Both professional activities and hobbies
For example… If a new hire is introduced as “good at Python and C++” at work, what does this imply about the person’s skill level in your opinion? Or if someone says they are a “good runner”, what would come to your mind? Or is it field-dependent?
Asking because sometimes I’m not sure if I am under/over-exaggerating my own abilities when meeting new ppl at work/etc…
Depends on context and the skill in question. For example, in my office, good at technology means you know how to submit a ticket to IT and you don’t have a panic attack if someone mentions excel.
Above 50-percentile in comparison to others who also participate in that subject/hobby/activity, but usually below the 90-percentile, because then they’d not be described as “good”, but “great”
In my opinion it really depends on the person saying that. There are just way too many factors like Dunning-Krueger, the interpretation of the word ‘good’ (Just sufficient? Above average?), or just their own ego/modesty.
I would say I’m decent with numbers. I don’t like to boast, and I’m sure I’m terribly far from being a prodigy (I am quite far), but I have the feeling I can multiply double digit numbers in my head faster than the average. That doesn’t even tell you much anyway.
Bear in mind it can depend what country someone is from.
Traditionally, a Briton saying “I’m kind of okay at this” might mean they’re one of the best in the world (mustn’t blow one’s own trumpet).
A Briton who says “I’m great at this” (or anything beyond “pretty good”) is likely an arrogant charlatan.
In contrast, an American might say “I’m good at this” to mean “I am better than average”.
I’d imagine other countries have their own tendencies for under/overstatement.
In my opinion it really depends on what they are talking about if a person says they are good at cooking I assume they are slightly above average if a person says they are good at working on cars I assume they are better than 95% of the population
If someone ever claims to be good at something, I would want to see a demonstration that examples their expertise. Because it is hard to take people at their word sometimes, so a demo is required.
- Have you invested time learning how to do/improve the skill?
- Have you seen progress in your skill level?
“Good” is relative
I assume competent. If you’re “good” at it, you can do it without much more than the expected amount of help.
If you’re a good runner, I’m not expecting you to win, but I expect you’ll be able to finish it.
It’s context dependent, not field dependent. “Good at [something]” usually means it’s simply above average. In some occasions, it can mean it’s just average as opposed to terrible. In other occasions it means it’s exceptionally good.
For your specific examples I would believe they’re somewhat above average, but not impressive, unless more context indicates so.
5/10. Understands what’s going. Could certainly be better, but fuck ups are uncommon.
You are probably underestimating your abilities.
People that worry about overestimating their skills mostly underestimate their skills.If someone says they are “good” at something, I take it to mean competency and some enthusiasm.
They might make a mistake, but they won’t (or at least will rarely) make it twice.
They know how to find the solution to something within that domain of knowledge. It might not be the best solution, but it will be a solution that works.
They are also aware of what they don’t know in within the domain. So, they can do C++ but know they can’t do embedded programming. Or they can do C#, but know they can’t do game dev.And I would take them at their word for that, until they prove otherwise.
If they are below where they claim their skill is, I would try to help them learn (unless they show no interest in improving).
If they are above where they claim, I would tell them this.It’s always hard to judge our own skills.
8/10
Imposter syndrome just limits you. Nothing wrong with fake it 'til you make it. If you’re not doing it, someone else is. Just base your opinion of them on what you see, and act the same regarding other’s opinions of you. Actions speak louder than words.
A lot of people have already pointed out that the person saying it is an important detail. If your mom says you’re good at python, I’m going to get a very different idea about your skill level compared to your boss saying it.
Unless you are selling yourself in an interview context, I think it’s very poor form to qualify your own skill level. Let the skill speak for itself, it’s enough to say that you ‘do python’. Saying you’re good at something often comes off as braggadocios more than it is informative. If you must give context, it’s better to talk about how much experience you have, or other objective metrics
Qualifiers are too context dependant and no matter where your skill level is at, you wont ever have enough context to know how good you actually are, because you can’t know what you don’t know.
