...to think that 10 weeks in a new role isn't that long?

[Fleurcake]

Hello MN 😀
I had a career change this year, applied for something very different, interview went well & got offered the job which I was surprised about.
I'm in my 30s, excited about this new chapter & have given it my all so far.
I was working for the local authority before, can't say too much about new role as outing, but is very different.
Initially felt very welcome, wanted to ask as many questions as possible, really learn & take my time, do everything properly.
I like my colleagues, & honestly thought this was the start of something great.
At about 8 weeks in, colleagues started to be less friendly, I got the feeling I was being talked about, & this week has felt like a different environment altogether, colleagues not engaging like they were before at all.
I spoke to my manager yesterday about how i felt, & she told me that there are some things I should have picked up by now & 'some people' are saying I should be doing X,Y & Z more confidently.
The 'some people' are senior managers I've met once.
I am suddenly feeling really lost & a bit confused. Was very competent in my last job & haven't felt this ignored since I was at school!!
I am trying really hard to do well, be supportive & kind to colleagues & of course, making the odd mistake but of course, am not going to be as good as the person who was in my role before me.
AIBU to think it's still early days & I shouldn't be judged on my performance after being here less than 3 months? Any thoughts very welcome.

Were there any politics around your appointment? Did the other senior managers prefer another candidate who was more experienced in this area and might have been able to get up to speed faster? That was a challenge I faced when I changed areas. One senior person wanted his friend another candidate to have been given the job so I was always up against it when working for that senior person

I don't think so, but you never know...
I have just been reading some of the emails they've sent me this week, totally different tone & quite 'annoyed' sounding when I've asked (fresh) questions.
I have slept so badly last couple of nights

You absolutely need to stop asking questions now. Just use your common sense if they are getting annoyed.

Ten weeks could be long enough to compare how fast you are picking things up compared to other people starting the same sort of role in the past. The reaction of your colleagues is shitty though.

I worked with a new starter once who really struggled. It became obvious well within ten weeks that the role was a mistake for them. A couple of us were paid an exhausting chunk of overtime to give them extra help, and to keep the project on track, but it never seemed to stick.

He knew he was struggling though, but no-one told you until the senior person said so. Maybe you're doing fine but this senior person has taken against you for some unfathomable reason. Is it a small company? Sometimes the personal dynamics in small companies can be weird, especially if the owner is a bit weird.

Asking questions about a process once is fine, provided there's nowhere else you could find the answer (eg a new starter's manual?) But you have to be able to demonstrate you can do the fundamentals of the job, I.e. what you have been hired to do, well, reasonably quickly and without supervision. And that you have confidence to do so. Otherwise you're not much use to them. Unless it's a junior role where it's understood you'll be trained up (which it doesn't sound to be).

Can you work a few days with your manager?

I honestly think you misjudged the culture and were perhaps influenced by your time in the public sector which is quite different from a profit driven sector.

Your initial post said when you went in you wanted to ask lots of questions, take your time and do things perfectly. Unless that was an approach agreed with your line manager it’s not really a thing in the private sector which can’t carry passengers for months and months. In the private sector it really is a sprint not a marathon when you start a new role.

As to whether you can pull this around, I think that might need an open conversation with your line manager and the rest of the team about what has gone wrong here and a commitment to get things back on track quickly. If the relationships are good that may work. But again to not be up to speed on most areas of your role after 10 weeks (whether PT worker or not) is a big statement and on you not them.

It really depends. In my job (not a brain surgeon!) you wouldn’t expect to be up to speed by 10 weeks, but you’d expect to be confident in some areas.

I disagree with a lot of the PPs. I think your colleagues are being really unpleasant and unprofessional. Your progress in a role is nothing to do with them. And if they are frustrated, this is not the way to deal with it. If your manager is unhappy with your progress then they should have said something before now and looked at plans to help support/train you, not waited until you raised an issue with them about how the other staff were treating you. If those staff are targeting you, then this is bullying and completely unacceptable and if it continues you need to think about approaching HR.

In the meantime I would ask to meet again with my manager, address my concerns as to why you think process may have been slower than expected (eg manager not being available that you mentioned above), what the plan is for support/training to help you get up to speed more quickly, and to mention again how the staff have been treating you and I would (lightly at this stage) throw in the b word (aka bullying) to get their attention.

This behaviour from the staff is not on and surely against any values your organisation has? If so, I'd be mentioning that as well.