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

This type of thing is perfectly normal where I work. When you are subjected to it as a new recruit it is horrendous but they probably just see it as training you to their style. Providing you learn from the feedback, it will probably become much easier over time. Try not to take it to heart too much.

That sounds awful. It is a really shit way of training up a new employee. Basically rather than teaching you how to do something, they are letting you do it without sufficient guidance then pointing out the inevitable mistakes, so you can learn from them. It is inefficient and lazy of them, and is obviously going to erode your confidence. Can you ask them to point you towards policy documents, templates, a style guide or whatever it is they use to keep work consistent.

I've been in my current job about four years and there are so many different processes and systems we use, it is crazy. I am quite bullish about saying, I need clarity on this, or I need training on this, or where is the policy document on this. I also just get on the phone to people and say talk me through this. I am guessing I am much older than you, and this can be hard to do if you are more junior. Good luck with it and remember it is their ineffectual training not a failing in you.

I’ve produced documents where accuracy is important; everything needed to be reviewed by subject matter experts, their comments incorporated or individually responded to, and sent back to them for sign off. It has never occurred to me to take those comments personally; they have taken the time to make my reports as accurate as they can be before they get sent to the client (and my record for client comments on a fully reviewed document is over 300 pages of comments!) It is important to remember that it is all about the report; it’s not about you.

The OP's massive drip feed really changes things.

My guess is that she's trying to edit things for house style in a subject matter she's not familiar with because she's new, and the changes she's making are incorrect as a result, hence the writers of those articles/documents/whatever they are continually correcting her and getting snippy.

It would really help if she could clarify, but she's not been back since I asked her that. Oh well.

“Even the senior copywriters which is quite intimidating”
this-

2 hypotheses:
they sense it. (Your intimidation)

You are not comfortable with your new role, they sense it and will basically walk all over you
what I’m reading is that you are offended by lack of perceived authority. Rather than cricitsm per se

OR

you have no idea about how to edit in this company or provide inputs- the way it’s done here could be very different to the way it was done (to you) in your previousl company.

maybe the way it was done to you was not really cool or constructive and you’re perpetuating that ?

which ever is right, this all points to a manager who might give lots of detailed inputs but has missed some key big contextual pieces of info. Like “Johnny who says no to all your editorial suggestions, applied for your job and didn’t get it” or “our copy writers are really top notch, what they need you for is cohesion across pieces / strategy, not minute feedback on wording”

are all copy writers dismissive of your inputs? Or just 1?

Sorry, call me old fashioned, but I don’t think their way of critiquing is necessarily the right way, ie, by email. It needs face to face communication, not email stuff. Are these people doing the critiquing in the same office - can you see them physically, or is it all on line? If they are in the same office, then perhaps suggest a one to one with them, so they can go over what it is they would like you to do and perhaps provide some written guidance for you to follow? It seems extremely unrealistic to expect someone new to a role to know exactly how things are done (or not done) in their set up, and have a newbie ‘blundering” along ( no disrespect to you, by the way), without support and face to face advice. I’ve been away from the workforce a while now, so things may have changed, but if things are done as you describe, then it’s a change not for the better, in my opinion.

Did you read the update?

Don’t worry about being sensitive. Some of us are. It’s just about looking at things from different perspectives and. It beating yourself up.

I've only not been back because I've been busy, not because I was like 'ooh you got me there' and didn't return lol. Unfortunately, what you mention isn't the case in this situation. There is a house style, and I am editing things to align with it and then being told that for this client we don't follow the house style for a, b and c. Then for this client we don't follow it for x, y, z. But only after I've made the edits to align it to the house style. That's what I'm doing 'incorrectly', despite being told to follow the house guide.

Nearly all of my work has been with one particular copywriter, so maybe it's just them and the way they work. The copywriter seems to take a lot of shortcuts when writing and not checking things properly, which means when it comes to the subject matter things are incorrect, and I'm having to point out quite a few errors or where wrong things have been added in.

I spoke to my manager and he said there are no other written guidelines for me to follow and I'll pick it all up eventually... He doesn't seem concerned with the feedback I've been getting. He did mention some of the things the copywriter fed back to me weren't really fair (he's copied into all of the emails), and that the copywriter should have been clearer when giving me the brief.

Yeah, sounds like the copywriter you're working with is an intolerant jobsworth nobhead.

They probably don't work very well with anyone so you've been given them to work with as you're new and a clean slate. Use it as a "Working with difficult people" development opportunity.

So surely the answer is to check for any deviations to house style for that particular client before you edit?

If you're doing that and they're still telling you you're wrong, then that's a big issue, but if this is an ongoing problem it seems like there's a simple solution to that.

This is great performance, I'd be super pleased if someone was doing this.

And you have spotted an internal dynamic which isn't visible to ppl who have been there a longer time.

you need to tell them how it is making you feel, and ask for help with that. They should recognise that you are taking great steps to be constructive and making it so that this knowledge doesn't just sit in people's heads. But it is also important to have a conversation about how the feedback makes you feel, as the demotivstion is counter productive and not in anyone's interest. Maybe if you could input a bit into how the feedback is given, then you would feel more in control.

Sounds to me that you mostly need some reassurance you are doing a good job. Nothing you say says you aren't. From what I see you are doing an amazing job.

take pride

OP do you work at a charity because I am literally getting the same feedback and feeling the same way. Big long lists of how I need to do things etc. it's horrible

Ungarden, no I didn’t, there were loads of posts and I was posting based on OP original post, I didn’t plough through all the other responses, just some of them. You did, obviously. Sorry I’m not perfect. Hey ho, so be it, that’s life, no need to be sarcastic with your comment.

No sarcasm intended- sorry you took it that way.

This. Ask where the document full of this info is so that you can get more of it right and they don't have to spend so much time on feedback.

In your shoes I would then make a document like that for myself. When you're more confident you can share it with the team so other new hires can get a good stsrt

Yes I wonder if jobs have changed these days. I went back to work after raising children and took a job in a nursery (never worked with kids before) and unfortunately in my room the 2 main managers were horrible like this. No help or training or guidance, just always complaining about how other people were doing things badly or wrong. Staff turnover is very high and I also left after a couple of years. I would advise OP don't stay longer than you have to for CV purposes, otherwise your confidence may not recover. It sounds like a toxic situation. These people had worked there the longest and just seemed to think it was their business and they knew everything. They could have built up a great team but seemed instead to be jealous or threatened by new staff.

Lots of terrible advice on here imho. I appreciate it can be crushing but you just need to persevere and appreciate that people are giving you their time to train you. Yes some of the feedback seems idiotic and perhaps so subjective there’s no right or wrong way of doing things but that’s life. Your organisation has certain standards and ways of doing things and much of it you will learn and intuitively be able to do as you gain more experience. Just keep a positive attitude and refrain from adopting some of the churlish and passive aggressive approaches which have been suggested by some. That will get you nowhere.

This has made me feel better to read, as I've really noticed in the last few years, younger new starters in their first job getting really pissed off with having feedback and quitting or constantly pushing back to much more senior staff members and arguing why they've got it right and the senior staff member is wrong. I'd never want to be an old complainer but I do sometimes wonder if they realise that I'm giving them feedback and spending ages explaining stuff that would cost £100s if they were to try and gain it all on paid training courses. It would be much easier for me to just edit documents myself and not bother telling them! I swear it didn't use to be like this but our industry is chronically short staffed so I think there's just so many job offers around offering stupid money that people move from job to job these days.

It sounds like you have a good manager who is taking the time to show you how to do things right. They probably realise that there’s no way for you to know these things yet - that’s why they’re teaching you. If they saw no potential in you, they wouldn’t bother and would make the changes themselves, it’s quicker for them in the short run. They are investing in you for the long term.