Making mistakes at my job and beating myself up over it

sugamonstaa

I've been at my job for 6 months and I'm in HR. My supervisor told me future new hires that lived outside of our state within 5 years will need a FBI background check and state background check.

I always thought that the background check place did both. Sometimes I see them send me both reports and sometimes not. I guess I thought they decided in whether they should look further or not to the federal side.

I then found out today I'm supposed to ask if they've lived outside our state and TELL the future new hire to TELL the background check place to give them both. My supervisor wasn't mad but I thought this was a simple mistake yet I can't stop stressing over it. She never told I was supposed to ask.

I had to tell a future new hire her start date will be delayed until we get the results for the FBI check which she has to get. So another maybe 2 weeks. She got annoyed and snappy at me which I thought was very unprofessional.... I mean it was an understandable mistake right?


Also I like my job and I keep productivity high and quickly fill vacancies when we were in a staffing crisis. But I still find myself making a lot of little mistakes. New mistakes, I rarely ever repeat the same ones. Is this normal in a new field after 6 months? Most times it is easily corrected and catch myself before submitting anything.

kahulalui

Depending on what type of feel they work in and of course in the world of today it isn't your fault that they have to do background checks. In my field they can take up to a month! If they don't get references I don't get hired.

I can relate to having start over with jobs all the time. I haven't had a permanent job since 2007. The longest I have had a job with an agency is 6 months. It is very stressful and very hard to start over again.

kahulalui

Double post.

leadslinger17

We can sometimes be way harder on ourselves than we need to be. I was doing this recently over a pretty easy concept that I was failing to see when designing some software. Once pointed out to me it was obvious and easy to fix. Luckily my team lead is very patient and saw it as a learning opportunity since he is thirty years my senior and I don't have nearly as much experience. If you are new they hired you for a reason. You are young, they could have hired someone who had years of experience but they didn't. Just learn from it and try hard not to make the same mistake again. If you are unsure of new procedures ask questions up front.

schmanciepants

After 6 months, yeah, it is normal to still make mistakes..... Don't let the stress affect you to where you are making more mistakes. Just be confident in what you do well.

That said, I can see how pushing out a start date can make someone upset. I am currently changing positions and if my start date got pushed out, I would lose 2 weeks of income, and depending on the date, may push out eligibility for benefits. I would not be happy and would ask for some compensation......especially if it were not my fault.

iggyboo93

Don't beat yourself up over this. HR is a tough gig - you are the one who has to tell people they are fired/laid off/terminated. You have to deal with employees' issues such as harassment, performance issues, health insurance snafus, code of conduct, etc. The best HR managers I knew had a comfortable chair and a box of kleenex in their office but were also the ones who good at "dropping the hammer" when needed. Don't worry about the woman who snapped at you - she is probably stressed because she needs to work sooner than later.

parkscs

Mistakes happen. Every employer knows this. When you try to cover mistakes up or make them repeatedly (especially the same ones repeatedly) it becomes a problem, but bring it to your supervisor's attention when something goes wrong, take steps to remedy the situation, learn from it and move forward.

NYactor1

Don't stress over it.

Keep a notebook and start noting these things down. You can create a work handbook/policy guidelines that will help guide anyone in your office (especially anyone new) to orient them to anything they have questions about. People are sometimes afraid of asking questions because they might feel like someone would think less of them.

Type the notes by area/issue, create a formal booklet and have Kinko's bind it for you. Keep your supervisor in the loop that you are working to create this handbook, be sure to discuss it at your performance eval...it might help get you a raise.

sugamonstaa

Thanks guys, I feel bad for her...I just feel guilty even though I know it's not a big deal.

But on another note, she had to make us wait another month because we waited for her to move, get situated, and transfer her state licensure.


I notice myself making mistakes a but more often due to stress. This lady at work for some reason hates me and seems to try to make me look horrible in front of my boss all the time over tiniest stuff. So I've been stressing trying to be perfect to give her no reason at all but it's just making it a bit worse with my emotional health I guess, plus she'll find something either way. It's just been recent where I've been making mistakes more often over thinking crap. I was doing fine for a while when she's gone. I can't wait til she goes on maternity leave.

Thing is, I'm new and my supervisor is new at being a supervisor for only 6 months during my time. Learning as we go I guess.

Keepcalmanddontblink

Are you stuck having to hire her since you submitted the background check? If not, I would have reminded her its not wise to snap at someone in HR, before you even start work.
Just don't be stressed over the snot trying to make you look bad. You only have to worry about what your supervisor thinks, and I'm sure the mean chick makes a lot of mistakes that the supervisor sees and you don't.

VBnotbitter

Mistakes happen. Every employer knows this. When you try to cover mistakes up or make them repeatedly (especially the same ones repeatedly) it becomes a problem, but bring it to your supervisor's attention when something goes wrong, take steps to remedy the situation, learn from it and move forward.

This. Mistakes will happen throughout your working life, it's how you deal with them that makes you a success

pds06

Learn from it and let it go. Life is too short to dwell on things you cannot do anything about. If you do it again, then beat yourself up. But for now let it go and hope that's the worst thing that ever happens to you. :flowerforyou:

sugamonstaa

No, we can rescind offer considering we haven't given her paperwork to sign and just verbal conditional offer...I mean I understand to be disappointed but I would have never give an attitude to someone hiring me!

The lady that's mean makes tons of mistakes that I notice only I'm not allowed to point it out since she's senior staff. I know because my supervisor said to just go with it and ask my supervisor what to do instead of pointing it out or asking mean lady. But hey, she's allowed to nitpick and find a way to bring me down.

I'll get out one day. I'm financially ok but I don't wanna run away from problems this easily.

Thank you so much for your support everyone.

TLwineguzzler

An old guy I used to work with years ago always said that the people who make no mistakes don't do any work! Don't fret over it