showed up before I felt ready. You can, too. As Dan Sullivan says in in his book The 4 C’s Formula, confidence comes after commitment — after we do the thing we didn’t think we could do.

Take one step. Try Young’s Step 1.

That’s how to overcome career transition imposter syndrome.

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.