Feel scared and stupid and upset.

Butterfliesarepretty

I have been in my new job 4 weeks. I did lots of mistakes today, missing my name off things, not checking things properly and myboss and colleague went through things with me and they reassured me while trying to get me to realise what I had done wrong. My boss said I needed to show more confidence, and that its a lot to take in. Normally I am a confident person but I felt close to tears and panicky. Maybe its because I have been out of work for 6 months or its that I have worked in my last job for 22 years with same people.
So scared of messing it up, I am trying really hard to learn about working in personnel.

cazziebo

I've been working in HR/Personnel for nearly 30 years, and sometimes I feel exactly the same - scared stupid and upset!

I don't mean to decry what you feel right now, but it does sound as if your boss wants you to succeed. Accept the support, you can only do your best, and get on with it.

You might not have confidence, but the company had confidence in you to offer the position in the first place, Nowadays HR jobs are fiercely fought for, so I'm guessing you won this in the face of stiff opposition. Have some belief in your own abilities, and just understand you don't have to know it all now - it takes time!

Good luck!

x

Butterfliesarepretty

cazziebo wrote: »

I've been working in HR/Personnel for nearly 30 years, and sometimes I feel exactly the same - scared stupid and upset!

I don't mean to decry what you feel right now, but it does sound as if your boss wants you to succeed. Accept the support, you can only do your best, and get on with it.

You might not have confidence, but the company had confidence in you to offer the position in the first place, Nowadays HR jobs are fiercely fought for, so I'm guessing you won this in the face of stiff opposition. Have some belief in your own abilities, and just understand you don't have to know it all now - it takes time!

Good luck!

x

Its a clerk/typist position and there are a lot of staff and rooms to try and remember. I applied for another job and got offered this one. I have always been confident but lately have lost my strength. I will look a fool if I get upset in front of them.

sandraroffey

take a deep breath, think positive and onwards!!! you can do it. all the very bestxxxx

Nile

shawtj2 wrote: »

Its a clerk/typist position and there are a lot of staff and rooms to try and remember. I applied for another job and got offered this one. I have always been confident but lately have lost my strength. I will look a fool if I get upset in front of them.

Hello shawtj2

Every time I've moved to a new position within a company or moved to a new company............I always keep a small notebook handy. I write down reminder notes to myself until I'm confident that I can remember every important detail.;)

If you made a note of the staff names and the relevant rooms, it would help take the pressure off you until you get to know everyone.:cool:

It's very easy for them to remember your name as they greet you with "Hello Shaw":wave: ................but then they only have one new employee name to remember. They don't have to remember 100 new names (or however many employees there are) like you do right now, do they?;)

Take a notebook to work and take the pressure off yourself. Relax, you'll be fine.

Regards

Nile

Zazen999

Hi

If they were out to get you then it would have been worse. They obviously like you.

Make notes, copious amounts - double check your work before you let anyone see it. If in doubt, ask your line manager to check your notes so that you have got it right.

Get a system going, and set yourself times to do one thing, so that you aren't flipping from one to another.

Make checklists, and only tick off that a task is done when you have checked it.

I used to have loads of stuff to check off and sign when we had ESF money - and all sheets had to have the same stuff over and over, so I made my own checklist at the front of the file and I could then track everything I did on that project. They ended up using my methods as best practice across all the training providers that they were working with. Such an easy thing but made all the difference.

Butterfliesarepretty

Hi thanks everyone,

Yes I do have lots of notes in order, and I also have lists of people's names and which department they work in as the systems we use tell us the department also. My colleague checks the things I do, but I find some things are a bit backward or old fashioned. Memos are typed out and handed out rather than emailed to the depts.

I just had a bad day I think. Maybe I am trying to think too hard. I am also pleasant in voice and on telephone and I have used my initiative in things but then been told, no do this instead. I am just a bit sensitive as I want to do well and get my confidence back.

Conor_3

As you said, you'd been in your old job 22 years. You knew it inside out. All of a sudden, you're finding yourself in a new job that has different ways of doing things and whilst the basics will be the same, a lot is different and quite naturally, you're doing things the way you've been doing in the old job.

It takes a while for an old dog to learn new tricks but learn them they can and I'm sure another month down the line, you'll look back and wonder what all the fuss was about.

You've got a boss that understands the complexity of the job and colleagues who are willing to help so slow down, don't try as hard to impress and it'll all slot into place over time.

wigglebeena

Nile wrote: »

It's very easy for them to remember your name as they greet you with "Hello Shaw":wave: ................but then they only have one new employee name to remember. They don't have to remember 100 new names (or however many employees there are) like you do right now, do they?;)

I always think this, but it doesn't seem to occur to most people. Every new job I've had, forgetting one person's name (out of hundreds) twice in a row is greeted with amazement. Well, they remember yours, how insulting if you don't remember theirs! (When you met them once two weeks ago and you're the only new factor in the entire place to them).

CFC

Don't get upset if you make mistakes. It creeps your new bosses out, because they think - this is a high maintainance person.

Turn it into a joke instead. Nobody will seriously expect you to get everything right. It's so long since you've been the new kid that you are setting silly expectations for yourself.

Emmylou_2

One way I get over the "names" thing is:

Going onto intranet phone book.
Printing info there - which usually has a photo on it
Noting any other random info on it (such as nicknames, kids, stuff that you would remember them by, how they have tea if you have a tea rota)

This way you're not just trying to remember a name out of context.