Not Up To The Job

LegacyUser

I’ve recently moved abroad and pursued a job in a totally different field to where I have gained all my employment experience. I loved the new company and new field at first and my job was varied and completely new to me. To be honest I was beginning to get bored with it until they offered me a promotion along with some completely new responsibilities.

I was delighted when they offered me the new role and didn’t hesitate to accept it. My managers are great- really approachable and encouraging. My manager has told me she has full faith in my abilities and I know that, if they didn’t think I was capable of the job, I wouldn’t have been offered it.

However, I’m not sure I am up to the job at all, now that I’ve had a taste of all my duties. I feel I should be able to cope with it but I’m suddenly feeling really, really overwhelmed and that I’ve been thrown into the deep end. Even the simplest of tasks, that I should be able to do fine, leaves me feeling stressed out, tearful and worrying all the time. I worry over the wording of emails, over if I said the right things to my managers, if I’m asking too many questions, if I’ve completely misunderstood simple requests etc. It’s exhausting. In this week alone, I had one fairly major panic attack in the bathroom at work and I’ve been on the verge of several others. I don’t know what to prioritise or even where to begin with my workload. I’ve stayed late every night this evening. I’ve started taking St. John’s Wort which was advised to me for nervousness but I don’t like the way it makes me feel- like I’m in a fog or something. I can’t really sleep either for worrying.

I’m seeking therapy at the moment for self esteem & body image issues (which I have been struggling with for the past few years) so I know I have support from her but I just feel like a let down to myself. I used to pride myself on my work (when I was in the other field) and on how capable I was with multi-tasking and working in a stressful environment. Now I feel useless and stupid all the time. I don’t want to go out anymore or even spend time with my friends/ flatmates- when I get home I just want to sleep all the time. I feel like I should just give it all up and go back to what I know I was good at- even though I wasn’t happy in that field and had no career progression.

Any advice or thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you

CdeC

Hi OP,
It may seem bad now but again you need to put it into context. They believe in you and everyone has a settling in period in any job. imagine in 6 months time you'll know your way around the job no problem.

Just take each day at a time. Try and stay on top of things and do not be afraid if you dont know something ask someone who does.

Hi op, how long have you been in the new job? It takes a while to set in and until then you're convinced you're stupid for not knowing loads of stuff everyone else takes for granted. Eventually though, you'll be one of those people!

funkey_monkey

I know how you feel. I have got into a major comfort zone in my job and am scared to move on as I feel I will be in the same position as yourself.

What is your relationship like with your boss? Can you ask him/her how you are performing in your current role and ask for feedback? Most bosses would be able to and willing to to help you in the role.

Are you doing something new and require mentoring or training? Maybe that is an option.

Incidentally, out of interest where have you moved to? I'm looking to move too so I'd love to know how you are getting on socially as well.

bluewolf

bluewolf wrote: »

Hi op, how long have you been in the new job? It takes a while to set in and until then you're convinced you're stupid for not knowing loads of stuff everyone else takes for granted. Eventually though, you'll be one of those people!

Couldn't agree more with this comment. When I started in my current job in 2007 I thought I'd never get my head around how the systems worked, even though the others told me I'd pick it up. You know what, they were right, I did pick it up in the end. Just give it time.

Firetrap

How about having a think about what help you could get to ensure things go better. Do you need training or someone to perhaps sit in with you for a day? You are probably more than capable of doing your new job but your self-doubt is holding you back. It's good that you are seeing a counsellor about other problems. It wouldn't be any harm to tell them about your stress in work either.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. Most people are helpful and won't mind answering your questions just as long as you're not pestering them every few minutes, all day ever day or asking the same thing over and over.

A very useful tool at times like these is the humble pen and paper. Get yourself a notebook or a load of A4 sheets and make notes about the things you're doing. A To Do list is invaluable too. Sometimes jobs can be pressurised and even the best of people can forget to do things

cantdecide

Firetrap wrote: »

...Get yourself a notebook or a load of A4 sheets and make notes about the things you're doing. A To Do list is invaluable too. Sometimes jobs can be pressurised and even the best of people can forget to do things

Excellent advice. My current job is all about various deadlines in various disciplines. Sometimes there's so much crapola going on that I want to just run away. Sometimes, I'll get a days work in an hour, sometimes I'll get a weeks work in a day. Even if I'm in the middle of something, I'll just clear my desk and write a proper to-do list.

Like you, I had so much coming from so many angles in the beginning, my nerves were completely shot. You will go through a process of putting things to bed. Soon, the things that you agonise about now will be mere formalities.

I'm a devil for slaving over emails too. When I find myself doing this these days, I'll just save it as a draft and do something else for half an hour and come back to it. Keeping your head clear to focus on a single task at a time is the key.