I was a student for many years (5 years of undergrad, 2.5 years of grad school), and I became very comfortable with always being able to look at the syllabus and my grade and know what I needed to do and how well I was performing. Work isn’t like that. Like I think is normal, I get a performance review once a year. I find this unsettling, because even though I come in and do decent work, I still often feel like I’m doing something “wrong” and worry that I’m secretly on the cusp of being fired. Folks who have maybe been working for longer than I have, how do you feel and stay confident in your work?
Well, I can review my own performance more regularly, for one. I know what my sales numbers are and what they should be and what my coworkers’ numbers are. As long as I’m in the top third I’m satisfied, as long as I’m in the top two and my take-home is at or above the previous year’s for the same month I’m happy.
I also solicity feedback from both management and patrons and while management always wants to be able to give criticism, you can tell when they’re searching; patrons are more honest and immediate.
But I’ve been working a long time.
For you, you can request more frequent performance reviews or coaching. Any decent manager will respond positively (if not actually helpfully) to that sort of request. Do you have a mentor in the workplace? They can also give feedback and coaching.