I have been in my position for 7 months and have steadily improved in performance during that time. I have had a couple of informal conversations with my coworker (who is also informally my acting “supervisor”) about mistakes that I’ve made throughout the training/learning process. After a chat last week I followed up with an email asking for clear guidelines for how my performance would be evaluated moving forward and what kind of timeline would I be on for the next (informal) review. She ignored the questions and followed up with a phone call last night.
The job is inherently rife with opportunities for human error (TONS of tiny details and tons of distractions all day long) and I have been told repeatedly that mistakes can and will happen and that I shouldn’t worry so much about making them. My “supervisor” makes the very same mistakes that I make (though not quite as often having been doing this for 16 years) and when I encounter them, I just fix them. It’s faster and I don’t want to shame anyone – I just want to get the job done.
Last night during our call she told me that it’s “time to start looking for another job” and that she would give me a chance to find one before separating employment. When I asked for a clear idea of what that means in terms of timeline, she did not give me an answer.
Now, I feel like there are multiple ways I could go about this. I am certain that I am being thrown under the bus for a mistake that I (and the entire rest of the team, as well as the team at a corresponding office) missed. I’m assuming because she recommended me for the job and wants to maintain her credibility with her superiors. But I want to be kind, and also watch out for myself.
I’d really appreciate some different perspectives and ideas about how I can best protect myself here. Thank you!