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I’ve been at my new job for 3 months now and I’m not feeling it. I also feel like people don’t like me. I’m located on the east coast and my boss is on the west coast. I’m in a technical support position. The product is very complicated and complex, doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. I was at my last job for almost 7 years. It was also tech support but not quite as technical. The company has several teams in different parts Of the world and it just feels like there’s a disconnect. I’m also about 10 years older than everyone. My boss is in his 50s so he might be the only person older than me. There’s a lot of pretty bubbly eager young people. That’s just not me. I’m married with 2 kids.
I asked my boss today for feedback on how I’m doing. The first few one on ones we had he said it seems like I’m progressing well. Today he still said I was doing well but he’d heard I could be doing more testing in my own environment. Ok. He told me it takes about 6 to 8 months to get up to speed. I’ve been here just 3 months and I feel sometimes like I’m not making progress. It feels like our team in Europe who is the biggest and knows the most has been slacking and we get stuck with a good portion of the work
Also seems to be a good amount of turnover. aaaand I thought I’d be able to work from home more often.
Overall I’m just not feeling good about things.i was sooo ready to leave my last job. This job is a better commute, I got paid 11k more and there is less work than the last job but harder I guess
I was hoping to take on more of a leadership role but I’m no where close to that since I don’t know the product.
I’ve also had the girl who trained me tell me I’m very quiet. I’m just so sick of corporate cultures. I am a quiet person. Apparently too quiet. I’m there to work and ask questions when I need to
I’m 40. I’ll be working for a while longer....I just feel I’ll never have a job I like.
I’ve been at my new job for 3 months now and I’m not feeling it. I also feel like people don’t like me. I’m located on the east coast and my boss is on the west coast. I’m in a technical support position. The product is very complicated and complex, doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. I was at my last job for almost 7 years. It was also tech support but not quite as technical. The company has several teams in different parts Of the world and it just feels like there’s a disconnect. I’m also about 10 years older than everyone. My boss is in his 50s so he might be the only person older than me. There’s a lot of pretty bubbly eager young people. That’s just not me. I’m married with 2 kids.
I asked my boss today for feedback on how I’m doing. The first few one on ones we had he said it seems like I’m progressing well. Today he still said I was doing well but he’d heard I could be doing more testing in my own environment. Ok. He told me it takes about 6 to 8 months to get up to speed. I’ve been here just 3 months and I feel sometimes like I’m not making progress. It feels like our team in Europe who is the biggest and knows the most has been slacking and we get stuck with a good portion of the work
Also seems to be a good amount of turnover. aaaand I thought I’d be able to work from home more often.
Overall I’m just not feeling good about things.i was sooo ready to leave my last job. This job is a better commute, I got paid 11k more and there is less work than the last job but harder I guess
I was hoping to take on more of a leadership role but I’m no where close to that since I don’t know the product.
I’ve also had the girl who trained me tell me I’m very quiet. I’m just so sick of corporate cultures. I am a quiet person. Apparently too quiet. I’m there to work and ask questions when I need to
I’m 40. I’ll be working for a while longer....I just feel I’ll never have a job I like.
If he told you it takes 6-8 months to get up to speed, and you have only been there 3 months, you should give yourself a break here. It doesn't sound like he has unrealistic expectations for you and neither should you for yourself.
I'm more concerned about being "quiet". Are you quiet just in the work place or because you still feel new there? Or are you quiet socially too? When you are around friends are you quiet there too?
I just started a new job and I am not running off at the mouth either since I don't know anyone. I do speak to everyone in passing but I am nowhere near the point where I am socializing. The only person I talk to the most is the supervisor and the people I sit near but as far as anyone else all that will come in time so no point in rushing it. So I guess I would be considered quiet too lol
I’ve also had the girl who trained me tell me I’m very quiet. I’m just so sick of corporate cultures. I am a quiet person. Apparently too quiet. I’m there to work and ask questions when I need to
Nothing wrong with being "quiet". It often means you are listening...not a bad thing at all, especially when this new. Someone who is equally new but talking instead of listening is much worse.
OP this sounds to me like something I tend to call the "post-honeymoon phase". When you first start a job everything's new, challenging, exciting. You're learning new stuff, getting exposed to everything, trying to keep up and absorb. Time flies by but you don't necessarily have the leisure time to think about everything in depth. You have dreams and aspirations about the future of that job. Little minor annoyances seem very unimportant. That's the honeymoon.
Once this first blush is over, excitement dwindles, and the learning curve starts to flatten out you start seeing the little boring realities of the job. Every job has them. Every single job, no matter how exciting or how badly you wanted it has them. But, you don't quite know enough to find all the ways to sidetrack them, ignore them, or neutralize them. Its an odd period...you now know enough to do most of your tasks but not quite enough to stay inspired by every aspect of the work. Those little day to day annoyances are harder to dismiss. The thing to remember is they are probably still minor.
Others are right. Give it more time. I tend to find another period starts after this one when your knowledge and understanding of the longer term view of your profession comes back into view. Your expertise is beginning to build and so is your perspective of the workplace itself. One thing I do that helps. Give your supervisor an update about how your work is going, how you are settling in or not settling in. If you are frustrated by some of it say so. If you aren't inspired, say so. If you have some sense that you might do better in a slightly different position why not suggest it? Maybe this is a sort of pick me up, a boost, a reminder of what you originally hoped. Why not remind yourself?
As for being "the quiet type." Most times I just make what I call 'quick, idle chit-chat'....so I can be personable, in a fake way that's not at all obvious. So, talk just enough to be pleasant. Don't give away any personal secrets, or talk about any other people. Just say "hi, how are you doing," and move on.
However, you did one thing I NEVER do. Because I did it once and never again....
I never ask a supervisor or boss "how do you think I'm doing?" You're asking them them to critique your work, and opening yourself up to criticism, that they actually might not have thought of before. I know they're your boss or manager. But still, I'd never do it. It could subconsciously to focus more attention on you, and your work product than they otherwise might have. Most manager, I find, don't compliment, with positive feedback. They think more of what's NOT working. I just don't invite that.
Once, decades ago, I asked a supervisor to take a look at my work and tell me what he thought. That was ONE project on ONE day. After that, he volunteered any thing he had to say about my work. He just felt he had carte blanche to be critical, when I didn't ask for feedback. I just feel that asking for a person's opinion, can open a door you may wish you hadn't opened. That's all. I'm sure others may looove being critiqued (getting feedback) all the time. Not me.
It's hard being an older person in a work environment filled with young people who are bubbly and hang out with each other at lunch and after work. They think they need to be super social to maintain their work relationships when really all you need to be is reasonable, kind and knowledgeable.
I guess I'm pretty quiet as well though I certainly engage when someone asks about my weekend or vacation plans. I don't set up lunches or happy hours though. I've got my own life and don't have time for people who will not give me the time of day if I move on to another job.
Give any new job a year before you decide if you like it or not. There is always a learning curve, both in terms of the job itself as well as getting used to a new culture.
Be receptive, learn as quickly as possible, and don't be defensive if you make mistakes. Be thankful people are teaching you, even if it's younger people correcting your mistakes. If after a year you still really don't like it, then start looking for something else.
Sounds about right. My Uncle is in IT. This is why he hasn't moved anywhere in almost 20 years.
Product is a pain in the a**. It happens with any job function. For example if you are a Lawyer and need to specialize in IP law well there's a ton you need to read up on you can't just walk out of criminal law and go to IP. Same with Medicine and Engineering.
Tech support can work completely different by product or service. There are tons of nuances and since nobody likes to be friendly or train anymore expect a rocky on-boarding experience.
As for being "the quiet type." Most times I just make what I call 'quick, idle chit-chat'....so I can be personable, in a fake way that's not at all obvious. So, talk just enough to be pleasant. Don't give away any personal secrets, or talk about any other people. Just say "hi, how are you doing," and move on.
However, you did one thing I NEVER do. Because I did it once and never again....
I never ask a supervisor or boss "how do you think I'm doing?" You're asking them them to critique your work, and opening yourself up to criticism, that they actually might not have thought of before. I know they're your boss or manager. But still, I'd never do it. It could subconsciously to focus more attention on you, and your work product than they otherwise might have. Most manager, I find, don't compliment, with positive feedback. They think more of what's NOT working. I just don't invite that.
Once, decades ago, I asked a supervisor to take a look at my work and tell me what he thought. That was ONE project on ONE day. After that, he volunteered any thing he had to say about my work. He just felt he had carte blanche to be critical, when I didn't ask for feedback. I just feel that asking for a person's opinion, can open a door you may wish you hadn't opened. That's all. I'm sure others may looove being critiqued (getting feedback) all the time. Not me.
You can't win with either approach. There are jobs that fire you if you are not proactive about seeking feedback. These days I would go with proactively asking on how you are doing, so when they try to create a paper trail because Molly from Accounting doesn't like you, you can adequately defend yourself in the arbitrary tribunal.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rummage
If he told you it takes 6-8 months to get up to speed, and you have only been there 3 months, you should give yourself a break here. It doesn't sound like he has unrealistic expectations for you and neither should you for yourself.
I'm more concerned about being "quiet". Are you quiet just in the work place or because you still feel new there? Or are you quiet socially too? When you are around friends are you quiet there too?
It's just amazing it's 2019 and we're still discriminating, over-analyzing, poking and prodding against introverts in the workplace, particularly in technical fields.
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