Anxious in new job

[Hadenoughbringmechocolate]

I've recently started a new role, and find myself feeling really anxious.

The team around me are all lovely and really helpful in terms of onboarding and helping me understand the business. However my main stakeholder is.. I don't know. A nice person, but extremely senior and I suspect expects perfection. The person who was in the role before me had been at the company for over 10 years so knew the role / company / stakeholder very well. I'm trying to be kind to myself and know it takes time to get up and running; but I'm so worried that I won't hit the mark. I guess it's imposter syndrome - the role is quite senior and I feel I won't live up to it. Which is odd as I've always had great reviews, progressed to the level I'm now at without issue, enjoy learning and working on development areas..

I'm also turning 40 next year which is no big deal but I do wonder if this could be peri menopause related.

Any words of wisdom from others who have been in a similar situation? Rationally I know I'm capable, but I feel the anxiety bubbling under the surface. I'm not an anxious person at all normally so this is very new to me!

I'm in exactly the same position. Just left a company after over 20 years, great boss, fabulous working relationship, big corporate company and (mostly) lovely colleagues.

Gone to a smaller company and everyone seems lovely but my it is SO different. I've been doing this job for 30 years so I know the ropes but bloody hell the new guy is picky picky picky. 6 weeks in and I feel like every day is a roller coaster of good/bad and feel like I don't know half the job.

Can we hand hold our way through together?

Definitely!

Our situations are similar, I was in my prior role for over 12 years so it's a big change to move. I think part of the worry for me is learning all the unspoken ways of working that everyone else understands, and getting to know the stakeholders preferences in the way they like to work.

I think I knew it would be unsettling but didn't realise just how much?

I think this is perfectly normal when you start a new job, particularly if you were in your previous job for a long time. You've gone from being someone who knows everything to someone who knows nothing. Soon you will be the person who know something, and then you will once again be the person who know everything. You knew everyone and now you have to get to know the players in a new game. It takes a bit of time and no one should expect you to be 100% on it from the off. If they do, just remind them you are new!

I've not long started a new role, what helped is to remind myself that I was hired for a reason and actually I am the person who knows everything about some very useful things that are helping my new company get better.

I have someone new in my team who is really struggling with this. He is a man so therefore not perimenopausal, don't blame your hormones!

Think this is normal if you were at your last job so long.

I am a few years older OP and in a similar situation in a new role and perimenopause is certainly having an influence on my anxiety and stress levels. I feel more self doubt and less self assured than I would have done in the same situation in the past. I am trying to manage it by acknowledging that it is my own mind that is making me feel like this, reminding myself that I am good enough, that I am new and still learning and also just being a bit kinder to myself in general. If it helps perhaps an informal conversation with your boss just to touch base and see how things are going.

Completely normal. Imagine if you'd started the job without any qualms, no curiosity, no feelings of needing to step up. Now that would be weird.

Anxiety is the emotion that's triggered when there's something in your life that's too important to ignore - the perfect description of a new role.

It's good to know everyone recognises this as to be expected. Thanks all for responding, hopefully it won't be long until the feeling passes. Just keep plugging away!

Come back in 6 months and let us know how it's going 😊