I’m currently working as a Customer Experience Strategy Manager with Network Rail based in Edinburgh Waverley. Over the next 10 weeks I’ll be delivering an impactful project working alongside the Passenger Experience team to improve efficiency and satisfaction metrics within the station
As I arrived for my first day at the station, I felt a looming sense of doubt like what was discussed on day 1. Looking back, these fears are completely normal. In fact, there is a common psychological experience called imposter syndrome that many of us will encounter at least once in our life. It’s described as a feeling of inadequacy or incompetence accompanied by a belief that you’ll be found out as a fraud. I believe that when we start something new and we’re given expectations, it’s easy to have a negative focus and fixate on our past mistakes, but in truth we are the worst judges of our own character.
I had the opportunity to meet the passenger experience team and I sat in on a meeting to discuss a full audit of the station space, the main project. I got to hear the complexity of ideas as different members debated on the best ways to proceed and I was even asked for my input. It was an amazing opportunity to be directly involved with a massive project, one that will have a significant impact on the whole station. The best part? The imposter syndrome had disappeared because being included in the brainstorming reinforced the belief my new team had in me and that they genuinely valued my contributions.
So, don’t be dissuaded by the first week of your internship, or job, or anything else. Learning and adjustment takes time, but as you progress and you find your rhythm, things will get better. In fact, that’s exactly how I feel right now!
