Fell like an imposter at work

LegacyUser

I'm in my office job 3 years, we do various administration jobs like scanning posts, making payments, answering client queries, etc. Like an insurance company

I worked mainly in support tasks of processing documents and payments and I was very good at it and got good appraisals and I have good accuracy & attention to detail. You have to be accurate as one digit wrong means a payment fails.

I pushed myself forward for a supervisor position and wasn't succusful, fair nuff. My two managers offered me coaching and moved me into a client service position for more visibility and experience as I'd outgrown the support tasks.

I'm in the new role 3 weeks. A girl left for a new role, I was handed her work and I got pretty much no training, just a stack of word documents procedures and told to read them. I said to my supervisor I was concerned and I was told it was "easy". Which made me feel stupid as clearly they are expecting me to know it all.

I was given quarterly reports to do three days before they were due which I got done but just about. Ok, that was a success I guess and the deadline was met but I was in late & early doing them as I was slow.

I don't grasp things instantly. When I have to check a complicated case I open notepad on my PC and I write a timeline in a minute or two so I can understand it. In meetings I write notes so I remember points the managers make but I don't see others doing this. I write my own little procedures to help me get reports done.

There is a new hire who moved to the team the same time as me and she is flying. Laughing, relaxed and her queries are always done & perfect. I'm not keeping up and my supervisor isn't happy. I come in early, I leave late, I don't take breaks so I'm doing my very best.

When a lot of staff called in sick I was given three mailboxes to run, normally I do just one. I struggled, got very stressed and my manager moved me from three back to one.

All day long I tell myself " you're not intelligent" " you're only good for scanning post and you shouldn't have tried for more" "these people are smart, you don't belong"

Is feeling like an imposter common in the work environment?

TimeToShine

OP I believe you have a mild case of what is known as impostor syndrome and yes it is quite common. You have to remember that you got to where you are through a combination of ability and hard work, whereas people who suffer from impostor syndrome believe it is all down to luck, timing and the impact of others. Now, it seems to me that you have been moved into a role for which experience is required yet you haven't been trained - this does not mean that you are incapable, it just means you need training. Don't stress about it, ask for help if needs be and you'll adjust in no time.

As for the way you deal with those complicated cases, let me tell you that employers, as well as colleagues, love someone who has a tactical, methodical approach to making sense of a problem. Taking minutes at a meeting is not a sign of stupidity, it is a sign of intelligence.

It sounds to me like you are doing all the right things except asking for help. Do not forget to take your breaks and do not benchmark yourself against others until you are settled into the new role.

Buona Fortuna

Good post above.

Ever hear the saying "Fake it, till you make it"?

Its quite common where say someone is the widget making king to be promoted and then wonder what do I do now. The temptation is to carry on making widgets - which is not so good.

Like the poster above, I think you're doing OK. Maybe ask for help where you think you need it and be nice to yourself

Good Luck

Rachiee

My current role took me at least 8 months to settle in to, three weeks is still very early days nobody expects you to be perfect, you may well need more training don't be shy to ask.
You need to stop comparing yourself to other people. We are all individuals, and we are wired differently and learn differently,this has nothing to do with intelligence it's just the way our minds work, If you focus better by taking notes and writing proceedures down step by step there's nothing wrong with that. It shows diligence that you know that about yourself, and are doing what you need to do to get your work done.
You are being really hard on yourself, you are learning a new way of working of course that will take time. Don't compare yourself to the new girl she could have lots of experience in a very similar role,or the new role could just sit her learning style, or she may be smiling but inside stressed out to bits! either way you don't know for sure.
Do talk to your manager though and let them know the points that you are struggling with its a completely new role for you, just reading off a word document is an extremely difficult way to learn for anybody. Best of luck

LegacyUser

You don't sound unintelligent to me at all, quite the opposite in fact. You sound like the type of person I would actually want to hire if I was in charge of an office environment. Your methodical approach, diligence, and attention to detail are all extremely important and useful traits. The only problem in my opinion seems to be on behalf of your managers. They have provided inadequate training with unrealistic workloads for your brand new role with the excuse of "it's easy". That is completely unacceptable.

You should have been given proper training or at least more time to learn as you go and get adjusted before having been given 3 boxes/3 times the regular workload in a role you had just started without training. Also just being handed quarterly reports to complete 3 days before they are due on top of your regular day to day new work duties is just crazy. It sounds like very bad management.

Everybody has to do longer hours than usual sometimes, or cram to meet a work deadline occasionally, but this should not be the case ALL of the time. You need to look after yourself and make sure you are not getting taken advantage of in work. You said you never take breaks and I really hope you don't mean that you don't take your lunch breaks that you are legally entitled to? The coming in early and working late approach can be needed from time to time at periods of high workload or deadlines but don't make a habit out of it, because believe me, often it's the case that you are a only a number to higher management and they don't really appreciate it and you could get taken advantage of so don't kill yourself too much.

Don't be afraid to ask questions and don't for one second feel stupid about it. You can tell them "I have a few things I'm unsure about, this wasn't covered in the Word document you provided", or "I have a few queries I'd like to run by you / could I get your advice on this please, as I'm new to the role I want to make sure I'm on the right track".

As has been mentioned that new girl who is flying it may have worked in a very similar role before or it might just be a role that is suited for her personal strengths whereas you may have other strengths where you would excel more than her in different areas so no point in comparing. I would personally befriend her if she is the friendly type and maybe ask her for a few tips. I don't mean constantly barrage her with questions but maybe just a few little tips if you are very stuck or maybe just observe and pick up on some of her techniques that you would like to emulate in a way. If you think she is competitive and would purposely give you bad advice though then don't bother but hopefully she is nice and wouldn't mind giving a little bit of advice.

You are not an "imposter" though, you sound more than capable and just need to get settled into the role and don't be afraid to ask questions or for advice or to speak up when you are handed an unrealistic workload.