I'm not picking things up

This reminded me of my first secretarial job, for the grocery department for a small but growing supermarket chain.

I shadowed the departing secretary. She told me "Thursdays are pretty busy. That's the day we send out the package with all the promotions and price changes for the week."

It was (to me) quite insane. It looked like she carried reams of paper to the conference room, threw it all into the air and it came down separated into districts, stapled. I had no idea what she was doing.

Within three weeks I was doing it as fast as she could and then I was doing it even faster.

It will come.

Try to relax and breathe. Everybody who works there worked their first week, too. Ask the guy you shadowed any questions you have. Take notes if you have to.

Employers say, depending on the job, it takes 90 days to two years for a new employee to be 'fully productive.'

Nobody says one day. It'll come. Just breathe.

I think you deserve more than ONE day to learn your job. Most companies allow you six weeks of training.

Part of the problem, (I think), is that you are SO stressed out and worked up about possibly losing your job that your own nervousness is working against you. I think if you explain that to the man who is training you, he will slow down and you will feel less pressure.

{@dominic202100] stop panicking everything will be alright . people are patient you are there to learn and are probably what you do not realise doing alright . you must remeember rome was not built in a day you have got give yourself a chance and stop being hard on yourself so easily

I’m sure they understand and remember what it’s like to be new. My son had a notebook in which he would write everything he could about what he learned at each training shift when he got home.

It used to be that you had a month’s trial to learn a new job. Everyone feels nervous at first. A reasonable boss knows you’ll mess up until you get the hang of it. Good luck and Congratulations!