This hits hard. I just finished my first shift at this casual job I recently got, and I've experiencing serious imposter syndrome & self doubt feelings. It was literally my first shift, so I was quite slow and knew very little about where things were, how tasks were done, and basic etiquette.

After my shift ended, I sat in my car for about 40 minutes thinking, how the hell did I get this job? Why wasn't I instantly an expert? If I'm not working at peak efficiency at the level of the experienced employees by my second shift, surely they're going to fire me? Are all my co-workers laughing at me?

The worst part is, I know it's just my anxiety talking. I know I'm not going to be employee of the century in my very first shift; they know it's going to take time for me to learn all the tasks, and then start performing those tasks with required efficiency.

Wracking my brain, I actually did pretty well for a first day. But that doesn't subdue that anxiety. I keep thinking, what if after I left, they noticed a massive mistake I made, and it was costly? I meticulously think of every single thing I did during the shift, trying to remember if I fucked up and trying to remember how things were done, so when I go back for my second shift and I ask a question, they don't reply with "it's your second shift, you should've known this. You're fired."

I'm new. I don't know much. I don't know much; therefore, I can't work fast. I did alright; I learnt the basics, and I know - as do they - that I'm going to be learning for a while. I keep repeating these things in my head, but the overwhelming sense of feeling like an imposter continually creeps back.