maleene Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Hi all, my apologies for the novel that you're about to see. Many thanks for taking the time to read this. I'll try to keep this as concise as possible. I started a new job just a few months and had my probation review just last week. I thought I had been doing ok in my new work, I got along with all my colleagues and handled my tasks but my review went horribly. My boss said I hadn't been proactive enough and extended my probation for another month. I feel incredibly embarrassed as I've been told that nobody in this company fails their probation (I could well be the first it seems). I've never been fired from a job before and now I'm petrified. I don't want to leave a bad impression on anyone, nor do I want to be gossip for my colleagues and where I live is not a big place so word will get around eventually. My biggest mistake when taking this job though, was that when it was offered, I jumped at it (this was a company I wanted to work for, for a long time. Plus I really wanted to get out of my last company which was awful. In my desperation though, I didn't think too hard of what my new role would truly entail and only had a vague idea at best. I really should have asked for a job description earlier but didn't). My struggle, is that this role isn't well defined, even by the company. I'm being asked to find my fit in the company (ok, fair enough) but I'm struggling to identify gaps I could fill, especially those that would match with my intended career. I sometimes think I may not be a good fit for this company, nor are they necessarily one for me. So I'm very stressed at the moment and feel nauseous almost all the time, as I don't want to be fired but I'm really struggling to figure out my place in this company. What I'm doing right now is I'm trying to just work through the pain, stress and fear and just turn things around somehow (I'm a bit clueless but definitely trying) because I doubt I'll be able to find a new job within a month. I'm still applying around though, and getting in touch with contacts to try and get something new just in case things really go badly for me here. If a new position comes up and it seems like a good fit (and I approach it smarter), I'll go for it but I'm not holding my breath for that to happen. Has anyone been in a similar situation before? Or if you have any advice whatsoever, I'd really appreciate hearing it. Thank you so much for listening. Link to post Share on other sites
StellaGrace Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Did you ask your boss what you could do to be more proactive? Link to post Share on other sites
Author maleene Posted August 30, 2015 Author Share Posted August 30, 2015 We spoke about it, yes. He mentioned an area he wants me to explore which I'll do. But I'm worried it may not be enough so I'm scrambling to find more and figure out more of a role for myself. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Eternal Sunshine Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 It depends on how senior your role is. I think it's a bit unreasonable though to ask a new employee to take a lot of initiative and find "their own role" all within the first few months. I would think that it's OK for this to be desirable, but not to be able to pass the probation? I would start exploring other options... 1 Link to post Share on other sites
buffalo Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Ask your boss if he can recommend a peer mentor. My company has a mentoring program for employees (not just new employees) who are looking to develop or need guidance in specific areas. I've been mentoring an employee for nearly 4 years now, teaching him management skills, reporting and analytical skills, and just acting as a sounding board when he needs it. This was an employee who was previously on a corrective action plan after a poor performance review. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Author maleene Posted August 30, 2015 Author Share Posted August 30, 2015 Thank you all for the advice. My role isn't a senior one by any means, it's lower-level (maybe one step above junior but not mid-management). It's a vague role at best, I feel. Unfortunately, my company doesn't have any sort of mentoring system. This new area my boss wants to me undertake is one I don't know at all and I actually did ask for help in learning it or at least getting started but they said they can't give much help or training on it. I've been in this sort of situation before where I've had to learn something new with no help, I know a lot of companies require this of employees, but I don't know if I can learn this particular area fast enough to save my job. I'm also really confused trying to figure out how I can define this job and make it fit for me and me for it, and fill in a gap not being covered by someone else in the company. Link to post Share on other sites
d0nnivain Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Your boss point blank said his issue was that you were not proactive enough. So it's time to get proactive. They want you to define your roll. What I would do is go to HR (or somebody) & ask for a job description. Then compare that written description to what you do all day. Add in things that are not in the description, write them down in the description. If there is anything in the description that you hadn't been doing start doing that. If you can get your hands on the job descriptions from other companies like yours for similar positions see what they do & how you may be able to incorporate those jobs into yours. Also get the job descriptions of the people immediately above you, along side you & below you in the chain. See what you can do to help those above you. Start doing those things. Keep track of what you do accomplish every day. At least once per week ask your boss if there is anything you can take off the boss's plate & for feedback on what you have been doing. The conversation should start with Hey, boss. Can we meet for a few minutes? So far this week I did XYZ. I also took the liberty of updating the written job description for my position. I added in all the things I do that weren't in the original description. Is that more along the lines of your expectations? I was also thinking that I can squeeze in some time if there is something I can help you with. Make sure the boss sees you come in early (beat the boss to work) and stay late. Leave after the boss. Come back from lunch 5 minutes early. Don't take too many breaks during the day. One company I worked at for 2 years. This 1 boss was a real nightmare. I think I left before her maybe 3-4 times in 2 years. About the only nice thing she said about me in her review was that I seemed to be a hard worker because she would also see me when she was leaving. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
GemmaUK Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 What role do you actually have? Do you look for things that you can do/take on that would help the business? Link to post Share on other sites
pink_sugar Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 I think it is a little unreasonable for them to hire you unless they thought you would be a good fit...not just expect you to find your own fit. I think that's a lot of pressure for anyone to be expected to take on. I'm surprised you didn't get what your job duties were in writing and even more surprised that they did not make it clear what they expected from you at the beginning. But what's done is done, all you can do now is ask them what you can do to improve and see how it goes. Just try your best and if worse comes to worse, at least you can collect unemployment until you find something more suitable. At least they are giving you a chance to improve. I was tossed out on my a$$ after 3 months after being deemed not a good fit. Had no idea it was coming either. Link to post Share on other sites
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