It’s okay to feel overwhelmed with your new job
and here’s why
I recently joined a new job in Marketing. The marketing and communications field has always been my passion. I love experimenting with content, ideas, and social media marketing. It brings me joy. So you would think a new job in the field I love would be easy. Am I right?
Well, it hasn’t been. I joined the job with hopes and expectations. But what I forgot was the nervousness of reporting to a new boss, the frustration of learning a new process, feelings of incompetence and stress of not doing enough, and so on.
My heart skips a beat, and my body is flooded with nervousness when I receive an email from my manager about some content I submitted for review. Most of my time — or should I say days and nights — are spent wondering if I am doing enough, what are my co-workers thinking of me? Am I too slow at producing content and designs or spending too much time on social media strategy? Or am I too slow in decision-making?
I can spend all day listing my fears and stress here. But here’s the thing,
It’s okay to feel what I feel. It’s perfectly OK to freak out at a tiny mistake you make in the beginning; it’s okay to feel stress about deadlines and work you need to submit; it’s okay to wonder what your manager, whom you have known for less than two weeks, thinks about you.
This feeling of uneasiness and nervousness might linger for a week or more. It depends on how long you take to settle down at your new job. But don’t worry, here is a list of things you can do to feel better.
Give your best, and that should be enough.
Thriving and giving your best in your comfort zones is easy. But doing the same at a new job is nerve-racking. So, do your best. Rise every day with one goal in mind — giving your best. Before you start work, make a list of things you can tackle today, and that should be enough.
Express your opinion
When you are new at a job, I know it isn’t easy to express your opinion in a meeting esp. when you want to disagree with the popular opinion since you know it isn’t right for the company. Here’s what I want you to remember, you were hired for your specific set of skills. You know what you do best, and that is the exact reason why they hired you. So, express your opinion and state why you think popular opinion might not be in the company’s interest.
Seek help
Recently, I was stuck with some budgeting work. I have never set a budget ever in life. I was hard on myself and felt incompetent. I stressed so much that I had blackouts. And then, I decided to seek help from some marketing Facebook groups and reaching out to an old friend. What their combined advice taught me that I was needlessly hard on myself. That task I had set out to do was indeed difficult. Also, they gave me a direction to work in. Hence, I urge you to seek help when you are stuck at work and don’t feel alone.
Be patient with yourself.
No matter how frustrating it gets learning new systems and processes, be patient with yourself. Give yourself time to settle in your new job and life. Every time takes time to adjust — how much time is up to you. There is no defined time.
No matter how stressed you feel and lost at work, don’t forget you were hired because the company leadership and your team thought you were the best. You were picked from the thousands who applied for the job. Remember that and let that sink in.
You are destined for greatness. Take your time to adjust and adapt. Because once you do that, you will shine. ❤
