Not sure where I stand in my new job due to manager's feedback

[notsurenot]

I started a new job three weeks ago. It requires high attention to detail and performing quality control checks on documents. I have had similar roles in the past. I am finding my manager difficult to read and wondered if anyone had any advice? I am feeling really low this weekend.

My line manager is head of the entire department so very busy - she's 3 levels above me. When she reviews my work she doesn't give me any overarching feedback like - 'this was a good attempt', just comments of all the things I have missed/didn't know we needed to check. It feels very negative. I have no perspective on how I'm doing or if the level of comments is normal/what is expected 3 weeks into this role. I have only had one 1:1 with her, she doesn't really message/email me and will sometimes ignore my messages. I am supposed to show proactivity in picking out tasks in the shared email inbox to start on, but at the same time I need to check with her first to make sure she has time to review my work so it feels like I can't be proactive. Any suggestions I make are usually wrong and she'll tell me to take a different task instead. I guess I just feel like an inconvenience. I have no idea where I stand and feel like any second I could get a call that they're letting me go as it's not working out (I got made redundant out of the blue in my last job effective immediately due to <2 years service, so have got the fear that I'm gonna lose my job again).

When she was on annual leave I had someone else review my work who is only two levels above me and is the equivalent level to what my line managers have been in previous roles. It was a vast improvement - I got helpful feedback and told things like 'you did a great job on xyz' and she would reach out to me to check in with me and would recommend tasks that I should do rather than me trying to suggest different ones that might be suitable and get shot down each time.

I have a meeting with my manager this week and want to bring some of these points up. If anyone had any advice I'd really appreciate it.

This is not sustainable. A manager 3 levels above has such different priorities and work that they can't give good feedback on your detailed work. Also they likely have a huge areas to manage and crazy workload so not able to give day to day support. I think neither you or your manager has done anything really wrong but they need to give you a manager closer in grade

I agree, I was interviewed by both them and the person who is just 2 levels above me, and I was surprised that it was the senior one who was my line manager.

Do you think there's anything I can do about this or anything I should say to my manager? On my first day my manager didn't speak to me until nearly the end of the work day, and in 3 weeks I have only had one 1:1 meeting with them. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be being more proactive and independent rather than having a manager 'hold my hand' - but I have done similar roles in the past and the managers were a lot more hands on and involved.