Half of marketers say imposter syndrome ‘intensifying’

With an increasing number of marketers now on the edge of burnout, worryingly high levels of imposter syndrome are exacerbating the distress felt.

Over eight in 10 (84.9%) of the 2,350 respondents (including partials) to Marketing Week’s 2026 Career & Salary Survey have experienced imposter syndrome. For half (50%) these feelings have intensified over the past 12 months.

Cutting the data by gender, 86.7% of female marketers and 80.3% of their male counterparts have felt like imposters in their career to date. These feelings have intensified over the past year for 53.7% of female marketers and 37.9% of their male peers.

Most (87.3%) working mums have grappled with imposter syndrome during their career, feelings which have intensified over the past year for more than half (51.3%). Some 78.5% of working dads have also felt like imposters, which has increased for over a third (39%) in the last 12 months.

Most marketers feel overwhelmed, undervalued and emotionally exhausted

Looking at the data by seniority, 78.4% of CMOs and marketing directors have experienced imposter syndrome in their career, feelings which have increased over the past year for 45.3%.

Some 86.8% of senior managers/managers and 88.1% of junior managers have struggled with imposter syndrome. Worryingly, these feelings have intensified for 52.2% of senior managers and 44.4% of those a level of seniority down.

The data shows marketers at the start and middle of their career are more likely to admit to struggling with imposter syndrome than their senior colleagues. Over eight in 10 marketers aged 18 to 25 (81.9%), 26 to 35 (88.9%) and 36 to 45 (87.3%) have felt like imposters in their career so far. Given 70.8% of the 2026 Career & Salary Survey sample are aged 26 to 45, this represents a big proportion of respondents to our research doubting their abilities regularly.

Some 78.9% of marketers aged 46 to 55 and almost two thirds (63.4%) of those 56 and over admit to having felt like an imposter at some point in their career.

Younger marketers are more likely to report an intensification of their imposter syndrome over the past year. Over half (56.8%) of respondents aged 18 to 25 and 26 to 35 (55%) have found their sense of being an imposter growing in the last 12 months.

To a lesser extent this is true for those aged 36 to 45 (47.6%), 46 to 55 (40.3%) and 56 plus (37.8%).

Doubting yourself

Such is the scale of marketing’s unhealthy relationship with imposter syndrome that almost nine in 10 (86.6%) marketers from both a working class and lower middle/middle class background (86.3%) have felt like an imposter at work.

The prevalence of imposter syndrome is slightly lower (77.7%) among marketers from upper middle class backgrounds, but these feelings still impact the majority.

Over the past year these feelings have grown in intensity for marketers from working class (55.3%), lower middle/middle class (47.6%) and upper middle class (50.7%) backgrounds.

Equally, regardless of the size of business marketers operate in imposter syndrome is widespread. Some 85.2% of those working within SMEs (250 employees and under) and 84.7% of their peers in large organisations have felt like imposters.

Over the past year these feelings have grown stronger for 53% of marketers in small businesses and 46.7% of their counterparts in large organisations.

There is also consistency in the data regardless of whether marketers have a consumer facing or business focused role. Most marketers working in B2B (85.4%) and B2C (85.1%) have felt like imposters in their career to date. The past year has seen those feelings intensify for 47.3% of B2B marketers and more than half (55%) of their B2C peers.

The level of imposter syndrome experienced by marketers is fuelling distress within the industry.

As reported earlier this week, almost two thirds (65.3%) of marketers have felt overwhelmed over the past 12 months. Some 60.7% feel undervalued, while 55.1% are emotionally exhausted.

Over half of the total sample (53.4%) have found less enjoyment in work that used to engage them during the past year, while 53.3% feel detached. Over two fifths (47.7%) have felt a sense of ineffectiveness.

The data also suggests many marketers are unlikely to share these feelings with anyone at work. More than two fifths (42.5%) of the 2026 Career & Salary Survey respondents don’t feel like they can tell their manager or the wider business how they are feeling.

The data exposes an industry of people questioning their abilities, under unacceptable amounts of pressure and living in fear they could jeopardise their position by speaking out.

Marketing Week will continue our reporting of marketing’s mental health crisis as our series continues.