Shocked by bad work review

Hi Ronnie Ann. I just got a terrible work review. Worst one ever!!!!!! Not on this or any job have I ever received one like this before. There wasn’t one good thing said about me. Even on the only 2 things I had “meet standards” on I was insulted in the paragraph below it.

I’m not supposed to know that it was not my direct supervisor’s opinion. Turns out HER supervisor told her what to put in it. And my supervisor’s boss also told my supervisor that she’ll take it easy on her evaluation … since she’s pregnant. Nice huh?

I have been there for 6 yrs and 4 in my current position and I have not had any issues til now. My boss’s boss has only been over both of us for about the past year. And that is when I suddenly can’t do anything right.

⇒  How To Handle a Bad Job Evaluation

I manage a software program and she thinks I don’t do it correctly or get the most out of it. I was sent to another place that uses the same program and they do it exactly like I do it. Good news?? NO!! I have to find other places that use it and see how they do things.

I’m assuming I need to look until I find someone that does it differently so she can finally say, that is how you should be doing it. I spoke to the technician from the company that installs the program and comes to fix things if we have issues {which is rare} and he told me there is nothing more I should be doing. I think she is just trying to pick at me and is trying to get rid of me.

The thing that gets me the most of all is that I get this terrible work review and she has not had one conversation with me since she has been there. Not once!!

How can you criticize someone when you have never even spoken to them? It makes me so mad when I know I am doing a good job. But I don’t even know if she knows all I do. Grrrr!!!

Thanks for allowing me to vent!!

~ C

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My response:

Dear C,

This feels so unfair! I’m sorry you’re going through this. And I agree it does feel like your boss’s boss may be trying to get rid of you, for whatever reason. A work review is supposed to try to help you see how to improve. Not leave you feeling like you’ve been beaten up. [Read more…]

If you just got a poor performance review, I feel for you. I know that it’s easy to let that get you down. But whether or not you agree with what you just heard, this is not a time to retreat into hiding. Bad reviews can happen even to the best of us. And you might even find something personally useful as a result.

Unless it’s clear there is no chance of recovery, the best thing you can do after a bad review is to dust yourself off. And commit to start fresh, with a renewed determination to show your current boss that you do have what it takes to succeed. If it works, great. If not, you can use the time to figure out, and lay the groundwork for, some possible next moves.

NOTE: Even if you eventually wind up leaving anyway, just know there’s always a place where we can shine. Please believe that. Meanwhile, it pays to do our best in any circumstance, since that shapes who we are now and into the future. And how we feel about ourselves.

DURING poor performance review

[Read more…]

Promised bonus: Carrot that disappeared

Hi Ronnie Ann. I just came off of the worst job review of my life. And I’m worried it will affect the promised bonus I’m working toward. Funny thing is I have had regular one-on-ones with my manager and everything had seemed to be going well. But that guy recently stepped down as manager.

Anyway, while I agree some of the stuff he wrote was true, I do not believe that he presented to me the information in a timely manner. Waiting six months to tell me that I’m not doing well while each weekly meeting has been fine is a shocker!

So I’m not sure what to do at this point. The guy is no longer my manager, But he still works in my group and is a respected IC. My new manager says I’ve basically got a couple of months to prove myself. And he’s going to help by giving me specific things I need to accomplish. And changes I need to make.

“But do I really want to stay now?”

The problem is I’m not sure I want to stay at this point. I’ve been with the company for a little over a year and haven’t really meshed well with anyone. But I don’t want to lose my promised bonus either. [Read more…]