If you ever started a new job and hated it, did it get better or worse?

[Metabigot]

So I've started a new job and I'm not enjoying it. I feel out of my depth, my manager is not giving me the support I would have liked (eg she's just gone on annual leave and left me to pick up some things which I have NO idea what I'm doing) and it's generally a bit chaotic. It's also a different industry/culture to what I've worked in before (I'm in a support function so transferable skills to any industry sector)

HOWEVER it is a step up for me, and if I can get to grips with it it would give me much needed experience and earning power even if I don't stay there forever. I'm just feeling quite 'lost at sea' though and like I don't have enough knowledge to know how to solve the bits I don't know IYSWIM.

This is my fourth week but I spend every morning dreading switching on my laptop. I have that panicky 'what the fk do I do' feeling in my stomach all the time. I get the impression that my boss is desperate for me to just take a lot of the workload she's been doing off her (the role has been vacant a while so she's been doing it in addition to her normal job). She's passing me things I have no experience of or background in, whilst I'm happy to learn I can't magic up a skill set overnight where there's a gap.

Has anyone had similar and did it get better or worse?

Sorry to hear that, I am also in a newish job and it's really tough. It should get better as less things are new but in the meantime...

The main thing I would say is to remember that their lack of training provision for you is not your inadequacy. Presuming you haven"t over-sold yourself at interview, remember this is on them not you.
When you ask for support, remember that in your language ie say I need some training on that vs sorry I don't know what I'm doing. Can you ask for a mentor who is not your manager whilst you learn the ropes?

I had a job like this a few years ago, to be honest I had a bad feeling about it before I started and I wish I’d listened to be gut instead of being talked into it by a recruiter.

I lasted three months before leaving, in the last two months I didn’t do a full job week in the office I hated it so much.

I ended up resigning over email when I was ill and never went back. I got a much better job where I felt really valued and it’s taught me to really trust my gut.

I've had this twice. The first time I left, the second time I stuck it out and it made me sick.

I would go to your line manager or her line manager and state what you need. With training you may be able to do the job. If the whole organisation is so chaotic you may have to look for another job.

I do think it can take a while to get to grips with a role and feel comfortable in it, but others are just bad vibes from the get go. A lot depends on the support you have I think, if you feel you don't have that I think that makes it a lot trickier and sadly won't change unless your manager leaves probably.

I changed jobs when I was pregnant with my second child. It turned out not to be the great opportunity I was expecting it to be. I ended up going back to my previous job as soon as possible after maternity leave. I think the straw that broke the camel's back was probably when I rang up to discuss when I would return and they asked who I was. Some aspects of the job I had enjoyed, but I didn't appreciate being reprimanded for not being somewhere when my timetable had been triple booked.

I didn't oversell myself at interview, but I know the role was vacant for a while and I believe this was due to the fact that the salary was low compared to other roles at that level. So whilst for me it's a pay rise and step up, that probably meant other people with more extensive experience were not attracted to the role and they had less choice of candidates. Which is both bad and good -it's an opportunity for me if I can get it right, but it means I'm punching above my weight somewhat.

Basically, it's a bit of a a developmental role for me and I need my manager to understand that and spend time developing me into it rather than assume I can hit the ground running. If they wanted that, they should have been prepared to pay market rate. As it is they've paid below market rate yet seem to want someone who doesn't have development needs.

As it is i'm just going for the approach of 'do what you can' and using my team for support and showing me the ropes re procedures etc. My team are actually lovely and its mainly due to them that I'm thinking I need to give this a go. I'm mentally thinking to give it 3 months then reassess. Won't look great on my CV to have a job of a few months on but I can probably pass it off as an interim role, my last job was interim and I can position myself as having done interim work to get experience etc if it comes to it.

I had a job I thought I would have loved but hated it. The manager was on mat leave when I was selected and I think she was bitter that she was left out of a lot of things so I got the brunt of it. Eventually after putting up with three months of shit from her I went to her manager and told him everything. He got me another, better job where I stayed for 6 years.

I can totally understand how you feel having been there myself three years ago. I couldn't leave though due to personal circumstances so had to stick it out. I failed my probation period, which really knocked me but that did make my manager set up a structured action plan with training which she hadn't bothered with before. Once I got support and training things became much easier. My manager has just left and I interviewed and got her job! It was really tough initially and I remember crying nearly every night when I got home. Have you got regular 1:1 meetings booked, you will be on probation so it's vital you have these. I think you need to document areas that you require training and support in and present this to your manager at a meeting asap. The onus is then on them to provide this for you, HR need involving too. Good luck.

Just wondering how it went for you, OP?