Screwed up while on probation

LegacyUser

Started a new job 7 months ago and to be honest, I didn't perform to my optimal abilities.

It was a combination of lack of experience, very different work envirinment and my own self doubt. There were no major cock-ups, but there were one or two little incidents where I didn't look my best.

My probation was extended for three months and all was going well until yesterday. A customer cocked up, and I had to fix it (I work in computers). To cut a long story short, I didn't fix it and actually made things worse. Now, the customer just thinks they cocked-up, but my boss knows I made things worse. It is down to my lack of experience in this field (fairly specialised).

So I am after one sleepless night, worrying about my job. It's not the first time I haven't slept because of this job. The thing is, I do enjoy it, though I am beginning to wonder if I am cut out for it.

Anyone else cock-up while on extended probation? Or any words of advice? I have a horrible feeling I will be out of a job at the end of my extended probation.

Xcellor

Probation is a testing period. I've never had my probation period extended however I am on my initial 6 months now and sometimes I feel out of my depth! In the last place I worked I was a supervisor and had to extend peoples probations and it was never a nice thing but as a supervisor I was interested in if the person showed willingness to change and had been proactive about it.

Have you asked for additional training? Perhaps someone to mentor you? Can you buy books on the topic? If you show your supervisor that you have made real efforts to improve it will make it much more difficult for him/her to flick you.

If it is specialized as you say it is unreasonable to expect you to be 100% at this point. The place I am working at now there are people who have been here almost a year and seem still to be lost but have passed their probation!

I'd try not to lose sleep over it though... Easier said than done.

X

Eoin

Xcellor wrote: »

Probation is a testing period. I've never had my probation period extended however I am on my initial 6 months now and sometimes I feel out of my depth! In the last place I worked I was a supervisor and had to extend peoples probations and it was never a nice thing but as a supervisor I was interested in if the person showed willingness to change and had been proactive about it.

Have you asked for additional training? Perhaps someone to mentor you? Can you buy books on the topic? If you show your supervisor that you have made real efforts to improve it will make it much more difficult for him/her to flick you.

If it is specialized as you say it is unreasonable to expect you to be 100% at this point. The place I am working at now there are people who have been here almost a year and seem still to be lost but have passed their probation!

I'd try not to lose sleep over it though... Easier said than done.

X

Excellent advice Xcellor.

It can easily take 6 months before you find your feet in a new job, and you can add on more time in a field where the systems you are working on are proprietary.

While it's hard to have confidence in what you have learnt so far, do try and have confidence that you will be able to pick up the skills from now on. If you can sit down with your boss and show that you have identified a plan to get yourself on track (be it training, mentoring etc like Xcellor mentioned) then you should prove that you are keen to learn. Try and schedule regular meetings with your boss to review your progress until the probationary period is over.

Best of luck with it. I am also on probation in my new job at the moment, and there is always that niggling doubt in the back of your head till it's over.

LegacyUser

Thanks for the advice guys, it certainly has helped.

I did speak with my manager today and that, coupled with what you said has reduced my worry somewhat.

I think I will sit down with him next week when he is around and talk this little incident out. I know I achieved something else today that he was struggling with, so that is a positive.

Hopefully, in the overall scheme of things, I performing with more polish that I was.

Eoin

Gerry-Screwup wrote: »

Thanks for the advice guys, it certainly has helped.

I did speak with my manager today and that, coupled with what you said has reduced my worry somewhat.

I think I will sit down with him next week when he is around and talk this little incident out. I know I achieved something else today that he was struggling with, so that is a positive.

That's great to hear, I'm sure it will work out.

Gerry-Screwup wrote: »

Hopefully, in the overall scheme of things, I performing with more polish that I was.

Damn polish - over here stealing our jobs...

cronos

Its fairly unlikley that they would want to let you go if they have spent 9 months wages training you. The prob extended the probation as this gives them the chance to let you go should the economy go further south and they need to cut costs.