Raise your hand if you took almost a year off work to become a first time Mum and you got major AI-accelerated imposter syndrome coming back to work?
As a creative in a fast-paced role, returning to work after becoming a mum was daunting. While I was eager to dive back in (there are only so many sensory classes one can endure on mat leave) I was definitely concerned that I’d turn my computer on and have absolutely no idea what I was doing. That “first day imposter syndrome” sneaks in, making me fear I’d be exposed as a fraud. My main conversationalist had been a 10-month-old, and my daily reads were children’s stories about generous giants and pet dinosaurs. How was I supposed to remember how to generate innovative ideas with clever lines and trendy aesthetics, let alone all my MAC/Adobe shortcuts?
I was coming back to an industry where not only had AI tools grown significantly, but so had trends, with the addition of new clients I had never worked with before. I had also been transitioning from design to a more creative role pre maternity, so felt some pressure to step back into this new dynamic. Everything was changing and growing around me, all whilst I’d been stuck at home, changing far too many nappies, eating far too much cake and trying to make an unenthused baby laugh, by overcompensating with silly noises and faces!
Before going on maternity leave I made jokes that I’d come back and find an AI version of myself, better and more efficient, although admittedly with A LOT less personality. Luckily for me, I was welcomed back with open arms, the look of relief on the studio managers face and not an AI Alessia in sight.
