Had a one on one meeting today with supervisor / bad performance review [MERGED] (employment, degree)

[Newbieontheblock86]

I had a one on one meeting today with my immediate supervisor and I m kinda confused. I was told I could be a better worker. I asked for examples, and she sort of diverted to something else and never could give me any details. She goes on to tell me that they don't know if they feel like I am confident in my job duties , so this is making them feel unsure about giving me more responsibilities. Unlike the other team members , they know their strengths and weaknesses. However with me, they are unsure due to my quiet disposition. I was then asked what type of responsibilities would I like to take on , I listed a few things and she just kinda just stared at me.
As far as I know, I am always told I do a good job, I'm approachable, I never if any make any mistakes, like never , unlike some of the other team members , they make huge mistakes, such as overpaying people large sums of money, I mean tens thousands of dollars, one team member forgot to process paychecks for over 200 people , which caused the company over 25,000 dollars , not to compare myself, but I feel like I am not appreciated. I am the only person on my team with an advanced degree, experience , I don't make errors, I don't have any personal drama or issues with anyone here, yet I'm not doing a good job?? Am I taking this to personal? I had the vice president assistant contact me to ask my expertise on a form we use to pay spot bonus, yet I don't know my job? Team members always ask me questions and expertise on different human resources matters, yet I'm not good at my job!??

[Parnassia]

Originally Posted by Newbieontheblock86

I had a one on one meeting today with my immediate supervisor and I m kinda confused. I was told I could be a better worker. I asked for examples, and she sort of diverted to something else and never could give me any details. She goes on to tell me that they don't know if they feel like I am confident in my job duties , so this is making them feel unsure about giving me more responsibilities. Unlike the other team members , they know their strengths and weaknesses. However with me, they are unsure due to my quiet disposition. I was then asked what type of responsibilities would I like to take on , I listed a few things and she just kinda just stared at me.
As far as I know, I am always told I do a good job, I'm approachable, I never if any make any mistakes, like never , unlike some of the other team members , they make huge mistakes, such as overpaying people large sums of money, I mean tens thousands of dollars, one team member forgot to process paychecks for over 200 people , which caused the company over 25,000 dollars , not to compare myself, but I feel like I am not appreciated. I am the only person on my team with an advanced degree, experience , I don't make errors, I don't have any personal drama or issues with anyone here, yet I'm not doing a good job?? Am I taking this to personal? I had the vice president assistant contact me to ask my expertise on a form we use to pay spot bonus, yet I don't know my job? Team members always ask me questions and expertise on different human resources matters, yet I'm not good at my job!??

Well, the problem may be that you are doing what is expected but no more than that. Yes, you know your job, don't make mistakes, don't cause drama....those things are the minimum; like getting a passing grade instead of an A. Maybe they are expecting you to show some initiative, step outside the ordinary tasks that you already do so well, come up with ideas to improve the way the work gets done. Propose change that will benefit the company. Maybe they are waiting for you to come ask to be trained to take on new tasks, take on more responsibility. You could never be showing them that YOU want to do better, more, or new things. Maybe that's why they seem unsure. You are not actually telling them anything about what you want out of the job or what you want to work yourself in to.

[Suburban_Guy]

The writing is on the wall, time to look for another job.

Before it was your co-workers you had a problem with, now the supervisor is giving you unflattering reviews. You will never be happy there.

Being mocked by coworkers

[bobsell]

Don't quit the job. Immediately start a stealth job search while you are employed. You are a "passive candidate" and the recruiters will trip over themselves to recruit you. The minute you quit or are laid off, you lose this coveted status.

[treemoni]

Any boss that tells you you need to improve but can't give you clear goals to work toward is full of crap and giving themselves room to change the goal posts whenever it suits their needs. Sounds like your boss is trying to plant seeds of doubt and knock you down a few pegs. Update that resume and find a better person to work for. This is not the kind of person who will help you reach the next level. They may actively try to sabotage you. Insecure bosses are theeeee worst.

[Newbieontheblock86]

Actually she has tried to sabotage me sad but true
And I have been told that “they are not trying to knock me off my pedestal “
So I think you may be spot on

Originally Posted by treemoni

Any boss that tells you you need to improve but can't give you clear goals to work toward is full of crap and giving themselves room to change the goal posts whenever it suits their needs. Sounds like your boss is trying to plant seeds of doubt and knock you down a few pegs. Update that resume and find a better person to work for. This is not the kind of person who will help you reach the next level. They may actively try to sabotage you. Insecure bosses are theeeee worst.

[Brookboy]

Well, after reading this post and also reading your previous post about your co-workers, it seems to me that the image you have of yourself at work is not the image your co-workers and your supervisor have of you. You may think that you are doing a good job, but it sure sounds like they don’t. Do you think your supervisor would describe your meeting the same way you did? How do you think she would describe it to her boss?

I think you need to start by deciding if you really want the job. If you do, you have some obstacles you need to address. You can treat this as a learning experience.

If I were you I’d start by asking your supervisor for another meeting. You can then tell her in all honesty that you were very surprised by your earlier meeting and that you didn’t know you were being perceived this way. Ask her again for some examples of your work behavior that she’d like to see changed. Don’t be aggressive or defensive about whatever she says. Try to listen as if she were describing another person. Maybe have a pad and pen to make notes to show your sincerity. Keep in mind the fact that these types of meetings aren’t easy for the supervisor either. The idea is to show her that you want to be a solid employee.

Doing stuff like this isn’t easy, and a lot of people would just quit. But if this has happened to you before (or if it happens again) you will need to re-examine your work behavior and work ethic. I’m not suggesting that any of this is your fault. I don’t even think it’s a matter of fault. But somehow your co-workers and your supervisor have formed a rather negative opinion of you at work, by your own description. You really need to think about that. I can tell you from experience that businesses value teamwork very highly. If someone (even a talented someone) is perceived as a poor team player, that someone usually doesn’t last very long.

I think you need to start cultivating your co-workers as well as your supervisor. Instead of taking things personally, try to think of them as stuff that happens at work. Everyone who works for a living (and that would be most of us) has to put up with this kind of stuff.

Good luck with whatever approach you take.

[Newbieontheblock86]

I asked her for examples of how I can improve myself and she never gave me an answer
Now as far as teamwork I am all about teamwork anytime someone need something I’m always helping or being helpful
We had someone just get hired and I put together documents to help outline everything we do on a daily basis
This is something no one had ever done not even the supervisors
This conversation we had yesterday was out the blue , I had always been told everyone thinks I am the sweetest most kindest person that works there so why the change of a sudden who knows

Originally Posted by Brookboy

Well, after reading this post and also reading your previous post about your co-workers, it seems to me that the image you have of yourself at work is not the image your co-workers and your supervisor have of you. You may think that you are doing a good job, but it sure sounds like they don’t. Do you think your supervisor would describe your meeting the same way you did? How do you think she would describe it to her boss?

I think you need to start by deciding if you really want the job. If you do, you have some obstacles you need to address. You can treat this as a learning experience.

If I were you I’d start by asking your supervisor for another meeting. You can then tell her in all honesty that you were very surprised by your earlier meeting and that you didn’t know you were being perceived this way. Ask her again for some examples of your work behavior that she’d like to see changed. Don’t be aggressive or defensive about whatever she says. Try to listen as if she were describing another person. Maybe have a pad and pen to make notes to show your sincerity. Keep in mind the fact that these types of meetings aren’t easy for the supervisor either. The idea is to show her that you want to be a solid employee.

Doing stuff like this isn’t easy, and a lot of people would just quit. But if this has happened to you before (or if it happens again) you will need to re-examine your work behavior and work ethic. I’m not suggesting that any of this is your fault. I don’t even think it’s a matter of fault. But somehow your co-workers and your supervisor have formed a rather negative opinion of you at work, by your own description. You really need to think about that. I can tell you from experience that businesses value teamwork very highly. If someone (even a talented someone) is perceived as a poor team player, that someone usually doesn’t last very long.

I think you need to start cultivating your co-workers as well as your supervisor. Instead of taking things personally, try to think of them as stuff that happens at work. Everyone who works for a living (and that would be most of us) has to put up with this kind of stuff.

Good luck with whatever approach you take.

[don1945]

Originally Posted by Newbieontheblock86

I had a one on one meeting today with my immediate supervisor and I m kinda confused. I was told I could be a better worker. I asked for examples, and she sort of diverted to something else and never could give me any details. She goes on to tell me that they don't know if they feel like I am confident in my job duties , so this is making them feel unsure about giving me more responsibilities. Unlike the other team members , they know their strengths and weaknesses. However with me, they are unsure due to my quiet disposition. I was then asked what type of responsibilities would I like to take on , I listed a few things and she just kinda just stared at me.
As far as I know, I am always told I do a good job, I'm approachable, I never if any make any mistakes, like never , unlike some of the other team members , they make huge mistakes, such as overpaying people large sums of money, I mean tens thousands of dollars, one team member forgot to process paychecks for over 200 people , which caused the company over 25,000 dollars , not to compare myself, but I feel like I am not appreciated. I am the only person on my team with an advanced degree, experience , I don't make errors, I don't have any personal drama or issues with anyone here, yet I'm not doing a good job?? Am I taking this to personal? I had the vice president assistant contact me to ask my expertise on a form we use to pay spot bonus, yet I don't know my job? Team members always ask me questions and expertise on different human resources matters, yet I'm not good at my job!??

I think that any of us who have had a lot of years in the workforce know that we had jobs that we were a perfect fit for, and jobs that we sucked at. At my current job, they rave about how good I am, and yet, in past years, I have had jobs where I was either fired, or left because I wasn't right for that position.

Sounds like you might want to do one of two things:

1) As for a second meeting, have specific questions you want to ask, and try to narrow down what exactly they feel are the issues, so you can work on those. I would be very direct, and say " I appreciated the last meeting we had and I want to try to work on some of the areas where you have concerns. Please give me some specific problem areas and I will then have a better idea of what I can do."

2) Or, you may see this as the handwriting on the wall, and you may want to start looking around for a new job. Sometimes, they are telling you that you are on your way out, and that second meeting may give you some clues to that happening.

[Florida2014]

Is this the same job you've been posting about for months and months here? Dear Lord.....find a new job. For everyone's sake.