Consistent difficulties with new situations

LegacyUser

All,

I've recently started a new job - it's in the same broad field as previous roles but in a different specialist area. Ive changed jobs a number of times in the last couple of years for various reasons.

To be honest I'm struggling a lot with it and am stressed out by the newness of the role, the organisation and the people. Looking back I've had the same issue when I've started new jobs in other places and it's taken along time for me to settle.

I'm looking for some advice as to how to manage the transitionary phase and to deal with the stress that I'm feeling

Thanks
Inigo Montoya III

Saralee4

Inigo Montoya, first of all I did not kill your father so I won't prepare to die

I know how you feel and I think it's something everyone goes through in a new role even if the job is the same, each company is different or department or whatever.

I remember I started a new job in a place along with another guy. I made a mistake on something and I was stressing over it. He was saying that he was quite stressed too. He was saying that always when you start a new job, your kind of like a sponge and you are just trying to take everything in.

You are trying to get to know the job, figure out, make an impression and trying to get to know the other staff too. It's alot all at once. Some places pace you into the role, some rush you and put you in the deep end straight away and with others, you think your being paced then one day they just pile loads on your desk when you had nothing to do but twiddle your thumbs for a whole week before. You are just expected to adapt.

I think the best thing is to just go with it. Realise that you have no control over it but try to be as prepared as you can, ask questions and to a certain extent just try to be yourself.

It usually takes an exhausting month or two to find your place.

MrWalsh

8 weeks of exhausting stress imo.

Then you settle in and things become more normal. Of course the advantage of still being relatively new and therefore not the "go to" person for everything is there also!

LegacyUser

Thanks for your responses

Funnily enough - it's usually after the first couple of months that I feel stressed. The roles that I go into are relatively senior so I guess it's the post new feeling that gets me stressed i.e. Still don't know what I'm doing. I've found that it usually takes me a year to settle in anyway.

It's having a very negative impact on my life at the moment (3 months) in and I'm not dealing with it very well. I guess rather than going through this for another year as has been the pattern in the past I'm wondering is there anything I can do to short circuit it or do you reckon that it is just the way it's going to be.

Thanks
IM

Rubberchikken

acknowledge that this is happening to you. if you don't want to repeat the pattern of past jobs then you'll have to grit your teeth and ride it out.
try to do something totally different in the evenings/weekends to take your mind off things and get a fresh start for the new week.

if you're happy with the position and capable of doing it that's the first steps over with. after that there's no short cut to settleing in imo, you just have to stick with it.

hope things work out.

LegacyUser

Thanks for the responses - it is appreciated.

Do you think it's worth raising it with my superiors or just keep the head down?

Teyla Emmagan

I wouldn't raise any issues yet. You are only new in and just getting settled. You have admitted you don't always land on your feet (perfectly normal). You still can't tell by the sound of it if there is a problem in the organisation or if it's still you getting settled. Unless you feel your work isn't up to scratch i would say nothing.

The fact you have done this before means you can do it again. That's the difference between you and people who stay in the same company for 40 years. Give yourself some credit. Unless your gut is screaming to you that there is something very wrong here then you just need a bit more time.