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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?

#111
With a person just out of college, I would say if they have this many complaints then they totally lack management skills.

If you do not get an apology, then I would leave as they will just damage you more.

What the manager boss did was wholly uncalled for. I recommend sending the link to this discussion to his boss.

Your manager and boss may be very technically smart, but like many people who are technical, they need a lot more education in management. I have been, in the past, as bad as your manager and their boss. But I have learned to be better.

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

#112
Hate to say it but start looking for another job. I've been in the same situation and learned that its almost impossible to change a boss's perception of you once it becomes negative. Maybe there are some things you could have done to be more transparent and those are great learnings to take to your next gig.

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

#114

Time to start looking for the next gig. That boss is unsuitable for management. Lacking emotional intelligence, willingness to mentor, and so forth. I've never successfully managed upwards, never have been able to turn situations like yours around. I've had jobs that I really liked, so tried really hard to make things work. It was never worthwhile. I always regretted the effort. The good bosses I've had made all the…

This is dead on accurate. You cannot control upwards, well said. You have to work with good people in the first place. This is not a fashion industry parody where you are supposed to be insulted to be tolerated. This is development and you should be treated with respect.

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

#115

> Part of the reason it had taken so long is because I put a substantial amount of work into a part of the project that's no longer necessary due to changing requirements, which I don't think I could have forseen. One of the things that I've experienced with new grad junior devs is that there's an adjustment needed to change from academic working to business working. In academia, usually the professor gives an assign…

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 I can be praised for them.

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

#116
post #5

Talk to your manager about it, 1-1.

Many similar good pieces of advice in sibling comments, but I'll add my agreement to this one.

From the subject line, I came in all fired up to start with "just quit; it's the greatest market for SWEs that the world has ever seen". After reading some of the details, I'm inclined to think "eh, it's some poor leadership being shown, but it doesn't sound irretrievably broken anywhere yet."

Start with your direct manager and setup an hour long 1:1. Let her know that you have some mixture of confusion and a small amount of concern, but that you're focused on understanding the feedback and, where appropriate, using it to improve. I think it's terrible form for your manager to bail on the 1:1:1 meeting and, if she had to, your skip-level manager should have rescheduled it. It's not just development for you, but it's development for her and while you should be having quarterly or so skip-level meetings with them, you should never be in a position as a fairly fresh grad to have your project work reviewed in a setup like this one. Poor leadership technique (IMO), but it's not evidence of anything toxic if they're open to "yeah, that sucked; we won't do that again".

I'm often in the role of wondering "why the hell is this project taking so long?!" and simultaneously realistic that there are generally very good reasons for it. (How many software projects in the history of world took wildly less time than originally contemplated?) Two years from now, I expect you to have developed a clear sense of how to explain those justified delays in a way that's convincing and non-defensive, but it's pretty damn unfair to expect you to be able to do that now, especially if you're a summer 2021 grad. You're spending all your time busting tail to just get the damn thing to work and someone's chirping about a second-order effect ("sure, it works, but why'd it take so long?" is just not a question that you're well-positioned to evaluate yet).

I think your overall approach and attitude here is going to serve you well in your career and dive into this one head-on and with curiosity with your direct manager. You've always got the great SWE market to fall back on, but this one seems like staying and fixing is a better plan.

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

#117
You are describing an organizational dysfunction. If you got to the point where the boss says how he can't believe it is taking you so long, which is news for you; and suggests that you look at other projects when you are already nearing the finish line, then something is seriously broken with the communication within your org; and it should be your boss's, or your manager's, job to fix that.

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

#118
post #98
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…

> He told me to my face he "would not have chosen me" and "didn't know how I got in."

Holy shit. Glad that this person got managed out... eventually.

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

#119
A manager cannot ever blame a product delay on individual developers in a team. That's the whole damn point of being a manager and getting the top brass, large office and colored parachute: you must take responsibility for the end result, the buck stops at you.

If a critical path activity is not completed and delays the product, it may be that an individual developer failed in his task, but it your fault as a manager for the product delay: you should have dedicated more time or more experienced talent to that component, you should have tracked it closely and corrected the problem, you should have communicated to upper management the objective reasons outside your control and team for a delay, etc.

Otherwise, what does a manager exactly do? Sits around at his desk waiting for task to be completed on time like some sort of plantation owner?

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

#120
I don't think you should quit, but oddly enough, this other HN post about quitting seems really appropriate. Check out the first flow chart here: https://jmsbrdy.com/blog/leaving-spring/ Mirroring what some others have said, if it was me, I'd talk to the manager and work things out from there.
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