help
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- _salisae_
I have a new job and it's pretty challenging. One designer should be a junior but he skipped that and was hired as a middle weight. The sr. Designer is good but I'm supposed to bring her work up a level or two. Before I arrived she always did the 'best' work but now she's struggling to understand what I want and being defiant with me b/c I represent damage to her ego. Another designer works remotely so it's always a struggle to keep him in the loop.
Meanwhile, they've also given me the role of traffic manager. So you can imagine, I have a few odds against me here.
Which I've been handling okay but we gave a pitch and won all the work we wanted to win and I got no thanks and on top of that I got reprimanded and doors closed all day because I'm not traffic managing well enough.
I have a review tomorrow to discuss all of this. What should I say?
- jamble0
Tough situation,, it's got to be difficult doing your job on top of babysitting 2 people who sound like they should be middleweight and junior respectively.
A senior designer shouldn't need their work bringing up a couple of levels to be honest, they should be there already.
I find if you're going to say anything about people who perhaps aren't performing to the level they perhaps should be that to do it you need to be hugely tactful but also you need to provide examples to back up your stance but also in order to not just sound like you're complaining, it's vital that you also have some suggestions on how to remedy it.
Good luck, it's a nightmare when you can't do your job properly because of other people who demand your time and attention when perhaps they shouldn't need it so much.
- _salisae_0
thanks jamble. I'm a bit wound up about this right now. I'm basically teaching them design. Literally, today i found out that the sr. Doesn't know how to set up master pages, character or paragraph styles. Wtf?! I haven't missed a deadline but they're really close and when the designers get heat from my boss they throw me under the bus b/c no one wants to suffer her wrath.
*cries
- _salisae_0
my boss is a militant stress case about process and timing. Fair enough but come on i have enough challenges as it is. Meanwhile, our actual traffic manager reads celebrity gossip and advice columns.
- jamble0
I'd personally say something, it's not nice to have to talk about other peoples shortcomings at work but then on the other hand, it's causing you grief constantly.
I'd seriously have a think about ways you can suggest the situation is improved though if that's the route you're going to go down.
- _salisae_0
i'm actually just totally venting right now. Unfortunate thing is i do like my job otherwise i'd go ahead and hit the pavement.
- emokid0
it can't hurt to be honest about the challenges you are facing but of course you will need to present it all in a way where it doesn't like you're complaining. as jamble said, it would be great to have some suggestions on how to make the situation better but you should also ask your boss for advice on how to work through these challenges. he/she might not have any real advice but at least he/she'll be aware of the what's going on.
i will send good vibes.
- not that vibes actually mean much or do anything at all.emokid
- Point50
girl, tomorrow you need to say exactly what you said at the top of this thread. there was no flaming involved or sugar coating. Sounds like the honest truth to me. Let it be known. You communicate well, I don't think anything will be misunderstood or lost.
good luck.