The ‘imposter syndrome’ leaves many opponents at home

When Raúl Varela (Cádiz, 25 years old) took his first opposition exam, he felt bad. His stomach was closed. He was very nervous, more so than when he took the driving test. To make matters worse, on the day of the exam he had to put up with his nerves for several hours while he waited to take the test that could determine his life. Varela did not take out that position for the Seville City Council, nor did he apply for another one for the University of Cádiz. He himself admits that he did not prepare the tests conscientiously, but affirms that having faced the bad drink helped him get the State administrative position last February.

Introducing yourself is not the most common. According to data from the National Institute of Public Administration (INAP) one out of every two registered for State administrative calls (55%) do not show up on the day of the exam. As the fees to appear for the exam do not usually exceed 30 euros, many opponents do not even try their luck, although according to the CEAC opposition academy, many of them do not appear because they suffer from “imposter syndrome”.

The syndrome occurs to people who are afraid of being discovered, as if they were some kind of impostor, since they associate their successes with external factors and not with their own effort and dedication. According to Mercedes Bermejo, member of the Official College of Psychology of Madrid, presenting yourself to several calls without expectations, as Varela did, and knowing the process is one of the facets that can ease that fear.

CEAC experts believe that part of the students succumb to the high expectations and demands of the preparation process and that is why they do not appear for public employment calls. 2022 is being the year of the largest offer of this type of places in history in the General State Administration, as highlighted by the CSIF union after its approval in May. Consequently, the academies expect a substantial increase in students who will face these problems first-hand.

Not all new candidates have the conditions to prepare for oppositions. In order to face this type of exam, Mercedes Bermejo assures that it is important to carry out a process of becoming aware of what opposition implies. “It involves commitment, dedication, renunciation and a series of disciplines that not all people can deliver due to different circumstances. It requires planning,” she says.

Luis Timon, manager of teacheroppositores.combelieves that the qualities to successfully prepare for oppositions are trained, but it is not normal to come with them as standard: “Opposites are not accustomed by the educational system to studying oppositions, nor do they have strategies to face the difficulties of one. When people don’t see immediate results, they give up.”

The process can take from nine months in the lowest scales of group C, up to five years and seven months, which, on average, it takes to pass some of the highest scales of group A, according to data from academies of opponents and data obtained by Five days.

The opponents assume a feeling of fraud, disappointment and develop a great fear of failure due to the harshness of the process. Eva Soto, a psychologist at CEAC oppositions, assures that the state of mind, the mentality and the level of commitment directly affect the final result.

Luis Timón faces many cases like this in his academy. The teacher warns that the students with the highest success rate are the disciplined ones, not the intelligent ones: “People who pass are not usually brilliant. They are constant”. Timón assures that this is the key to academies like his or CEAC: “100% of my students do not know how to study, that’s why they go to an academy. In addition to learning psychological strategies that are fundamental, such as facing the blank page “.

Varela certifies it. During college he was a “very normal” student who studied, hopefully, a few days before. He had to change his habits in order to oppose and lead a “monk’s” life. To do this, he began studying from September 2020 to February 2022, when he got the place from him. “It is very difficult to commit to studying oppositions knowing that it is like a working day without pay,” says Varela.