Struggling at new job

I started a new online marketing job 4 weeks ago, after leaving a similar job in a small agency. I loved my ex colleagues and the work I did, but my boss was a terrible manager and I had no prospects for growth in there, so I started looking and got this job as a manager in a big, well known agency.

I knew I would have to step up my game as the work is fast paced, but I feel like I'm sinking. Most of my new clients are fine, but one particular one has turned into a bit of a nightmare, with a very difficult setup, 14 different people on the client side to talk and send reports to and no proper handover given by the person who managed the account before me (who is also based in a different city so hard to get ahold of). On top of that, a lot of things requested by this client in the last couple of months were not done so I'm having to play catch up and the client is starting to be unhappy. The day to day is extremely fast paced here, with much more demanding clients in general.

I feel like I've spent the last 4 weeks putting out fires while I try to learn how things work around here, and the stress has overwhelmed me so much that I've started to make this stupid mistakes that I really shouldn't be doing - things like sending an email to the wrong person, or not checking properly a report done by someone else (which had an error) before sending it to the client. My manager is aware of the lack of handover and mentioned that I have been thrown in at the deep end, but that I should see it as a challenge. He's noticed these mistakes and asked me to pay more attention.

I don't know what to do. I'm making a point of setting up processes for everything and triple checking all I do while I try to keep the pace, meet the requests in time and fix all the issues with this client, but I get so overwhelmed sometimes that I get blocked, and if I make a mistake I just feel awful. I was close to tears by the end of today.

I really don't want to quit as it's a better position, salary and company name than my previous one, and I was really looking forward to starting the job, but I'm feeling miserable. I'm hoping it will get better with time, but I'm worried it won't and that it'll turn out I just can't crack this.

Any advice from people who have been in similar situations and managed to get through it would be very welcome.

Ah...the throw them out to the wolves without training/instruction management style. Yeah, lazy on their part but using the "It's a challenge" to cover their butts and make it look like it's some new boot-camp management style. Don't overextend which is common when new and trying to make a good impression. Brush up your resume and start looking g in the meantime, it doesn't sound like a good fit.

My manager is aware of the lack of handover and mentioned that I have been thrown in at the deep end, but that I should see it as a challenge.

I wrote a big long response to you yesterday that I somehow deleted before I posted it. I'm bright that way, lol.

I can only tell you what I would do and hope that it helps. On the manager, I wouldn't let him get away with putting it back in my lap. Managers should provide the resources necessary for you to be successful. For your part, have a few ideas that helps to solve your problem when you discuss the barriers to a good performance. And play the stupid game to get what you want.

For example, your manager admits there is a problem and said you should see it as a challenge. I would've feigned a small amount of relief, and said something like, "Yes, thank you for understanding. It's definitely a challenge. If we hired a temp to do xyz for 3 weeks or so, it would help me get ahead of this client's account, and be a lot more effective."

It's a simple formula - throw an idea on the table, explain why it might help, close with promises of your success. If your manager gives you what you need, you'll then have to do whatever it takes to succeed. If you don't, you'll lose all credibility.

With the client, I'd set up a meeting or phone conference with them, all 14 of them. Reintroduce yourself. Start by letting them know they are very important to you, and you are determined to provide superlative service. Candidly admit that you are concerned they aren't getting everything they need from you when they need it, and it's unfortunate that sometimes information is lost during a handoff between staff. You want to rectify that. You are committed to being the best account rep they've ever had.

You basically want to humanize this - admit there's been a problem, and assure them you are going to fix it, but you need their assistance.

Get a list of their deliverables, the due dates, the contacts who should receive it, and the priority. It might be fast/clear/easy if you sent them a list that you have so you can all work off of that together. Once your deliverables are clear, talk about the problems that need to be corrected. Ask for the hottest 3, what the issue is, who should be in the loop...and once you have a firm grasp on that, tell them a date when it will be fixed. If you think it will take 3 weeks, tell them 4 weeks. When you come in under the deadline, they will begin to trust you...as much as they trust anybody.

It's possible that they will always be difficult. It's equally possible that the person before you didn't make them very happy. If you are finding it hard to reach that guy, maybe they had the same problem. It doesn't really matter, as you can never badmouth a fellow employee. It's just a new way of seeing this client.

Can you build cross checks into your reports, so that you can tell at a glance that they are correct before sending them? When writing an email, can you keep it as a draft, and then proof read it a few minutes later before sending it?

There's lots of ways you can get on top of this. You can do this.

Thanks to both of you for your replies, they were really helpful (and thanks for taking the time to rewrite yours too Hell on Heels!).

Wiseman, I am determined to at least try to make it work, but if it turns out after 6 months that it's not a good fit, I will definitely be looking elsewhere. It'd be a shame though, this has never happened to me before.

Hell on Heels, so many great ideas there! Every time I've made a mistake since this started going downhill a couple of weeks ago I've created some sort of checklist or spreadsheet outlining the process, which should make it easier to prevent it from happening again. I have also spoken to one of the client directors I work with about what's happening and what would help me, and she has agreed, but also said that this company is very profit focused, my department was not making money and when people left, they just didn't replace them to try and drive profit up. Hence the workload, and not being able to give me support like with the intern thing you mentioned. She mentioned the same thing happened when she started 4 years ago, no handover and being thrown into the deep end from week 1. At least I feel like I've bonded a bit with her and I might have an ally there that might help if my manager starts getting annoyed. I find it quite difficult to speak to my manager, he's not the empathetic kind and even if he makes mistakes as well (he forgot to call a client to re-arrange a call the other day), he's not very understanding with other people's.

I like the idea of humanising the handover process in front of the client, but my company is very concerned with appearing perfect in front of them and they'd never let me say something like 'unfortunately, sometimes information is lost during a handover' as they'd see it as reflecting poorly on them. I do need to work on building a good relationship with them and I'm creating lists with all their requests and emailing them with dates on when they'll be completed. I do have another 4 clients and a few more coming, so I'm really struggling for time and staying late most days.

This past week has been pretty bad. I've made a few rookie mistakes and feel really disappointed in myself, as this has not happened before in my career. On Friday, I got up at 5.30 am to go to a meeting in another city with one of the regions for this client I mentioned in my original post (they have 7 different regions), got back to the office at 3 pm and had to send the weekly reports to the 7 regions. I was super tired by then and barely functioning, but made a point of checking all reports made by the analysts thoroughly. I sent the first 4, found something wrong with the 5th, sent it back to the analyst, left that email and checked the 6th, found something else and sent it to the analyst too, started working on the 7th. Then the analyst left without doing what I asked for, so I had to do it myself, sent the last reports and then got a reply from one of the regions saying they had received the report from the a different region and could I please send them theirs. I replied apologising and corrected it, but my manager was copied in their reply so he'll probably say something about it on Monday and I'm dreading it.

I also had a call with a different client a couple of days earlier, and instead of opening the current week's report to go through it with them, I opened the one from the previous week and halfway through the call, the client interrupted to ask me if they maybe had a different report as the numbers didn't match. I realised I was on the wrong report and managed to wing it a little while I opened the right report and continued, but my manager was in the call too and realised something weird had happened.

It's such a strange feeling. I was starting to think that I have really bad attention to detail at work, but it's spilling into other areas of my life. The other day I went to buy some home stuff and left without scanning a chair (didn't even notice the final bill looked strangely low until I got home), this morning I poured my coffee into an ashtray, and yesterday afternoon I left my phone at a coffee shop (which I luckily found there when I got back). It's like my brain is overloaded and not functioning, missing really basic things.

I'm really want to crack this , but I'm scared I'm losing credibility. I am setting up processes for everything new to try and prevent as many mistakes as possible, I've joined the gym to start going at lunchtime and see if it helps with the mental block, spoken to my manager and client director about how this can be fixed and pointed out all the other things that are going right. I will keep your suggestions in mind too, like saving draft emails and checking them again a few minutes later. I do hope it gets easier with time.

Thanks again for your replies!

You're in a hard place right now, there's no doubt about it. The stress seems to be spilling over into your personal life. I totally get it. I've been there...lost my keys, forgot to pay my electric bill, and fed my cats pizza.

I guess at this point, I'd make an effort to disassociate from your manager. I get it - we all want to impress the people who control our raises and career options...but I'd try to focus back on pleasing myself. I'd do this for 2 reasons. 1, it sounds like your manager is almost impossible to please and if you keep worrying about, it can drain your focus. 2, at the end of the day you need to respect yourself. Do your best - you can always keep your self respect when you are trying, so if your efforts aren't always perfect, you can live with it. No one dies if the reports have to be resent. I'm adding that last sentence because in your current work environment, it's easy to lose perspective.

I like your 6 months idea. If you are still stressed then, sounds like you're right that you'd be happier, more successful in another environment. Wishing you every success!

Haha, at least you gave the cats something edible! You're totally right, it's not a life or death situation, but the current environment makes it seem so. I also need to push back a bit, as looking at it with perspective, I don't think I'm doing too badly given the current situation. I'm going to give it some time and do my best. If I realise it's not for me, I will at least be looking elsewhere from a better position than I was at my old company.

Thanks again, that was good advice

So, I posted this a few months ago now. Just wanted to quickly say that, after months of trying to fit in that workplace, I finally quit in July, 7 months after I started. I was having panic attacks by the end of it, and it hit me one day that it wasn't worth it. I quit without having another job lined up, but I just couldn't take it anymore.

I've spoken to several people that work or used to work there, and it became very clear that they have a major issue with staff turnover (50 people in the last 3 years in an office of about 40 when I left). So many people avoiding them like the plague, so it was definitely a good decision. I took a couple of weeks to regroup, started looking and found another job 6 weeks after I quit. The new job is great, people are lovely and supportive and I feel like I know what I'm doing. Same salary and better location than the other one too.

So it all turned out okay in the end. I just wanted to thank everyone who took the time to give me advice when I was struggling

Sounds like you were trying to fit a round peg in a square hole. So glad that your are in a good place now.