I suck at my job

[RoJoHen]

This is a hard thing for me to admit because I am normally awesome at my job (whatever it may be). I work in the admissions office at a vocational school, enrolling students for our programs. I am awesome at it. I am so awesome at it that, about 6 months ago, they asked me to become their high school recruiter in addition to working in the office. I would go out to high schools and speak to guidance counselors and give presentations for students. I accepted the new/additional position because it seemed like a bad idea to turn down a potential promotion.

Well, 6 months later, I have realized that I suck at it. I suck at it because I don't have any interest in it, and I am completely unmotivated to get better. In addition, because I am now doing two jobs instead of one, my original admissions job, at which I was awesome, is suffering because I can't focus my efforts on it. I am doing the company a disservice by remaining in my current position, but I also feel awkward telling them that. I'm unsure of what the outcome might be. I know that eventually the plan is to have me ditch my admissions job and start the high school thing full-time, and if that happens, I will very likely quit because I really don't enjoy it.

One of my supervisors is going to be in town tomorrow, I think I'm going to break the news to him. I'm just really not sure how he and the other higher-ups will take it.

 

[Tiberius Jim]

I just had a similar problem, and was afraid of the same thing. I took a promotion last January and thought the same thing you did: it'd be dumb to pass up an opportunity. Well, a year later I realized that I hated it and I'm not that good (which is mostly why I hated it). I was afraid that if I told my boss I wasn't enjoying it that I'd lose my job all together or would at least be demoted back to where I was, meaning a pay cut.

Well, I did some asking around, asked some hypothetical questions and what I found out empowered me. I found out that I wouldn't take a pay cut if I went back to my old job, and that it could even open up better opportunities in the future. My boss had actually sensed my displeasure in the job and opened the door to having a conversation about it. I actually just came out and said something to her today, and the process has started to get me back to my old department and where I know I'll be happier.

Basically, don't worry about how they may take it. Who knows, maybe they've seen the signs that you're not happy, too. And if they're good supervisors, they'll want you to be happy and help you get to where you can be. They know that if you're unhappy that you are, as you say, doing a disservice to the company...and yourself.

Life is too short to be unhappy at work. Do what it takes to be happy, and so what you're awesome at doing.

 

[RoJoHen]

That's kind of how I'm feeling about it. I have a feeling my displeasure with my current job is not going unnoticed. The truth is that they really like me, which I think is the reason they offered me this job in the first place, and they want me to stick around, which is always a good thing. It's just such a hard thing for me to admit.

I feel like I'm failing, and I make it a point to do that as infrequently as possible.

 

[Tiberius Jim]

Again, exactly how I felt. It was like admitting I was unhappy and wanted to go back was admitting defeat. I realized that going back to my old department really would make me happier and relieve me of the dread I felt about going in to work, and wouldn't really be me giving up, but just me moving on from something that didn't work.

 

[Namikaze]

Rojo, have you considered tailoring the presentations, so that they are more to your taste? You are trying to recruit students, so if you have fun with it and keep it interesting, it might satisfy your professional needs and motivate your students to join the school.

I hate speaking in front of a crowd, but I found that if I talk normally, instead of using a script, it becomes more enjoyable for me.

 

[RoJoHen]

Again, exactly how I felt. It was like admitting I was unhappy and wanted to go back was admitting defeat. It was once I realized that going back to my old department really would make me happier and relieve me of the dread I felt about going in to work, and wouldn't really be me giving up, but just me moving on from something that didn't work.

I appreciate your input here. It makes me feel better about the situation.

Rojo, have you considered tailoring the presentations, so that they are more to your taste? You are trying to recruit students, so if you have fun with it and keep it interesting, it might satisfy your professional needs and motivate your students to join the school.

I hate speaking in front of a crowd, but I found that if I talk normally, instead of using a script, it becomes more enjoyable for me.

I've tried various things, and it doesn't help. I'm not doing a bad job because of my skills. I'm doing a bad job because I just don't care about the position. I have no motivation to do it, let alone do it well.

And actually, one of my coworkers got really mad when I was offered the position because it was something she had been wanting to do for a while. I think she would be way better at it than I am.

 

[Tiberius Jim]

^ Mention that to your supervisor. One of the things I was worried about was leaving my supervisor in the lurch without anyone to take my place. If you already have someone you know would be great that you can recommend, that'll make their job to re-fill your position the that much easier.

 

[RoJoHen]

The professional world is so tricky. I miss the easy days of being a bartender.

 

[Tiberius Jim]

Or the days of being a kid when the biggest dilemma you had was which Saturday morning cartoons to watch.

 

[Mr Awe]

That's kind of how I'm feeling about it. I have a feeling my displeasure with my current job is not going unnoticed. The truth is that they really like me, which I think is the reason they offered me this job in the first place, and they want me to stick around, which is always a good thing. It's just such a hard thing for me to admit.

I feel like I'm failing, and I make it a point to do that as infrequently as possible.

I would say that if there is all of this good will all around, they like you, you like them, etc. it would be most unwise to mess that up by not talking to them. Be upfront, very polite and they'll probably appreciate it.

Mr Awe

 

[voyagergrl3193]

Or the days of being a kid when the biggest dilemma you had was which Saturday morning cartoons to watch.

Huh, tell me about it, Flux! I have an interview myself today and am extremely nervous about it. It's not that I doubt myself at all..it's the drive that I worry about. I worry about freaks on the interstate ramming into me!

 

[Holdfast]

Most companies tend to like employees who are reflective about their skill set and about where they can best serve the company.

Obviously you know your company & supervisors better than I, but in your shoes, I think it's want to have a full, open & professional discussion about your role within the company. If you can do this easily within the context of another routine meeting, great. But if not, don't try to shoehorn it in tomorrow. Instead schedule a specific appointment to discuss it. Go through with the supervisor the roles you enjoy, your skills, and what is making one aspect of your work challenging. Don't explain it in negatives; explain it in terms of positives (i.e. not "I'm not motivated by job X", but "I think I'm more productive when I do job Y"). Be clear that you enjoy working for them, but are finding a specific aspect isn't working out as well as you and they hoped and you want to find a way of making things work better for everyone.

In the end, the outcome will be unpredictable (there's no way to make it a 100% safe conversation so if this bothers you, don't have it), but if you're really unhappy, then I think it's generally better to be open (with a problem-solving attitude) rather than letting things fester and then getting fired for being crap at something you don't like doing.

 

[Paradon]

I'm sure they will forgive you and you can return to your old job. Most administrators and managers love good workers and will go out of their way to help you out, because they can't afford to loose good people. If the work doesn't get done right and on time it, it makes them look bad.

 

[TheBrew]

I am having a similar problem with my job, though I am more determined to get better at my job. It is a very challenging environment and I feel that if I can learn how to succeed here, then I will have developed some very good skills at working with the senior leaders.

 

[ThankQ]

I had changed jobs about every five years. Some people are like that. You could have a job in a condom factory as a quality control tester and still get sick of it after a while.

Maybe you're one of these people.

Oh, and then I started working for myself from home. I'm at work now. Don't look under the desk Well, unless you plan to back it up.

 

[JarodRussell]

You could have a job in a condom factory as a quality control tester and still get sick of it after a while.

If only quality control in a condom factory would be like what you think it is!

 

[RoJoHen]

Well, it was confirmed today: they want me to start doing my crappy job full-time and no longer do my awesome job. I didn't bring anything up today, but I will definitely be saying something tomorrow.

 

[Tom Hendricks]

This usually happens a lot in companies. You have an employee who does an exceptional job at the job they have. Because of this, without any real process of determining if they are the right person for a promotion, they promote this person to the next level. Now if this was a new employee, they would hold rounds of job interviews and resume evaluations. Usually not so with the promoted person, so now you have a person put into a position with no real vetting other then their boss thinks they are the "right" person for the job. So now this person, wanting to be the team player and wanting to move along the corporate ladder accepts this new position. Usually the golden carrot is the main motivator, the new position pays MORE money then the old position. However this person who was a dynamo at their old position is having trouble making the transition into the new position. Usually there is no or very little training and they are thrown in and expected to "pick up" the nuances of the position. With the new position comes a new jobs description, thats usually more open then their last one. Before they were only responsible for their own work, now they are responsible for multiple sources. They are pretty much sinking from day one and they are afraid to redress this with their bosses. So they tread water for six months to a year, then the first negative adjectives show up in their reviews. Talking about needing to improve, significant changes need to be made. Yes, even with their best efforts they are now on their way out the door. Who truly failed here? I would say the company and I have seen this to many times for it not be significant problem.

When I managed IT departments, where ever I worked I put a stop to this kind of promotions or job changes. We would often have a job opening in the company, say for Help Desk Supervisor. My bosses would say, just make "Steve" the new Help Desk Supervisor. "Steve" was a wonderful hardware guy, setting up and ghosting machines. If something broke, he would diagnose and repair in rapid time. Everyone loved him, would stop by your cubicle to make sure everything was okay with your machine. I asked my supervisor about "Steve," Outside is love for PC's would make him an ideal candidate for the Help Desk Supervisor. My supervisor answers, "He's a nice guy, a real hard worker and we would like to pay him more money." I retort, "Thats all true, however he has no experience in managing people and he is truly happy where he is. Can't we just give him a raise?"***

***real conversation at a place I once worked.

"Steve" was not promoted and did get a modest raise. With the raise I made him "Assistant Help Desk Supervisor" he got to work with the Help Desk Supervisor we hired from outside the company. He got the much needed Managerial training and learned while working on how to manage people. A few years later when this outside hire moved on, "Steve" was indeed promoted to Help Desk Supervisor. I told him about how the company wanted to make him the Supervisor back when the position was open last time. He told me knowing what he knows now, there was no way that he would have been able to do the job. That of course he would have taken the position and probably would have not lasted.

As with anything, things are always relative. I have promoted people from within, its a great place to find immediate answers to staffing issues. However with every single one of them, they went through the interview process the same as any other candidates. Usually going head to head with candidates from outside the company.

 

[RoJoHen]

For what it's worth, my "promotion" did not involve any form of pay raise, only the promise of a pay raise with good performance.

So yeah, that's extra motivation for me to go back to my old position.

 

[Spot's Meow]

RoJoHen, did you talk to your supervisors? Any update to give us?