What if I am not good enough? What if this strategy isn’t good enough? These are questions that plague a lot of early-career professionals in the communications industry. In this piece, Boma Amos-Atuboyedia, community manager at The Comms Avenue, candidly writes about her experience with imposter syndrome, what it looks like in the day-to-day reality of a communications role, and the practical ways she has learned to work through it.
Starting out can feel overwhelming. You don’t fully understand how things are done yet, you’re afraid to make mistakes, and you feel unqualified even when you are qualified. This makes you question everything you do, leaving you feeling like a fraud. Most people refer to this as imposter syndrome.
According to the Oxford Dictionary, Imposter syndrome is the persistent inability to believe that one’s success is deserved or has been legitimately achieved through one’s own efforts or skills.
For those of us in communications, this feeling can be especially intense because of how visible and exposed our work is. Our ideas and strategies are open to criticism from just about anyone, meaning even your smallest mistake or achievement can be seen and picked apart. But you are not alone. As someone who has experienced imposter syndrome and still does, I understand.
For me, it has shown up as constantly questioning why I was chosen for an opportunity, whether my ideas make sense, and holding back in meetings for fear of sounding wrong. It shows up in comparison, measuring myself against people with far more experience, and in the fear of being “found out” as someone who doesn’t know enough.
The nature of communications makes these feelings even more intense. The work is subjective, feedback is constant, and there is rarely a single right answer. Repeated revisions can make you second-guess your ability rather than trust your experience. Add the fast-paced and public nature of the work, and it becomes easy to internalise doubt.
Over time, this creates a pattern: downplaying your contributions, overworking to prove your worth, and avoiding opportunities that require visibility. You begin to rely on external validation whilst internally questioning your competence, even when there is clear evidence of your growth.
These feelings, left unchecked, will affect both your work and your career. You hold back ideas, avoid visibility, and shy away from leadership because you feel you’re not ready. But this only keeps you stagnant. You have to allow yourself to move forward.
There are practical ways to work through it. I constantly remind myself that I am learning, not failing. Mistakes are inevitable; the goal is to learn from them and keep going.
It also helps to document your progress. Write down what you have done, how you did it, and the outcome. Over time, this becomes evidence of your growth, something to look back on when the doubt creeps in.
Find people within the communications community who can mentor and guide you. And learn to see feedback for what it truly is: not a sign that you are not good enough, but a tool to help you improve.
Remember that even experienced professionals are still figuring things out. Growth in communications is not linear. It comes with ups and downs, and imposter syndrome can be part of that journey. Working through it, showing up, doing the work, and choosing to keep going, builds confidence not just in yourself but in your abilities.
You are a beginner, an early communications professional, and you belong here. You will make mistakes. Your work will not always be perfect. Your ideas will not always be chosen. But all of this is part of your growth.
So when that feeling of not deserving your achievements comes up, remind yourself: I’m not an imposter, I’m a professional in progress.
