Do I keep looking?
September 9, 2011 2:32 PM Subscribe
While I'm in the initial probationary months of a new job, should I still be looking for other jobs? Snowflake details inside.
I've started a new job in a new field and in a new country, which I've been doing for a week as of today. In my assessment for the week, my boss said I've come off as unprofessional, and in some instances disrespectful, in my emails to my colleagues. I know this is because I'm both new to this field and to this country, but I'm concerned they might decide I'm not a good fit for the company once my probationary period is over.
Other than being more careful with my emails, what else should I be doing during this period? Should I be looking for other jobs just in case I do get let go?
Anon because my co-workers are incredibly tech-savvy.
I've started a new job in a new field and in a new country, which I've been doing for a week as of today. In my assessment for the week, my boss said I've come off as unprofessional, and in some instances disrespectful, in my emails to my colleagues. I know this is because I'm both new to this field and to this country, but I'm concerned they might decide I'm not a good fit for the company once my probationary period is over.
Other than being more careful with my emails, what else should I be doing during this period? Should I be looking for other jobs just in case I do get let go?
Anon because my co-workers are incredibly tech-savvy.
Learn the current workplace culture and adjust accordingly. In the meantime, keep an eye open for other positions - there may be one that's a better fit for you.
posted by Anima Mundi at 2:37 PM on September 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Anima Mundi at 2:37 PM on September 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
Mimic how your coworkers word their emails, and what they do to get an idea of "professional." Also, it doesn't hurt to have a backup plan, so searching for other jobs off company time seems reasonable.
posted by Mr. Papagiorgio at 3:30 PM on September 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by Mr. Papagiorgio at 3:30 PM on September 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
Be open to the possibility that he was only trying to correct a small mistake, not make a judgment about your entire work effort. If (for example) emails need to be more formal, and yours are informal in tone, how else would you know?
posted by Houstonian at 3:53 PM on September 9, 2011
posted by Houstonian at 3:53 PM on September 9, 2011
There is nothing the matter with looking for another job at any time during your employment. You have spoken only of challenges with emails and an adjustment which may be due to a different work and personal culture to which you may be in the process of adapting.
I have lived and worked in a number of countries and a number of different types of work settings. There are some basic email etiquette rules which seem to apply in any setting and if you google email, work and computer etiquette you will find a feast of information.
If you like your job and environment I think it is worthwhile doing your best to try to better understand the culture of the workplace and how you need to adapt to it. It sometimes takes months to really find your feet in a new position. Having worked in several jobs I did know straight away if I was in a position that I absolutely knew was not for me. This has happened twice in my career and I did start looking for work straight away. There have been a couple of times where I needed to adapt my style and learn the culture of the organization for which I worked. This was not hard to do and when I understood the flavour of the organization it made my life and work much easier.
posted by YukonQuirm at 4:48 PM on September 9, 2011
I have lived and worked in a number of countries and a number of different types of work settings. There are some basic email etiquette rules which seem to apply in any setting and if you google email, work and computer etiquette you will find a feast of information.
If you like your job and environment I think it is worthwhile doing your best to try to better understand the culture of the workplace and how you need to adapt to it. It sometimes takes months to really find your feet in a new position. Having worked in several jobs I did know straight away if I was in a position that I absolutely knew was not for me. This has happened twice in my career and I did start looking for work straight away. There have been a couple of times where I needed to adapt my style and learn the culture of the organization for which I worked. This was not hard to do and when I understood the flavour of the organization it made my life and work much easier.
posted by YukonQuirm at 4:48 PM on September 9, 2011
Other than being more careful with my emails, what else should I be doing during this period?
Do you really understand why you're coming off as unprofessional or disrespectful? Just "being more careful" is going to be a giant exercise in frustration if you don't, and yeah, you may not last too long.
However, if you do demonstrate that you've taken a leap to understand how to communicate and can put it into practice, it will reflect very positively on you.
posted by desuetude at 5:44 PM on September 9, 2011
Do you really understand why you're coming off as unprofessional or disrespectful? Just "being more careful" is going to be a giant exercise in frustration if you don't, and yeah, you may not last too long.
However, if you do demonstrate that you've taken a leap to understand how to communicate and can put it into practice, it will reflect very positively on you.
posted by desuetude at 5:44 PM on September 9, 2011
I came in to say something similar to desuetude: do you have specifics to go on? In an ideal world, your boss might have said "this is not the email salutation we use, this is not how we sign off, you must always ask about the weather" etc. If your boss did not, maybe schedule some time to sit down and say "please tell me specifically how I should have re-written this email".
Part of good management, in my opinion, is giving employees actionable feedback. A generic "you're too forward" or "be more careful" isn't as helpful as it could be. Other posters have mentioned that there are a lot of websites out there on work etiquette, but hopefully you have specifics from your actual boss and colleagues.
posted by lillygog at 7:33 AM on September 10, 2011
Part of good management, in my opinion, is giving employees actionable feedback. A generic "you're too forward" or "be more careful" isn't as helpful as it could be. Other posters have mentioned that there are a lot of websites out there on work etiquette, but hopefully you have specifics from your actual boss and colleagues.
posted by lillygog at 7:33 AM on September 10, 2011
Start looking as soon as possible.
That being said, do your best to kick ass as much as possible in your current position. Tell your manager you are looking into doing the best job you can and that you would appreciate further feedback on how to go about doing so. This could be a great learning experience on how to deal with hostile or just different environments....At the same time you are at a risk of getting laid off so do everything in your power to put yourself in a place where you have some sort of control.
posted by The1andonly at 9:06 AM on September 12, 2011
That being said, do your best to kick ass as much as possible in your current position. Tell your manager you are looking into doing the best job you can and that you would appreciate further feedback on how to go about doing so. This could be a great learning experience on how to deal with hostile or just different environments....At the same time you are at a risk of getting laid off so do everything in your power to put yourself in a place where you have some sort of control.
posted by The1andonly at 9:06 AM on September 12, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
I would have a discussion with your boss to talk about how you can fix your email etiquette and comply with the status quo. Make local friends as well, and have them read some of your emails so they can walk you through what is ok and what isn't.
posted by craven_morhead at 2:34 PM on September 9, 2011