New role disappointment

Just started your new role and found it not to be what you were expecting.

Many people will resonate with this as it happens so frequently.

To get you on board a rosy picture is created about the company, their culture, etc. and after your first week you wonder what you have done and regret taking the job.

Sometimes, especially with senior management, they believe their own version of how they perceive the company. They may think there is an excellent culture, where they trust and empower their employees when in reality their managers are bullies, staff are tracked by phone, have to sign in and get permission to do stuff or face the consequences, plus have to document all calls, visits, etc. on the bespoke CRM from hell. There is often a tell tale backstabbing culture in these types of environments which is not healthy.

I am always wary when I get told everything is fine we just need more sales. This rings alarm bells because there will be underlying reasons why they have poor sales and these often need correction before moving forward. However, there are cases where the directors are delusional about what is needed to facilitate growth and become more efficient and this impedes progress.

Often an experienced recruiter can also see it as it is and not how it is portrayed but they are being paid by the client and so have their interests at heart. After a recent visit to a company the recruiting agent debriefed me and I mentioned my observations and he agreed with me on all points, none of which were expressed in the job brief.

Experience can help you spot the red flags. Still, sometimes they are thwarted by for example being interviewed by one person and being told to report to someone who you have not met before when you join, or you discover you have a Jekyll and Hyde character boss who can be nice one minute and sinister the next.

Another cultural point is when the rest of the staff fail to interact as they do not expect you to stay. That is when you realise that you have the role with the revolving door. You have been told that there is a low staff turnover and then find that in certain roles, including yours, that is far from the case. The long-serving members are all relatives of the directors or are in non-pressured roles such as admin.

Apple boss, Steve Jobs was very successful by hiring people and then letting them get on with it and not interfering. Often you may seem to be running the business but are being pushed in negative directions by the shareholders. You are the scapegoat and delivery person of bad news as you are being dictated to achieve the impossible without the necessary resources, implement unpalatable policies and practices and are not listened to when you give the advice for which you were hired to turn around the business or achieve growth.

Sometimes getting a new job is like walking through a minefield, one wrong step and you are gone but you have no way of knowing where the mines are hidden until it is too late.