I started in an accountancy practice as a bookkeeper, my first time in that environment. I worked hard, studied alongside the job, and passed another exam while I was there. The director sat me down and I was told I’d be transitioned into accounts work, and her daughter was also joining and we could work together, which is what I wanted, but that never really happened. I kept pushing for the work. I was there for 1 year and 4 months approx. The daughter learnt all the accounts and I was still doing bookkeeping.
Eventually, I was approached about a semi-senior accountant role. I was honest about my experience and still got encouraged to take the opportunity, with promises of support and training. He made me feel on top of the world, praised me, and flattered me. It felt like a big step forward. He even said to me "I hire you on the spot, meet the team etc" and we spoke about my notice period being a month and he was like "You can legally serve them for a week, id have you right now, and I said im not sure let me have a think".
But when I joined, there was no real guidance. I wasn’t shown processes or properly supported, and when I asked for help, it felt like I was being judged for not already knowing. The girl kept saying, "have you used X software before?" I said yes, but not on a daily basis, but I’ll get used to it as all accounting software is the same, I just need some time getting used to it.
I asked the owner if there could be some extra work, and I said I am willing to help, and he said not really at the moment, and let me and another girl go home as there was no work. I questioned that I’m happy to stay and if not, I am willing to shadow someone, and he said, "we have a lot of freedom here, and we don’t pressure anyone to shadow, there’s really nothing," and I went home.
He said to message on the group tomorrow if there is any work, and I did, and he said there’s a task. I messaged him in private whether guidance will be provided and training, bearing in mind it’s the end of my first week. Then I made my way to the office and as soon as I entered the office a text landed that "I fire you etc, I choose to do it over text as I am surprised by the way you communicated to me over text"
What’s made it worse is that the owner of that place knows people at my old workplace, and they’ve been talking. Now people at my previous job know I was fired, and it feels like my reputation has been damaged before I even had a chance to grow properly. I asked my old company 3 times if I could come back, and they have pushed me away nicely.
I’m really struggling mentally with this. I feel embarrassed, anxious, and honestly quite low. It feels like one decision has had a ripple effect on everything, and I don’t know how to come back from it.
Has anyone else been through something like this early in their career? How did you recover from it?