How long does it take to settle into a new job?
Discussion
So after nearly 10 years at my last job I left to join a completely different industry (money was alot more) at a big company in Manchester. Just over 2 weeks in and I'm struggling a bit. First day was pretty awful as when I arrived no one seemed to know I was due in that day, no one really understands my role as it's newly created so nobody to shadow. Not exactly the most welcoming place so far. Slowly getting more work (not much barely an hour's worth). Feel a bit uncomfortable tbh in the office tbh and out of my depth completely. They seem surprised I have no experience in the industry either. I'm willing to give it a chance though all though last 2 weeks woke up with dread of going in although I imagine that is pretty normal for a new job??
How long does it take to find your feet in a new job on average?
How long does it take to find your feet in a new job on average?
5 years ago I moved from my old job to something very different, the basics were the same but a new organisation and ways of working, when I joined I was told it can take 9 to 12 months to get comfortable with the ways of working, all the acronyms used etc, it felt like people were talking a different language at times.
I'd say it took me 6 months to get comfortable and i've been here 5 years now and have gone from the new boy to just about the most experienced person on the team
I'd say it took me 6 months to get comfortable and i've been here 5 years now and have gone from the new boy to just about the most experienced person on the team
firstly if any one asks you about how you're getting on , say fine don't tell the current truth
secondly find you line manager and ask him what things, tasks you need to be working on
thirdly start creating your own work.
fourthly you are suffering from being institutionalised. That long in a previous business makes it difficult to adapt to a new one. Generally people in your situation will last about a year in the new business before going somewhere else, where the experience of new systems to learn is anticipated.
other than that, there's no definite timeline, however the more involved you are in day 2 day matters the quicker you'll get acclimatised. However it'll take a lot longer than 2 weeks, 3-6 months possibly.
secondly find you line manager and ask him what things, tasks you need to be working on
thirdly start creating your own work.
fourthly you are suffering from being institutionalised. That long in a previous business makes it difficult to adapt to a new one. Generally people in your situation will last about a year in the new business before going somewhere else, where the experience of new systems to learn is anticipated.
other than that, there's no definite timeline, however the more involved you are in day 2 day matters the quicker you'll get acclimatised. However it'll take a lot longer than 2 weeks, 3-6 months possibly.
I changed 'proper' jobs three times during my working life and it took me about a year each time to feel part of the furniture.
I would add that if nobody really knows what your new role/deliverables are then you should write down in some detail what you see them to be, otherwise how will you (or more importantly your boss) know if you're succeeding?
I would add that if nobody really knows what your new role/deliverables are then you should write down in some detail what you see them to be, otherwise how will you (or more importantly your boss) know if you're succeeding?
Edited by Pitre on Friday 6th August 08:20
My advice would be to look for areas where you can add value; my job description is very different to my actual job; the company wrote the description but the market has changed and the line at the bottom 'other tasks as directed' comes into play. If I worked to rule it would the job would take 2 days a week. The rest of the week is from adding value, and you only get to see where you can add value when you understand how the business runs and where the gaps are. That's the difference between a manager and a leader in my eyes, a leader is a chef who designs and creates, a manager is a cook who follows a recipe. It will take a while, but don't crack and tell people it's 'boring' or 'pointless', but look for places you can add value and make the job your own.
It's the feeling of being accepted as a source of information, go to person for your job that I think you are searching for. Remember for your new colleagues, things will be different for them too. You are new to them as they are to you. It does take time for people to make judgements and treat you appropriately. 10 years at a previous place you would have cemented yourself in the role you did and probably felt useful more days than you did not. It is irrelevant how much experience you may or may not have in the role that you do, with regards to other people. The fact you have the job and are doing so is enough.
Tip from me, your colleagues at this stage are not your friends. They will feel threatened by your presence and will be competing for the professional attention, in essence making sure you don't over shadow them and their performance. Whether they wish to admit that or not.
a little bit of theory - Forming - Storming - Norming - Performing - google tuckman it might help.
Tip from me, your colleagues at this stage are not your friends. They will feel threatened by your presence and will be competing for the professional attention, in essence making sure you don't over shadow them and their performance. Whether they wish to admit that or not.
a little bit of theory - Forming - Storming - Norming - Performing - google tuckman it might help.
As others have said, moving on from a long term role is always going to be tough. I left a company after 12 years, where it felt like I was the go-to person for many things, purely because I had been there for so long I knew a bit of everyone's jobs. Going into a new company you need to build that trust again, something which takes time, no matter how good you are. It was a good 6-12 months before I felt fully comfortable.
Obviously going into a newly created role has it's additional challenges. I know it's easy to say, but you need to make the role yours. What were you expecting when you applied for the job? Don't let anyone dwell on your lack of experience in the industry, talk up your own skills and try to carry some confidence.
And if all else fails, you could fall back on this old internet story for inspiration
https://github.com/bibanon/bibanon/wiki/American-D...
Obviously going into a newly created role has it's additional challenges. I know it's easy to say, but you need to make the role yours. What were you expecting when you applied for the job? Don't let anyone dwell on your lack of experience in the industry, talk up your own skills and try to carry some confidence.
And if all else fails, you could fall back on this old internet story for inspiration
https://github.com/bibanon/bibanon/wiki/American-D...
One more point to consider. For me I was at my old company for 12 years. Started out as a fresh faced 21 year old and worked my way up, but there were always people at the company who looked down on me as if I was still that inexperienced 21 year old. Moving into a new company, there is no history, people there take you as you are, so it's a good opportunity to "reset", if that makes sense?
In my experience 6 to 12 months, I've been in my current role nearly 6 years and every now and again somebody will ask me "how do I get x or y done, processed" and I'll go "I don't have a clue"
My first 3 months were the hardest where I didnt really feel like I had much input on anything, but I spent that time reading up on the IT setup and then I found something that I felt needed improving / fixing and just went and got on with that and then as I got allocated new project work I felt like I was beginning to fit in / add value, but it does take time.
My first 3 months were the hardest where I didnt really feel like I had much input on anything, but I spent that time reading up on the IT setup and then I found something that I felt needed improving / fixing and just went and got on with that and then as I got allocated new project work I felt like I was beginning to fit in / add value, but it does take time.
I'll echo the 6-12 months sentiment from the others.
I moved from a service provider position to working with the company paying for the services and managing those in my old position as well as a new discipline i wasn't familiar with. I found myself being a little overbearing on those whose job I knew inside out because I could pick up faults easier, but having to trust those that I didn't.
Took me a year to settle in, and once I had the knowledge base of the other job I was supervising it was fine. 7 years in now and ticking along fine.
I moved from a service provider position to working with the company paying for the services and managing those in my old position as well as a new discipline i wasn't familiar with. I found myself being a little overbearing on those whose job I knew inside out because I could pick up faults easier, but having to trust those that I didn't.
Took me a year to settle in, and once I had the knowledge base of the other job I was supervising it was fine. 7 years in now and ticking along fine.
Be clear on who is making the decisions about you - who hired you & decides any pay rise / bonus. Then make sure you are doing things they value, whatever that is. Get involved in things and make yourself useful.
It will take time to feel properly comfortable - as others have said, don’t air any self doubt or uncertainty to colleagues - but do have an idea of the timeframe your boss is expecting g for the settling in period.
It will take time to feel properly comfortable - as others have said, don’t air any self doubt or uncertainty to colleagues - but do have an idea of the timeframe your boss is expecting g for the settling in period.
I've spent the last 12 years contracting. Effectively 9 new jobs. It takes me a month to really understand why they are paying me, and 12 months to become completely bored s
tless. Usually about the time they start asking if I'd consider a permanent position.
Only if it was as the hiring managers boss.
The worst is that it takes 1 to 3 months for you to get all the correct IT permissions, and this makes it difficult to jump in at the deep end and do the job from day one.
I'm just about to take a permie role, and I am trepidacious about it. I suspect that after 3 weeks I'll be pissed off, but after 6 months I'll be loving it.
tless. Usually about the time they start asking if I'd consider a permanent position. Only if it was as the hiring managers boss.
The worst is that it takes 1 to 3 months for you to get all the correct IT permissions, and this makes it difficult to jump in at the deep end and do the job from day one.
I'm just about to take a permie role, and I am trepidacious about it. I suspect that after 3 weeks I'll be pissed off, but after 6 months I'll be loving it.
I was in a very similar situation to yourself a few weeks back. I left a director position with my last employer after 10 years working up the ranks.
The new position is back to hands on rather than managing people which is exactly what I wanted. I'm in IT and have went from a role where my background was running a global team of ops and dev's building data solutions on AWS and GCP whilst being somewhat still handson to now having no one to manage and solely working in Azure with largely an entirely different set of languages and products.
It can be daunting at first as not only are you no longer the experience go to person with 10+ years of experience but learning the business and tools can have you doubting your own abilities.
I moved 7 weeks ago, first month I got offered a very tempting role elsewhere as I wasn't feeling this new role, but in hindsight it was just the intial getting used to the new place rather than it wasn't for me. 3 weeks on and I feel its going well, still a mountian to climb in terms of understanding the business and it's people but a move fo the better.
The new position is back to hands on rather than managing people which is exactly what I wanted. I'm in IT and have went from a role where my background was running a global team of ops and dev's building data solutions on AWS and GCP whilst being somewhat still handson to now having no one to manage and solely working in Azure with largely an entirely different set of languages and products.
It can be daunting at first as not only are you no longer the experience go to person with 10+ years of experience but learning the business and tools can have you doubting your own abilities.
I moved 7 weeks ago, first month I got offered a very tempting role elsewhere as I wasn't feeling this new role, but in hindsight it was just the intial getting used to the new place rather than it wasn't for me. 3 weeks on and I feel its going well, still a mountian to climb in terms of understanding the business and it's people but a move fo the better.
donnie85 said:
So after nearly 10 years at my last job I left to join a completely different industry (money was alot more) at a big company in Manchester. Just over 2 weeks in and I'm struggling a bit. First day was pretty awful as when I arrived no one seemed to know I was due in that day, no one really understands my role as it's newly created so nobody to shadow. Not exactly the most welcoming place so far. Slowly getting more work (not much barely an hour's worth). Feel a bit uncomfortable tbh in the office tbh and out of my depth completely. They seem surprised I have no experience in the industry either. I'm willing to give it a chance though all though last 2 weeks woke up with dread of going in although I imagine that is pretty normal for a new job??
How long does it take to find your feet in a new job on average?
It's always difficult in a newly created position where they don't really know what that person will do, and it's inevitable that you'll be taking on bits that other people used to do and that those people will likely be unhelpful.How long does it take to find your feet in a new job on average?
When I was in this position I struggled for a few weeks and then started to see that actually I now had the freedom to do things my way, to shape the role as I see it, and that really helped. It can be very difficult for people who worked in roles where they have been forced into a subservient "employee" mindset, forced to rely on other people, to then go into a role where they have to decide what that role will be.
Edited by lyonspride on Sunday 8th August 06:45
Thanks for the responses.
Almost a month now and tbh it's getting no better. I feel more relaxed in the office and people are alot more open now. However I literally have no idea what the point of my role is and neither do the company. Was introduced in a meeting to lots of managers from different regions at head office in Manchester to see how I can add value or how I can be used. Not one had an idea or said anything. Awkward is an understatement.
I'll stick it out for now as it's a big pay jump for me and seems a decent company but as time goes on, if they still don't know what to do with me then might have to look elsewhere. Can't sit here doing nothing all day as great as it sounds, it really isn't.
Almost a month now and tbh it's getting no better. I feel more relaxed in the office and people are alot more open now. However I literally have no idea what the point of my role is and neither do the company. Was introduced in a meeting to lots of managers from different regions at head office in Manchester to see how I can add value or how I can be used. Not one had an idea or said anything. Awkward is an understatement.
I'll stick it out for now as it's a big pay jump for me and seems a decent company but as time goes on, if they still don't know what to do with me then might have to look elsewhere. Can't sit here doing nothing all day as great as it sounds, it really isn't.
Edited by donnie85 on Thursday 12th August 10:27
donnie85 said:
Thanks for the responses.
Almost a month now and tbh it's getting no better. I feel more relaxed in the office and people are alot more open now. However I literally have no idea what the point of my role is and neither do the company. Was introduced in a meeting to lots of managers from different regions at head office in Manchester to see how I can add value or how I can be used. Not one had an idea or said anything. Awkward is an understatement.
I'll stick it out for now as it's a big pay jump for me and seems a decent company but as time goes on, if they still don't know what to do with me then might have to look elsewhere. Can't sit here doing nothing all day as great as it sounds, it really isn't.
Sometimes jobs exist purely for marketing purposes or because a customer expects it.Almost a month now and tbh it's getting no better. I feel more relaxed in the office and people are alot more open now. However I literally have no idea what the point of my role is and neither do the company. Was introduced in a meeting to lots of managers from different regions at head office in Manchester to see how I can add value or how I can be used. Not one had an idea or said anything. Awkward is an understatement.
I'll stick it out for now as it's a big pay jump for me and seems a decent company but as time goes on, if they still don't know what to do with me then might have to look elsewhere. Can't sit here doing nothing all day as great as it sounds, it really isn't.
Edited by donnie85 on Thursday 12th August 10:27
I had a colleague who spent years at a well know vehicle manufacturers site, away from his family somewhere in Europe, he did nothing at all from day one, he was only there because the company he worked for had promised to have someone on site as part of the deal.
I've also been there myself, former employer acting as tech support for a company who sells cheap chinese made devices to the fire/security industry. I was introduced to a customer in a formal meeting as "hey so this is X, he's got Y experience, he's an expert in Z, he'll be in charge of support for your product" and then I never had a single thing to do with them.
The BS, I just hate it, everyone does it, everyone knows everyone does it and yet nobody ever calls it out.
donnie85 said:
Thanks for the responses.
Almost a month now and tbh it's getting no better. I feel more relaxed in the office and people are alot more open now. However I literally have no idea what the point of my role is and neither do the company. Was introduced in a meeting to lots of managers from different regions at head office in Manchester to see how I can add value or how I can be used. Not one had an idea or said anything. Awkward is an understatement.
I'll stick it out for now as it's a big pay jump for me and seems a decent company but as time goes on, if they still don't know what to do with me then might have to look elsewhere. Can't sit here doing nothing all day as great as it sounds, it really isn't.
20 years ago, I was sent on Six sigma black.belt training. 4 separate weeks at the Hickory Ridge conference centre near Chicago, with 3 weeks back in the UK between the training.Almost a month now and tbh it's getting no better. I feel more relaxed in the office and people are alot more open now. However I literally have no idea what the point of my role is and neither do the company. Was introduced in a meeting to lots of managers from different regions at head office in Manchester to see how I can add value or how I can be used. Not one had an idea or said anything. Awkward is an understatement.
I'll stick it out for now as it's a big pay jump for me and seems a decent company but as time goes on, if they still don't know what to do with me then might have to look elsewhere. Can't sit here doing nothing all day as great as it sounds, it really isn't.
Edited by donnie85 on Thursday 12th August 10:27
On returning with certificate in hand my new boss, was the MD.
He told me to "Go and save some money. I don't car how you do it. Go and stand in the middle of the shop floor and watch"
I saved them about £10 million quid over the next 5 years. Spent about £600k on automation, managed the project, got the cash approved, trained the operators, worked with suppliers on the quality of parts coming in. Basically, did a bit of 5 or 6 other jobs, treading on toes and generally not giving a s
t about functional silos. Years later I applied for a contract role somewhere where they had on the job spec something about
"Chalk Circle Analysis"
I also refer you to Tim Woods.
Gassing Station | Jobs & Employment Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff