Does being in a new position often feel like being an experiment?

Anonymous

September 13,2022 at 5:51PM UTC

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Does being in a new position often feel like being an experiment?

I'm leery of joining any newly created positions anymore after striking out 0/2. One was a Project Manager role (the worst job I've ever had due to the toxic culture and absentee manager), and the other job was a Strategy role (which in hindsight, wasn't nearly as bad as the Project Manager role that I left it for). I'm getting ready to submit my resignation after three months. Has anyone else experienced this when put into a newly created role? The issue is that the scope changed immediately after I was brought on (bait and switch). Any advice for myself or others as it relates to going into a new role?

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ewoehrle17September 13,2022 at 7:32PM UTC
Sorry to hear you're going through this again.
Often times the new role is very ambiguous and will moprh many times. I would hope that organizations don't do this on purpose...many might not know what they need until someone is in the role.
If you consider a newly formed role again, be sure and ask probing questions:
Who is the ultimate decision maker that the role would report to?
Are there metrics to success that are defined and laid out?
How long have the known they wanted this role in the organization?
Why did they not fill it internally?
Those are just a few I would consider.
AnonymousSeptember 13,2022 at 7:55PM UTC
I've always been advised to not apply for roles with new titles or that are not familiar. More than likely it's an extension of a role if duties passed on because the work load of the team. Therefore, the position could be eliminated and you could be laid off. Also, when seeking new roles you may have a difficult time getting call backs because the job title is not familiar and they are wondering what the job duties are.
Emily StarkSeptember 13,2022 at 8:01PM UTC
These sound like very stressful situations; very sorry. I'm curious about the companies you're targeting next and the questions you'll ask regarding structure and organization. Using your past experiences and future must-haves to research companies (especially using employee-reviewed websites like Glassdoor to understand the inner workings of the position you seek) and creating tailored questions to ask the hiring manager AND individuals on the teams you'll work with could help reduce the risk of a negative repeat. Wishing you well!