New Job...Bad Training, Stress

[mercuryshadow]

I recently left a job I was with for seven years because the position had become stagnant. I did not feel challenged, was not learning anything new, and had not gotten a raise in over 5 years (no one in my sector had). I was bored, unhappy and wanted to find a better opportunity. I considered going back to school full time and living off my H's salary, but to be honest, I did not feel good thinking about having to ask his permission any time I needed to buy something. Plus, I have a young son from a previous R that depends on me for medical/dental as well as other necessities. His father pays me a small amount of CS each month but it does not cover much... My H and I buy my son clothes, sneakers, pay for extra curricular activities and so forth. I was afraid that if I was not receiving an income, I could not count on my son's dad to cover these things.

 

So, I put my resume out there and was asked to be interviewed for a position in the special education sector, which seemed a step toward what I've felt I've wanted to do, at least. The salary was not much better than my old job but I accepted because it was close to my home and seemed challenging and exciting. I was very quickly offered the position after two interviews. I've worked 6 days so far. The first was fine, as I was left to research and read materials that were pertinent to my job. However, the next 4 subsequent days I was recruited to help fix a major issue in another department all together. It was stressful because it was entirely new to me, but I finally got the hang of it and we were able to complete a contract that was needed for approval before the start of school.

 

Yesterday, I was able to finally sit with someone who has knowledge of my duties. I became very anxious because this area of the sector is going to be mine alone, and the information I have to work with is very vapid and non-sequential. Before I had even gotten any information on or training, I was being asked questions by superiors that I could not answer. Of course, this scared me. I am supposed to be ready to take over the program in less than 3 weeks. The way I'm being given information and training is nowhere near helpful. And asking questions (which is what I was told to do) would be great, except for the fact that I don't even have enough of an overview to know what questions to ask. I am basically left to pick up the pieces of someone else's mess and fix it so it works better. I've retained some bits and pieces but the big picture is still not complete. I've been stressed every day to the point of tears.

 

Should I request an audience with my supervisor to let him know that I feel my training thus far has been very lacking? And that I cannot be recruited again to help with other issues outside of my program (which I feel may happen this week, in fact) when there's still so much I have to put in place/learn? How should I approach this?

 

Also, it seems that a lot of components of the position were not disclosed to me up front. I'm finding out that I have a lot more responsibility than was presented up front, and my salary is a far cry from reflecting this.

[pink_sugar]

You should honest with him and let him know you need a little extra training and be honest that while you're learning you can only take a few things at a time until you get things down.

[karoline9]

I agree with pink_sugar. When you work for a company, trust is crucial. If you believe you have worked at your dream company, endorse your employer by always speaking honestly

[mercuryshadow]

So, I've hung in there these past couple of weeks. The start of school (which is when I need to have this program pulled together) is right around the corner. I spoke with my boss and he was understanding but I don't think he yet fully understands how poorly my training was planned. I was hired far too late in the game (August 1), and my one-on-one training has been for nothing thus far. The one person at the school who has some knowledge of the program admitted to me, herself, that she was not cut out to be training me. That is what I had felt all along. She is a very sweet person, but she is all over the place. She doesn't have the depth of understanding of the processes in order to pass on adequate information to me. I have been getting a lot of "I don't know" and "maybe".

 

This is not working. I was sent to a training workshop yesterday which I held hope would steer me in the right direction, but it was clear to me once it began that this was not a class for beginners. The dozen or so other people who were there at least had basic knowledge. I left the class with more confusion than I came in with.

 

So, my problem is threefold. 1) I was brought on too late in the game 2) I was pulled away from my duties to help out with other things for a total of two weeks 3) there is no proper training in place for me. I will also add that the entire scope of my responsibilities was not honestly presented to me when I accepted the position. My responsibilities have multiplied, seemingly, and I was not aware of the extent of them when I accepted the job. The responsibilies at my former job were numerous, and even then I was due a salary increase but did not receive one (government/union issues!!). Here, my starting salary is literally the same and my responsibilites far outweigh those at my old job. In a nutshell: I feel duped.

 

I feel I am at a critical stage here. I left a job I had for seven years, and one that I was comfortable with, at least, for this huge mess. I am feeling overwhelmed. While I am a smart, educated and dedicated person, I am resigning to the conclusion that this is humanly impossible to pull together on my own. I discussed with my H, and he seems to finally understand the situation. I asked him what he would do if he were in my shoes, and he said that he'd stick it out, continue to meet with the supervisor until some progress was made. And if by the end of the week no progress was made, he'd resign. If I were to resign, there is a chance I would be able to collect unemployment even though I would be leaving voluntarily, but with due cause. The cause being: the entrie scope of my job responsibilities were not presented to me at the time of hire, and I have not been provided with adequate training. My questions is: has anyone had any experience with a situation like this, in any regard? Advice and information would be very helpful. I have been trying to speak with someone at the state labor office, but "due to high call volume" I am disconnected every single time.

 

Thanks.

[pink_sugar]

So, I've hung in there these past couple of weeks. The start of school (which is when I need to have this program pulled together) is right around the corner. I spoke with my boss and he was understanding but I don't think he yet fully understands how poorly my training was planned. I was hired far too late in the game (August 1), and my one-on-one training has been for nothing thus far. The one person at the school who has some knowledge of the program admitted to me, herself, that she was not cut out to be training me. That is what I had felt all along. She is a very sweet person, but she is all over the place. She doesn't have the depth of understanding of the processes in order to pass on adequate information to me. I have been getting a lot of "I don't know" and "maybe".

 

This is not working. I was sent to a training workshop yesterday which I held hope would steer me in the right direction, but it was clear to me once it began that this was not a class for beginners. The dozen or so other people who were there at least had basic knowledge. I left the class with more confusion than I came in with.

 

So, my problem is threefold. 1) I was brought on too late in the game 2) I was pulled away from my duties to help out with other things for a total of two weeks 3) there is no proper training in place for me. I will also add that the entire scope of my responsibilities was not honestly presented to me when I accepted the position. My responsibilities have multiplied, seemingly, and I was not aware of the extent of them when I accepted the job. The responsibilies at my former job were numerous, and even then I was due a salary increase but did not receive one (government/union issues!!). Here, my starting salary is literally the same and my responsibilites far outweigh those at my old job. In a nutshell: I feel duped.

 

I feel I am at a critical stage here. I left a job I had for seven years, and one that I was comfortable with, at least, for this huge mess. I am feeling overwhelmed. While I am a smart, educated and dedicated person, I am resigning to the conclusion that this is humanly impossible to pull together on my own. I discussed with my H, and he seems to finally understand the situation. I asked him what he would do if he were in my shoes, and he said that he'd stick it out, continue to meet with the supervisor until some progress was made. And if by the end of the week no progress was made, he'd resign. If I were to resign, there is a chance I would be able to collect unemployment even though I would be leaving voluntarily, but with due cause. The cause being: the entrie scope of my job responsibilities were not presented to me at the time of hire, and I have not been provided with adequate training. My questions is: has anyone had any experience with a situation like this, in any regard? Advice and information would be very helpful. I have been trying to speak with someone at the state labor office, but "due to high call volume" I am disconnected every single time.

 

Thanks.

 

Yes, I remember working somewhere where I was hired during a very busy working season and did not receive adequate training and thus, because of that I was almost going to be let go because my performance wasn't up to par. I had to go to HR and relay as such and request more training to improve my performance. I was able to do so and get a better review so I wouldn't be fired.

[Hope Shimmers]

It's somewhat hard to offer specific advice in this situation without more detail on what the training is (although I know you can't do that on a forum). But yes, when I first started my research career about 20 years ago, I was a clinical research coordinator and routinely got thrown into the position of fixing messes that other coordinators had created mid-study after they had been fired. In fact, I got good at it (out of necessity) and eventually became known for that. In that process I spent a lot of time teaching things to myself that I didn't know before but eventually became very knowledgeable about.

 

A question for you: did you get a written job description (documentation of your job responsibilities) in your offer letter or before you were hired? There should always be a written list of job responsibilities. If not, it's likely going to be their word against yours as to what was said to you at the interview.

 

You are in a challenging, stressful, and difficult situation for sure. If I were you (again, not knowing the details so I hope this applies) I would give it a bit more time. I would not waste any more time trying to get adequate training from anyone at your school because clearly no one is qualified to do so or in a position to meet that need for you.

 

Another question: were you fully qualified for the position they hired you for, based on the application, or did they say they would provide training to you if you weren't? In other words, were they expecting you to have this baseline level of knowledge that you are seeking?

 

Is there any place you can go or people (outside of your school) that you can reach out to in order to get the knowledge you need to set up this program?

 

Realistically this program is not probably going to be perfectly implemented by the time school starts. Is it possible that you can get it to the point where it is operational enough so that you can continue to build it/perfect it even after the start of school? Again, not sure if that applies here.

 

If they were supposed to train you then it's unfortunate and unfair that they didn't provide the training you needed. However, if there's any way you can get through this and find that training on your own and build upon it, you could be (longer-term) looking at a situation where you will have a great deal of autonomy and respect in this school where clearly there is no one else with this expertise. That puts you in a VERY advantageous position with them for future opportunities, and if nothing else, it gives you a great experience from which to move forward to further career opportunities and build from there.

[mercuryshadow]

Thank you Pink and Hope!!

 

To answer some of your questions, I am running a nutrition program at a school for kids that come from needy households. I have no experience in this field, whatsoever, and they knew that from the beginning. The job description I was given during interview was very lacking! I have a copy of it. The training was supposed to be one on one with someone at the school who had knowledge of the program, but I was torn away and kept at the central business office to help clear up a big mess in a different department for almost two weeks. That time was valuable, as I could have/should have been training in my duties. The few times I've had opportunity to sit with this person were not productive. She actually admitted that she lacked the time and ability to train me properly. The workshop I attended was too advanced for me at this point. I can call the state for some help via telephone but that only does a small amount of good. The kind of training I need is to know how to run reports to the state, how to utilize the database in keeping record of student eligibility for free or reduced meals, how to gain direct certification from the state for families who are in welfare, etc, as well as how the program was run before and how it can be improved upon. Alarmingly, I found out that the person before me was let go due to bad performance. She was trained by the same woman who is training me.

 

Should I bring this kind of honesty to my boss?

[Eternal Sunshine]

While it would be better if they provided you with the training required I do think you can find those things out for yourself with a mix of googling and asking people with a somewhat relevant experience (it doesn't even have to be from that same school). I think you are wasting time with complaints and requests for more training where you could be training yourself instead.

 

Being thrown into the deep end is scary but it's also not as unusual as you think. I don't want to sound insensitive as I don't know the details and if this is a truly unworkable situation but I think that few situations are truly unworkable. Just from what you described, the person that's been training you is "all over the place". If this happened to me I would make a mental note "hmm they must have low expectations here" which would make your job all the lot easier in proving yourself and gaining your employer's respect.

[spiderowl]

Sounds an awful situation and I sympathise. I have do have a suggestion which may or may not help.

 

Identify someone higher up the management ladder - deputy head, head - or similar high-powered job and seek a meeting with them. The supposed purpose of the meeting would be to 'introduce yourself' and 'gain a wider perspective of your role'.

 

In actual fact, you would use the meeting to:

 

- introduce yourself and show your enthusiasm for the school/college/post

- ask them what they see as 'the most important priorities' in the role

 

The reason for the above is that you don't want to start off with a negative impact, but looking enthusiastic. Asking them the priorities give you a chance to make a note, get them to agree, and then gives you something to focus on teaching yourself about. A job can seem so overwhelming when no-one tells you what is the most important part of it. As long as you focus on that, they can't complain you are not doing the job properly. It also gives you an idea what resposibilities the high-up is dearly hoping you will take off their hands and resolve for them.

 

The above may or may not help you, but in your position I would certainly want to see what my superiors felt were the most important areas to focus on. Whether you decide to stay or not, you may feel better if you have that sense of focus, even if in reality it turns out to be only part of a complex job. It also shows that you are seeking the right information from early on and taking the initiative to do so. It would make it harder for them to justify sacking you if you have done so (and documented it), unless you completely fail to focus on what they've said of course.

 

As far as I can see, the difficulty is going to be identifying who has the power to identify the priorities in the first place as it all sounds very dispersed and bitty there.

 

Good luck whatever you decide to do.

[michellew]

While it would be better if they provided you with the training required I do think you can find those things out for yourself with a mix of googling and asking people with a somewhat relevant experience (it doesn't even have to be from that same school). I think you are wasting time with complaints and requests for more training where you could be training yourself instead.

 

Being thrown into the deep end is scary but it's also not as unusual as you think. I don't want to sound insensitive as I don't know the details and if this is a truly unworkable situation but I think that few situations are truly unworkable. Just from what you described, the person that's been training you is "all over the place". If this happened to me I would make a mental note "hmm they must have low expectations here" which would make your job all the lot easier in proving yourself and gaining your employer's respect.

 

I agree...training yourself is crucial. I was in a similar position two years ago and I was not alone. Everyone around me seemed lost and scattered all over the place. I finally took the initiative and said, "f*** it, if no one can give me any solid direction, I'll direct myself." From there, I took what little bits and pieces I had picked up in my first few weeks and molded them into what I thought I should be doing. Less than a year later, I got a huge promotion and am now in a top leadership position in our department. Taking initiative is key!

[bathtub-row]

Just going by what I've heard about school systems, they tend to be run by very incompetent people who don't have a clue about making sound business decisions. I hear this over and over again, and have heard it for years. As you now see it, this is the way that position will probably always remain.

 

I say walk away from the insanity and go back to school full-time. Your earning potential will be far greater and you'll probably be a lot happier. This should not mean that you put yourself in a position to ask permission to buy things. That's just ridiculous. Also, regardless of what your ex is paying in child support, your husband also took on an obligation to be a stepdad to your son. I'm sure it won't kill him to support you and his stepson while you try to better yourself. If he resents it, then you have bigger problems than your nutty job. The two of you should discuss it beforehand and work out the details about finances. Ultimately, being better educated is the best decision for you and your family all the way around.