How do I deal with this?

[ladybirdsanchez]

I started a new job five months ago in a brand new field. I'd been a SAHM for 17 years and done a degree in this subject during that time. Now that I've been there a few months I find I'm constantly given things to do that I have not had adequate training in. Today I open my emails to discover that I'm being tasked with creating a document for a client, which is far more complex than the only other one of its type that I have previously done. In addition, when I did that other one I had a lot of support doing that document from a colleague who has now left. A director has said she'll help me, but I've worked with her on other things and she is very busy and has very little availability to support me. Plus, I find her instructions are very wishy-washy and not clear. I think she's so senior that she's forgotten what it's like to really not know what the hell you're doing!

I feel totally out of my depth! How do I handle this? I don't want to come across as incompetent or lazy, but as a newish hire and a new grad I simply don't have the expertise to do this work. My colleague who helped me and recently left said in her exit interview that she was often left without adequate support and I'm starting to see what she meant. Junior team members are frequently given work that they don't know how to do 😔

I guess it depends a bit for me what kind of document/task it is, I work in a corporate field where the worst that could come of me messing up a document is someone gets pissed off, or maybe some money could get wasted, if that was the case I'd give it my best shot using the previous document as a template and leaving gaps or comments/to be amended fields where I wasn't sure, then take my best effort to the director in the expectation of it being pulled to shreds and needing to do a lot more work on it, but that being better than just refusing to even try (potentially pulling in some help from any helpful colleagues or even ChatGPT/co-pilot/AI to help with wording and formatting if that's allowed at your work). I think as you get more and more senior the more you become aware of quite how much everyone is winging it and making stuff up as they go along TBH, including very senior and experienced people. It's a common thing with new entrants and graduates to complain that they haven't had 'training' when there is no formal training on how to do this sort of thing, you pick it up/learn as you go along and from willingness to make mistakes and learn from them. They must think you have at least some of the right attributes and skills to be able to do this task or they wouldn't have asked, that doesn't mean they won't criticise your work of course, people love to critique other people's work and offer opinions without being remotely able or willing to do the job themselves, this is the world of corporate work to some extent I'm afraid. Often the less consequential the task the more feedback you get, people can argue for hours over the font of a document or the background colour on a powerpoint deck but something that actually affects the business can get waved through without much scrutiny - you have to learn to just roll with it the punches...

But if we're talking a regulated type field or where there are life or death consequences or potentially getting sued or huge financial consequences to putting the wrong thing in a document, maybe I would need to be covering myself more before I gave it a bash - something like sending the people involved a polite email highlighting that I am more than willing to assist to the best of my ability but highlighting that you aren't certified/formally qualified in X where Y policy or professional code of conduct highlights you should be to do this task, and you will be forwarding on the draft documents for approval by Z-actually-qualified person who should be recorded as the actual author of the document (again AI is quite helpful for how to word an email like this politely but firmly).

Thanks @NoctuaAthene - that's useful info. I think a lot of people are winging it a lot of the time, but there's winging it with some knowledge behind you, and winging it when you don't really know anything and the latter is me right now! This is such a huge and complex business and every day I'm very aware of all the things I don't know.

As to whether anyone will look at this document - yes a lot of people will. The business is governed by a lot of regulations and this a document that will be scrutinised by the relevant authorities and feedback given. But you're right - I have to just give it my best shot and ask for feedback on the bits I'm not sure about. I'm definitely not going to refuse to do it - that would be disastrous!