To be struggling with constant 'constructive' criticism in new job?

[giveupp]

I've started a new job (I'm 4 weeks in) and it's going fairly well, but I'm really struggling with how much negative feedback I'm getting on my work. It's quite a detailed orientated role, and I've been doing things following the guidelines but yet are so many comments on my work on things I've not done correctly.

Lots of it are things that would be impossible for me to know (like client preferences for documents) or specific things that the senior manager wants done (like different font sizes in different sections of a table rather than all the same). Other things are just things I've gotten wrong despite my very best efforts.

I've been looking at colleagues work and they get similar feedback but the senior management just make the changes themselves, whereas they've been adding numerous comments to my work with critiques. I know it's to help me learn but I'm finding it has just knocked my confidence and made me feel really rubbish

I once had a job like this. It was a family run company so they all knew everything and I was the only outsider. There was no proper training, and no documents showing essential information - it was all in their heads and they seemed to forget that it was all new to me. The only way I could do the job was to ask them things constantly. Even simple things; you had to refer customers to different contacts depending on their area, but was nothing documented to show the contact details for each area! Hopefully it will get better for you, but I left.

You’re only going to learn with feedback. I sortof think you are being unreasonable. However their delivery might be a bit shit. Maybe they give you the feedback to change it yourself so that you can learn but they just make small changes to colleagues workload because they know but have just made mistakes?

I think YAB a little unreasonable but I have also been like this pretty recently when having a new manager who picks up every mistake. Best way to deal with it is realise that’s the way they do feedback, it’s not personal, just make the changes and do what needs doing.

Was going to say this. It’s hugely unprofessional of them to have all these “rules” in someone’s heads. Turn it back on them and keep asking for the processes and work instructions.

Why don’t you write the house style
document using all the feedback you have been getting. Shows initiative and and ability to take feedback and stops some poor other schmuk from suffering like you are ! 😂

I can understand why you might feel upset about the criticisms but learning how different people work together takes time to get used to and is all part and parcel of working somewhere new.
My experience is that each manager wants things done differently too which adds to your stress.🙄
So what to do about it?
As others have mentioned, keep a checklist or spreadsheet of how each manager wants things done and refer back to it each time you're asked to complete a piece of work. If you receive negative feedback from a manager, politely explain that they wanted the job done differently last time, so you're just following what they had specified before. Not to catch out the manager, but you do need some guidelines and consistency so that a piece of work can be right, or nearly right first time.
Bide your time job wise, but if this situation doesn't improve after a year, maybe look elsewhere. Good luck 💐

All feedback is good OP. It helps you learn, and makes you improve. I’m like you. I hate criticism because I’m a perfectionist, and will beat myself up if I receive anything negative. But as others have said - document client preferences and make notes. There will come a day when you’ll have everything running smoothly, because this feedback they’ve given you will have guided you.

I hate starting new jobs for this reason - no matter how good you are in your profession, there is so much job-specific stuff that you just can't know. It's a bit miserable. It does get better, OP. In 6 months you'll be bossing it.

Meh. I worked for people like this as a junior.

I once did a test where I used a letter the partner had written and only changed the name. Came back covered in red pen re-phrasing his own work 😂

That day I decided just to go with it and not be offended (and to be honest, not try THAT hard to get it right first time). I just smiled, made the corrections, laughed to myself and cracked on.

Wow didn't expect this to pick up speed today!

Just to address a few things - I used to work as a copywriter so I'm very much used to having criticism of my writing and work and found that absolutely fine to deal with as reviewers would always explain their thought processes behind it.

This is very much a different kind of feedback. I'm now on the editorial side of things so I review the copywriters' work (even the senior copywriters with decades of experience, which is quite intimidating). It's a small company and most people have been there years. I will make corrections or suggestions to their work and comments replying to them will be 'This is wrong.' 'I'm not going to do this because x, y, z', 'I don't think this is right', 'I did it this way because x, y, z so you're suggestion is incorrect', etc. It stings in a way that criticising my actual writing never did, and I'm not really sure why.

In my previous role when we would do editing we were allowed to just flag things and point things out to check the writer was aware of things, and the writers at my new company don't seem to like that. For example, I'll write a comment like 'Just highlighting that this title is still a placeholder - can it now be updated?' Just little tidbits that the writer can just ignore, but instead I get a long reply to them saying something like 'No, this is incorrect. The title is not ready yet, so I will be keeping this placeholder in.' It just seems so stern?

I'm confused - so you are providing the critique and they are getting offended? I would not have picked that up at all from your communications on here. You should have been asking a different question.

You need to learn to separate that out. It's not criticism of you. It's not even criticism of your work necessarily it's just how they like it to be done, take it all on board, keep notes or templates so you can replicate it first time next time but also bear in mind that some people will always do this with any piece of work. They want something changed it's your job to make that change- that's not the same as it being wrong.

I think your example is fairly normal communication. I’m surprised at the combination of your seniority and your sensitivity.

Former copywriter and also subeditor here:

OP, with your update it sounds a bit like they think you're trying to micromanage them, which could explain their "sternness". If you're often making comments like the one about the placeholder title I can see why, a bit.

What sort of articles are they writing? Are they technical, and is their knowledge of the subject matter superior to yours? Are they correcting you on matters of actual content rather than style - are your suggested changes making the actual subject matter non-sensical or incorrect, for example?

A checklist is a really good idea. Try to think of it as training rather than critiscism as if the colleagues don't let you know e.g. the client preferences how else would you learn them?

I have a terrible memory and always made notes on stuff where I worked, and noticed others didn't need to, I would write all the 'mistakes' you do in a booklet with their corrections and unless you feel the criticisms will never end surely you will eventually 'know it all' too. Then clutch you reference folder to your chest - lend it to no one, then only YOU are the one with the knowledge down the line.

I remember in my very first job after graduating I had compiled a list of events, which I needed to give to the CEO.

Two companies on the list had slightly unusual spellings, think ‘sen’ rather than ‘son’ on a word like Johnson. It was before the internet, so no quick option for checking a spelling - you just had to know.

I went down to her office, handed her the list and decided to pop to the loo/make a tea.

When I got back to my desk there was a teeny-tiny piece of paper on my chair, with the two names written correctly in pencil and the ‘en’ underlined!

She did it in a twatty way, but I have always been rigorous about checking spellings ever since!

In your situation, they need to give you the chance to get things right - otherwise it’s just hoarding information and expecting you to mind-read.

Ah, just seen your update. I think you need to go on a charm offensive and look very carefully at how you are communicating with them.

Don't do this 4 weeks into a new job. Some other good advice on her around creating a house-style template etc

Tell them you will develop an onboarding document so other new starters learn the process. Shows positivity too.

The OP is quite senior - read her update for a completely different spin on the constructive criticism - the drip feed is quite something.

This doesn’t help at all. This would make OP unpopular!

OP you’ll get the hang of it, stick in.

😂🤣😂 this is the best thing I’ve read in weeks, thanks for the laughs

Ditto!!!

She needs to speak to manager and find out why she is providing feedback if nothing is being listened to and taken on board and the recipients seem so overly defensive.

In my job, what we did years ago, as well as acting as a "buddy" for new starters, we compiled a "how to" folder. It explains the basics of setup and procedures to get them started as well as more detailed information. This folder is regularly added to by all members of the team as things are constantly changing in our department/s. Back in the day, we would have called it the "idiots guide" 😂. We ALL use it though, can't be expected to know everything and remember everything.

YABU

They’re telling you things you need to know to do the job as best as you can. It’s feedback. Not criticism