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Ask HN: My boss doesn't think I'm doing good work, how to proceed?

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Re: Ask HN: My boss doesn't think I'm doing good work, how to proceed?

#501

Post by quantified »

HomeDeLaPot wrote: post #152
i_like_waiting wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Definitely, I remember as well, that everything they hated me for in school was super beneficial in business. Copying other work? Amazing. Telling boss that I don't have time to do the new task? Trendemous. Solving issue without using latest tech that I just learnt? Incredible. Compaining that some parts of task are harder than anticipated? Brilliant. The only hard part is to bring fake absences into this mindset, so…

You called in sick yesterday and went to the beach with your buddies? I'm glad you did! We all need a mental health day once in a while. Being happy actually makes you more productive in the long term.

My first manager would call these “health days”, and they were always supported. He would declare random “sun” days, when it was an especially nice New England day.

Re: Ask HN: My boss doesn't think I'm doing good work, how to proceed?

#502

Post by alsetmusic »

thegrimmest wrote: post #497
sylphaenos wrote: post #493

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not wanting to help juniors so they're left to struggle the way you did seems incredibly devoid of empathy. I could describe my career the same way you have, but mentoring juniors is now my favorite part of the job. When you were a junior, would you have been satisfied regurgitating a senior's answer without understanding it, or would you have wanted to learn? If you were into learning, why assume nobody else will be…

I'm not sure how not wanting to deal with juniors is devoid of empathy, much like not wanting to look after children isn't either. In either case, I don't see how a high degree of empathy is a prerequisite for technical excellence at any level. Leave the feelings at home. When I was a junior, I would have been greatly satisfied by more time and attention from seniors, as I would be today grateful for more time and at…

> I'm frankly somewhat disgusted

I wouldn’t want to work on a team with someone who has such an attitude. I’m very grateful to work in an environment where we all want to help one another. This really reminds me how good I’ve got it.

Re: Ask HN: My boss doesn't think I'm doing good work, how to proceed?

#503

Post by seanw444 »

psyc wrote: post #98
zwieback wrote: post #8

The first meeting where your manager just abandoned you and you ended up talking to your manager's boss is totally inappropriate. Being so new to the job basically all the responsibility is with your direct manager and her boss is wrong to dump on you without your manager present. I'd give it another chance though, sounds like the work is fun and maybe you can communicate your concerns to your direct manager.

This was my reaction as well. The skip-level should not be the first person to let them know they're perceived as under-performing. OP: Schedule a 1 on 1 with your direct manager and have a conversation about all of this. My skip-level at my first MAAAM job used to snipe at me when I was a new hire. He told me to my face he "would not have chosen me" and "didn't know how I got in." It made me so angry it was all I co…

I know how that "I wouldn't have hired you" thing feels. I didn't go to college for software dev, but am now working at my second job. When I got hired at the first, eventually a conversation came up that was supposed to be light-hearted with all the employees at a lunch (small startup), and the CEO (who is the one who had interviewed me) said "when you got to work coding, you seemed very experienced. But had I known you were only __ years old, I wouldn't have hired you."

Not sure if it was meant to be a good job, or a "you're lucky."

Re: Ask HN: My boss doesn't think I'm doing good work, how to proceed?

#504

Post by thegrimmest »

alsetmusic wrote: post #502
thegrimmest wrote: post #497

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure how not wanting to deal with juniors is devoid of empathy, much like not wanting to look after children isn't either. In either case, I don't see how a high degree of empathy is a prerequisite for technical excellence at any level. Leave the feelings at home. When I was a junior, I would have been greatly satisfied by more time and attention from seniors, as I would be today grateful for more time and at…

> I'm frankly somewhat disgusted I wouldn’t want to work on a team with someone who has such an attitude. I’m very grateful to work in an environment where we all want to help one another. This really reminds me how good I’ve got it.

Do you really work in a team where people are not at all expected to try to help themselves?
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