New job, huge leap, out of my depth and no idea how idea I’m going to be able to do it!

[Jim_b]

Hello there! First post on here, so be gentle with me.

So I recently started a new job as the editor of a magazine. Brilliant you might think. Well, yes, but the magazine is about something I know very little about and have even less experience of. I started just under two months ago, and since I started, to varying degrees, I’ve been riddled with anxiety and worry. This is all the more difficult because while a bit of a worrier at times, I’ve never been through such a long period of misery.

I struggle to sleep, and when I do wake I feel more tired than when I went to bed. I rise with a sinking feeling in my stomach, and shortness of breath on and off during the day. At least once a day I have a strong desire to cry. Often I do. In fact, things got so bad last week that I passed out in the office, had to go to hospital and take the rest of the week off.

I actually don’t worry about what people think of me, but I do worry about the extended discomfort of doing something for 40-odd hours a week that I don’t enjoy. This is magnified especially by the fact that I excelled at my old, mostly unrelated job, but it was going nowhere.

So hopefully you’ve got this far and can help me with the nub of my post - how do I get through this time? I’ve tried talking to people, I’ve tried mindfulness, I’ve tried exercise, I’ve tried drinking, I’ve tried not drinking, but nothing seems to have any great effect. The hope is that this job will help lead to something I love, so there is method to the madness of me trying to stick with it.

Hoping others have been through similar and can offer some words of support and advice.

FYI - saw a psychologist with NewAccess on Monday, first of six meetings. Hopefully that’ll provide some solutions.

[Astro_Boy]

Hi Jim

Just thought I would share my experience of starting a new executive position. I too excelled in my previous role but needed a different challenge so I took up an executive role.

I had anxiety for the first four weeks. I had insomnia and wasn’t eating much. I started having panic attacks and stopped exercising (which I love doing)

how did I manage this, well i would make a lot of notes of all the work things on my mind and email myself. I scheduled in breaks throughtout the day to go for a walk around the block. I found a work colleague who was safe to confine in. This has helped get through the settling in period. I often feel out of my depth but I try to learn from my new experiences - how would I do this differently.

I have settled in and would love to say the anxiety has stopped, it has gotten better but I still have sleepless nights and the odd panic attack either at home or work. I had one today actually and lucky for me I have an office so I shut the door and tried to calm down. When I felt like I could face people (inside I was still shook up) I continued on.

Anyway not sure any of that was helpful, I guess I wanted you to know that your not alone in experiencing anxiety starting a new job. Take comfort in knowing the people that hired you have confidence in your ability to do the job otherwise they would have given the job to someone else.

All the best with the psychologist appointments.

[Jim_b]

Thanks, Astro Boy. Out of curiosity, how related was the old role you had to the new one? Also, any thoughts on how long to give it before you make a decision on whether it’s right and whether or not to continue?

I am getting support from my fiancée, but yesterday we came to blows about it all when I said I was considering going back to my old job. She says going back would just be a band-aid job and that any other time I try something new then this will just happen all over again, but I’m not convinced it will. I just think I took a leap of faith with this role because it sounded good without fully appreciating the importance of doing the kind of task-oriented work concerning a subject I’m more passionate and knowledgeable of, like certain sports or politics.

[Astro_Boy]

Hi Jim

in relation to your question, my old job and new one have similarities in terms of subject matter but there are differences in my level of responsibility, authority and some subject matter I have no life experience to draw on. In my career plan this job is a 5 year gig before moving on to what I really want to do.

In the early days, say the first three months I would regularly think, 'OMG what have I done. I have ruined my career. I don't have what it takes.' I would talk to my partner and the advice I got was 'get a thick skin' Tough love. A combination of tough love, persistence and most importantly trying not to solve everything in the first five minutes of being there has meant I have worked through the shock of being in a totally new workplace with new people and learnt to manage the high level of authority I have. Six months in and I feel settled in, that I made the right choice even though there are days that are difficult and I feel out of my depth. Sometimes I catch myself thinking about how much I enjoyed working for my old boss but I could never go back. Why? I have grown so much, learned a lot with more to come. Yep I get things wrong sometimes but I pretty sure I am not the first person to make a mistake, the difference might be that I take responsibility for it and learn from the experience so I know what to do differently next time.

central to all of this is that I have a vision of the things I would like to achieve in this role, and a legacy of what I would like to leave.What is your vision and legacy for your new role?