New Job Jitters

[testingwater]

I am now three weeks into a new role and I still don't feel settled, I feel that I am totally unproductive and I come home from work thinking what have I done today? and when I think about it, I think how did it take me all day to do so little!!!! I have asked my boss if he is happy where I am and he says I am ahead of where he thought I should be. But I feel so unhappy as I don;t feel productive and I don't understand the systems, terms etc. The business is so huge I feel almost intimidated by its size.

I was in my last job for 9 years and knew it inside out, I was very well thought of withing the company, but it was time to move on as there were no progression opps (I am now on around 15%) more with fantastic development opportunities. Also there were constant unconfirmed rumors that my old office is closing. Therefore it was time to go before 400 people from the same office were looking for a new job. They only problem is I get the feeling I want to go back to what I know and the people I loved working with, it was a real family atmosphere which is lacking in my new role. We don't even have time for lunch with all the meetings.

I just feel so discombobulated , after three weeks I should be feeling better but I don't, I just feel very unproductive and feel I should be working at a much higher level, like I have done before. I know I can do the role as the skills for this role are similar to my old job. I just hate feeling like I don't know and when somebody asks me a question I have to ask somebody else which is embarrassing. I am just worried that it will take me a long long time to settle in and as the work load grows I am not sure if I can cope, it takes so long for me to do the simplest of task, for example today it took me 2 hours to write and issue 7 brief agendas for 7 meetings with 20 attendees, that is just too long in my book. Also I am asking people to complete record logs for me by a certain date and they are not, I spend so much time chasing.

Sorry for the long rant, I am just feeling so unsettled at the moment!

bump

I can totally relate to this but I left my last job after 7 years for a completely different career and I have now handed in my notice as I never settled and after nearly 6 months don't see it happening.
I would say that you need to give it time if your boss is happy with you and has told you this then try (hard I know) to accept what he is saying and believe in yourself more. After so long in a job new systems take time to learn.
I have a new job to go to and am so excited that I will be back in an office and back in my comfort zone.
Don't worry about asking questions it's a learning curve and soon enough you will be the one that knows the answers

I'm still feeling unsettled, I have just had an appalling nights sleep worrying about Monday morning, I just want to go back to my old job it was like family. My new organisation is just so vast.

With such a big change you really need to give yourself quite a few months to feel settled. You said your boss is happy which is good. Can you set yourself some goals for the next month to help you feel like you're achieving something constructive? And just see your nerves as a natural thing when you're making big changes.

No point going backwards in life. So enjoy the challenge and all the opportunities to learn new things and meet new people. Good luck today.

Oh testingwater I don't know what to say. I spent a few months like that and when I got to work was literally counting the hours and minutes till home that was my cue to leave.
Only you know how you feel but one thing I have taken from my shitty experience is that my mental health and wellbeing is worth far more than any job could pay me xxx

Unmumsnetty hugs. I'm also 3 weeks into a new job and feel confused and lost half the time but also like I've got this at times. what helps is that my boss keeps complimenting me at random points, commenting on how quickly I've caught on to things. Since your boss can't or won't offer constructive feedback, can you analyse your own performance? Eg - it took you 17 min each to set up for 7 meetings - how long would you expect yourself to take? What were the blockers? Is it possible that you actually spent ages getting the hang of the first one, and the rest went more smoothly?

I'm one week in and feel the same - but I've watched my husband go through the same thing within the last year. I'd never seen him so anxious before and it was really worrying! However, fast forward a few months and he loves his job. He would never go back to what he did before and I'm sure that will also be you (and me) after we've settled in properly.

Hope you had a better day today OP.

It takes a lot more than 3 weeks to find your feet in a new job. Don't be so hard on yourself. Your boss has said you're doing a good job, so be pleased with that!