Start of civil service job - so confused!

OrbitHeadache

This is my second week of home working, and I have been given links to e-learning modules and these modules will take many days to complete and most of it seems to be going over my head ( even though I have passed all the summary tests at the end of module)

I am also struggling to remember each acronym.

The thing is it feels like I have been left to my own devices, the manager had emailed the courses that need doing and there has been zero more contact from the manager to see how I am getting on, I have also emailed them and have received no response.

Is this how civil service jobs go? Loads of e-learning with little support and than you chucked in at the deep end 2 weeks later because they expect you to know everything?

I am worried that I keep forgetting things and when I take calls for real I will get stuck and would not know what to do.

strawb_shortcake

Sadly the e-learning at least in my department is dismal. Courses often work better on your own laptop than a work one.
Keep notes of all the questions you want to ask, the acronyms do become a second language in time. 

I've been CS for years, and moved jobs remotely 6 months ago, and I hate it, I don't feel connected in my job or with my team, my line manager is useless and does not keep me informed or gainfully employed. That said this is the first time I've felt like this during my career so there are definitely more good LMs than bad. But I do really feel the pain of anyone new joining the CS at the current time. 

Try and set up a regular slot with your LM to talk through your questions, 

It will get easier! 

OrbitHeadache

Thanks for the advice.

I will try to contact my LM again, however I am not sure if she is my LM because she did not introduce herself she just emailed to give a long list of e learning courses to do.

No explanation of the structure of the next few weeks.

No advice on what hours to do this week.

No advice on what the break timings are.

Hopefully things will improve.

Dazed_and_C0nfused

If you are doing online learning whilst WFH then I would have thought timing of breaks was entirely your choice.

Farside71

If you are used to a more structured controlled environment then enjoy the freedom while you have it.  I would keep a record of times you are 'at your desk' in case someone contacts you whilst you are not available.  

It's not unusual I would say in large organisations to leave new starts to their own devices whilst they work through a potentially large list of courses.  There may be computer accesses and permissions being set up in the background readying you for your actual role, and your manager will probably engage when you are ready for work.

Unfortunately I see a lot of managers etc absorbed with their ongoing work and may not appreciate how impersonal it is starting a new job in in the current environment.

I would also take some notes whilst you are doing the courses if you are worried about remembering everything.  Just the action of writing down acronyms and terms will help your brain to register them and alleviate your anxiety if you have something easy to refer to in the initial stages.

TELLIT01

From personal experience, Civil Service e-learning is absolutely awful.  You really do need contact with somebody so you can ask questions when (it's not if) you find things confusing, or simply going totally over your head.  If things haven't changed since I did training, you basically read through umpteen pages and then either answer questions at the end of the section - answering successfully doesn't really indicate an understanding of the subject, or go through an emulation of screens that will be used in the role.  The problem with the emulations is that they are bug-ridden and you have to give the answer they want, rather than complete the screens correctly.  One example was where the correct value to enter in a field was 0 (zero) but to get past that screen you had to enter O (Capital o).  According to senior management, all training packages have been thoroughly tested to ensure they are error free.  Yeah, right!

Write down all the acronyms and the full wording.  You will hit lots of them!

What area of the Civil Service will you be in?

Anyanka1

It sounds like an absolute nightmare.  I was in the civil service about a hundred years ago (dole office, what fun) and all of us, not just me, found learning all the regs and the weird, foreign language (I so get it) very difficult and this was when you could learn from actual (apparently) human beings, face to face.

I remember feeling as if I had just landed in another country where everyone else spoke the language except me and wondering whether I would ever understand a word.  It does come, honestly but, I am sure, much more quickly when you can learn from people rather than some impersonal screen.

Have you tried making up your own acronyms for the ones they want you to learn?  It might sound daft but, if you can invent something that resonates with you, it really does help the actual ones to stick in your mind.  Example:  I Prefer Very Posh Nightclubs = IPVPN = Internet Protocol Virtual Private Network.  OK, a telecoms reference, not a CS one but you get my drift, I hope.

I do remember a couple of examples of Jargonese (which, of course, you should never use to customers/clients/whatever your dept. calls their end users)  "Have you been sick in your current PIE? (Period of Interruption of Employment)"   Imagine what the claimants actually heard (we were allowed to call them claimants rather than clients back in the day)  "Have you been sick in your currant pie?" - "I have never eaten currant pie." "You have come in on the wrong cycle" (the wrong week; fortnightly signing)  "I haven't got a bike."

If you think it is hard for you, imagine how hard it is for those you serve; they do not have the luxury of your training, however inadequate it is.

All I can really offer is, I thought I would never understand any of it but, in time, I did.  Do not be afraid to ask questions:  They were not born knowing any of this either, however patronising they think they can be.  Above all, believe you can do it and will understand it, eventually.  After all, these regulations are not easy to understand, let alone to remember; everyone needed time to learn how to do their jobs.  Have faith.

OrbitHeadache

TELLIT01 said:

From personal experience, Civil Service e-learning is absolutely awful.  You really do need contact with somebody so you can ask questions when (it's not if) you find things confusing, or simply going totally over your head.  If things haven't changed since I did training, you basically read through umpteen pages and then either answer questions at the end of the section - answering successfully doesn't really indicate an understanding of the subject, or go through an emulation of screens that will be used in the role.  The problem with the emulations is that they are bug-ridden and you have to give the answer they want, rather than complete the screens correctly.  One example was where the correct value to enter in a field was 0 (zero) but to get past that screen you had to enter O (Capital o).  According to senior management, all training packages have been thoroughly tested to ensure they are error free.  Yeah, right!

Write down all the acronyms and the full wording.  You will hit lots of them!

What area of the Civil Service will you be in?

It's debt management.

OrbitHeadache

Anyanka1 said:

It sounds like an absolute nightmare.  I was in the civil service about a hundred years ago (dole office, what fun) and all of us, not just me, found learning all the regs and the weird, foreign language (I so get it) very difficult and this was when you could learn from actual (apparently) human beings, face to face.

I remember feeling as if I had just landed in another country where everyone else spoke the language except me and wondering whether I would ever understand a word.  It does come, honestly but, I am sure, much more quickly when you can learn from people rather than some impersonal screen.

Have you tried making up your own acronyms for the ones they want you to learn?  It might sound daft but, if you can invent something that resonates with you, it really does help the actual ones to stick in your mind.  Example:  I Prefer Very Posh Nightclubs = IPVPN = Internet Protocol Virtual Private Network.  OK, a telecoms reference, not a CS one but you get my drift, I hope.

I do remember a couple of examples of Jargonese (which, of course, you should never use to customers/clients/whatever your dept. calls their end users)  "Have you been sick in your current PIE? (Period of Interruption of Employment)"   Imagine what the claimants actually heard (we were allowed to call them claimants rather than clients back in the day)  "Have you been sick in your currant pie?" - "I have never eaten currant pie." "You have come in on the wrong cycle" (the wrong week; fortnightly signing)  "I haven't got a bike."

If you think it is hard for you, imagine how hard it is for those you serve; they do not have the luxury of your training, however inadequate it is.

All I can really offer is, I thought I would never understand any of it but, in time, I did.  Do not be afraid to ask questions:  They were not born knowing any of this either, however patronising they think they can be.  Above all, believe you can do it and will understand it, eventually.  After all, these regulations are not easy to understand, let alone to remember; everyone needed time to learn how to do their jobs.  Have faith.

Thanks for the advice.

I will persevere for the time being.

MovingForwards

I can relate to everything you've said. It seems to be a public sector thing, never experienced it in the private sector.

I'm expected to know and understand everything. The e-learning is for systems the place no longer uses. Searching the website means going through page after page of 'see here for more info' type links, it's easier / quicker to search via Google. Don't even get me started on acronyms. 

It's nearly 2 years I've been in my role, had a regrade with stacks more responsibility, plus I'm covering another role. I push back by explaining I'm learning, teaching myself, doing the best I can with zero knowledge, lucky guesses and common sense, things take time and be honest saying it will get done, just not immediately. Some accept it, some just add even more new things to my growing list.

I'm treating it as experience, loads more to add to an already good CV, but it doesn't help my stress / confidence levels. I will never get another job in the public sector again as it's just not for me.

OrbitHeadache

MovingForwards said:

I can relate to everything you've said. It seems to be a public sector thing, never experienced it in the private sector.

I'm expected to know and understand everything. The e-learning is for systems the place no longer uses. Searching the website means going through page after page of 'see here for more info' type links, it's easier / quicker to search via Google. Don't even get me started on acronyms. 

It's nearly 2 years I've been in my role, had a regrade with stacks more responsibility, plus I'm covering another role. I push back by explaining I'm learning, teaching myself, doing the best I can with zero knowledge, lucky guesses and common sense, things take time and be honest saying it will get done, just not immediately. Some accept it, some just add even more new things to my growing list.

I'm treating it as experience, loads more to add to an already good CV, but it doesn't help my stress / confidence levels. I will never get another job in the public sector again as it's just not for me.

Thanks for the reassurance.

The e-learning also doesn't make much sense because I have not been told what my specific role in the department will be.

However I am prepared to give it a real go so onwards and upwards.