New job. I’m not impressing. First time in my entire career. Anyone experienced similar?

[Minimimi84]

Every job I have had - I have had wonderful performance reviews. I honestly can’t think of even a hint of anything negative. I’ve done well, progressed.

Took on. New job different company. The work is very different to what I’ve usually done and I have struggled but really feeling like got to grips with it recently.

However I have a performance review on Monday and I’ve been very much guided that it will be less than stellar

It’s knocked me sideways.

Anyway else experienced similar?

Yes, I have but the workplace that I struggled in was one with a very strong bullying culture and I did well in my next job so I know it was them and not me.

I have, and the only way out of it is to proactively address it. There are a few ways to go about that.

First, I'd look at the job description as it exists in the contract, and match up daily activities against the role. Are there any gaps, any places where a handover hasn't been completed?

Next, I'd look at achievements. You don't say how long you've been there, but what have you accomplished? When you did the interviews, what did you tell this company you were bringing to the role, and how have you brought it? In my role that can usually be quantifiable expressed, through linking my activities to revenue increases.

Finally, I'd proactively ask what KPIs are being used in assessments. Are you being assessed against unknown factors? If you're not, then bring your own assessment to the meeting -- tell them how you've met, plan to meet, or plan to improve on your benchmarks.

I'd do all of this prior to the review. As much information as can be gathered beforehand, and come at it from a position of strength, knowing what you've accomplished, what you plan to accomplish, and how you plan on doing it. Find out where their goals and yours aren't aligning and figure out why that's happened if you've been managed well, it shouldn't have happened and work to bring them back in line.

@gwenneh

I have, and the only way out of it is to proactively address it. There are a few ways to go about that.

First, I'd look at the job description as it exists in the contract, and match up daily activities against the role. Are there any gaps, any places where a handover hasn't been completed?

Next, I'd look at achievements. You don't say how long you've been there, but what have you accomplished? When you did the interviews, what did you tell this company you were bringing to the role, and how have you brought it? In my role that can usually be quantifiable expressed, through linking my activities to revenue increases.

Finally, I'd proactively ask what KPIs are being used in assessments. Are you being assessed against unknown factors? If you're not, then bring your own assessment to the meeting -- tell them how you've met, plan to meet, or plan to improve on your benchmarks.

I'd do all of this prior to the review. As much information as can be gathered beforehand, and come at it from a position of strength, knowing what you've accomplished, what you plan to accomplish, and how you plan on doing it. Find out where their goals and yours aren't aligning and figure out why that's happened if you've been managed well, it shouldn't have happened and work to bring them back in line.

That’s really helpful to me actually. I have a review coming up. Thanks

What happened to your experience of receiving a poor review?

I had this once but the company were the market leaders in what they did so I just think the standard was so high. Turned it around though.

@pantsdants

I had this once but the company were the market leaders in what they did so I just think the standard was so high. Turned it around though.

How long did that take and were you tempted to hand in your notice?

I am not in the same position as OP but whenever I get even faint criticism… I start thinking about handing in my notice!

What happened to your experience of receiving a poor review?

It managed to turn things around very effectively. Coming to the meeting armed with information made it less of a conversation about what I was failing to achieve and more of a conversation about what I was accomplishing. I wound up sitting on my first board at that company, and getting even more responsibility as a result.

However, the director in question who was my direct superior is also a stellar manager, willing to listen and willing to make changes where necessary. We both made compromises as a result of the first review; the job description changed slightly in favour of what I actually did for the business, and I put extra work into some of the shakier areas mentioned in the review.

@gwenneh

I have, and the only way out of it is to proactively address it. There are a few ways to go about that.

First, I'd look at the job description as it exists in the contract, and match up daily activities against the role. Are there any gaps, any places where a handover hasn't been completed?

Next, I'd look at achievements. You don't say how long you've been there, but what have you accomplished? When you did the interviews, what did you tell this company you were bringing to the role, and how have you brought it? In my role that can usually be quantifiable expressed, through linking my activities to revenue increases.

Finally, I'd proactively ask what KPIs are being used in assessments. Are you being assessed against unknown factors? If you're not, then bring your own assessment to the meeting -- tell them how you've met, plan to meet, or plan to improve on your benchmarks.

I'd do all of this prior to the review. As much information as can be gathered beforehand, and come at it from a position of strength, knowing what you've accomplished, what you plan to accomplish, and how you plan on doing it. Find out where their goals and yours aren't aligning and figure out why that's happened if you've been managed well, it shouldn't have happened and work to bring them back in line.

This is great advice.

In terms of how you handle it emotionally /with your ego: Treat it as a learning experience, not a knock or setback, and take charge of the situation.

If you've always coasted along and had good performance come easily without needing to do things like the above to actually manage it, then as rubbish as it may feel now it will be good for you in the long run in terms of learning new skills, being better able to understand and manage staff who struggle, greater empathy, and the boost from succeeding at a new challenge.

You can turn this into a positive thing if you respond in the right way, rather than allowing it to demoralise you or becoming defensive.

I am not in the same position as OP but whenever I get even faint criticism… I start thinking about handing in my notice!

Does thinking that way help you to use the criticism to improve? Does thinking that way make you feel positive?

It seems like a self-sabotaging mindset to me. Change the way you think and it will change the way you behave and feel for the better.

@Marmitemarinaded tbf it was complicated as my manager was a bit of a bully & I was actually pretty good at the job (although pretty good there was average if that makes sense). One of my reviews involved feedback from others & it was all very positive so she kind of gave me 2nd chance & someone else joined so they became the target of "doing everything wrong" even though they had transferred from another team whereas I was fresh. Yes I often wanted to tell her to fuck off & quit but not my style to give up.

I now have a job which i'm more used too, I do it well & work hard but I get heaps of praise & have had 3 promotions in 2 years. Much more my style!

do you find the job expectations realistic, OP?

Fine to be humble about your room for improvement, of course.

This happened to me, it was a huge shock.
I was well prepared though so was able to give examples of where I had met the criteria for the appraisal and to a high standard.
The meeting itself was awkward, but it prompted the appraisers to do a bit more digging. They ended up taking me out for afternoon tea and apologising. They based their appraisal on their general impression and not on what I was actually doing. There were two issues, poor oversight on their part and I was getting on with job but not communicating back my achievements. We put in place some mechanisms to ensure this didn't happen in future. I had assumed they had better visibility on my work than they actually did.
At least you are forewarned. You might find the appraisal takes into account your performance over the whole period and whilst it might not be stellar they will say how much you've improved, keep it up and the next one will be. Etc.

I've been there. But it was a toxic organisational culture. I never had a performance review but it was implied that I was 'failing'. Same for one of my peers - equally experienced and successful as me in numerous previous jobs.

I got the hell out. Have just been as successful in the next job as I have always been. My peer who stayed on continues to battle the toxic culture, more continued allegations and what not over a year later.

If it's the culture - get out. If it's a way of doing the job you are not used to but you have been given concrete constructive feedback how to improve try that and focus on learning while also making an exit plan in case you can't improve. In my experience if you go quietly without a fuss when it's not a good fit they'll still give you a decent reference for the next job because they are so happy to see the back of you without a massive HR process.

Try not to catastrophise! Deal in facts.

Go with an open mind and ready to receive feedback. Have a few ideas of your own.

What you have been told to expect is vague and could be interpreted many ways. It might not be so bad.

If the feedback is bad it will all be about what you do after and how you react.

Yes, I have but the workplace that I struggled in was one with a very strong bullying culture and I did well in my next job so I know it was them and not me.

Same here. I kept being told I really didn’t know my stuff, and being forced to advise clients with what my boss decided was the right answer. Then when it turned out my answer had been right, the boss got really shitty and kept saying I got it wrong. I had a performance evaluation about 3 months in where I was told someone at their exit interview had complained about me (they hadn’t - they had complained about the boss) and I got up and said this clearly wasn’t working and let’s just call this my weeks notice. The boss then bad mouthed me which meant I didn’t get one of the jobs I was close to being offered. As it turns out, I got much better one a month later so it all worked out well in the end.

Where I am now, I’m considered to be the best in the team, clients are requesting me over others and I’m about to be promoted. I met up with one of my ex-colleagues a few months back. He stayed with the company for three years and describes it as the worst of his life. He was mentally broken by the time he left and in the two years after I left, they went through another 3 people in my position and nobody stayed long. I’ve heard they are close to going under after their work dried up in the pandemic.

OP, this is all a long winded way of saying , it’s not you, it’s them. Find a new job.

If it's knocked you sideways, that suggests gaps in how they've communicated the role and expectations to you.
Can you think of any specific feedback you've been given on work, or where you've been guided to do something differently or better?
What motivated you to take this role, and if it's different from what you've done before, was there a clear plan in place for how you'd be onboarded?
A bad review should never be a surprise to someone, and if you're typically hard-working and motivated it does sound like they should be doing better to guide you.

Yes, I changed jobs to a finance role. The training I got was less than adequate and not what was promised, however I struggled to ‘impress anyone no matter what I did or how hard I tried. Somehow things were always my fault even when nothing to do with me. I was scared to rock the boat too much as I felt they would dislike me more so started looking for new jobs. I got let go around the 6 month mark before I had a new job lined up. It hurt at the time but I soon got a new job quickly and now make more more money than I ever would’ve in that shitty little job. I would leave on your terms, not theirs if you options and time to do so. And trust your gut - I knew by day 3 I’d made a horrible mistake leaving my old job. All is well now though thank fuck

I should add I never had a bad performance reviews prior or since. I know I could’ve done things better but so can most people when starting over in a new field (which they new about and encouraged me to do). I left that field though it was such a bad experience I couldn’t face doing my original plans and I didn’t trust they’d give a fair reference even when they said they would.