New job in Underwriting - feeling dumb
I’m 6 weeks into a new job and feeling dumb. My boss is my age. I’ve only made a few small mistakes, but I feel like they get blown up into a big thing. I’m not new to the field, but I’m new to this specific area of the field and underwriting. I feel like my boss has unrealistic expectations because I’ve been in the insurance industry for awhile. I’m still learning our specific company equipment and systems which are very different from past jobs.
My boss and coworkers work very fast. I try to match their speed (as best I can) without making mistakes. My boss and coworkers make a lot of mistakes. I make one mistake and my boss says I’m moving too fast and wants me to slow down. I constantly feel like I’m getting conflicting advice - match our speed, slow down; ask a question when you have one, don’t ask just write it down and don’t bother us; walk into boss office when you need something don’t be afraid, don’t bother the boss; ask coworkers for assistance they are here to help vs don’t bother coworkers they have their own work to do. I asked my boss for help today and her response was to read slower. I was asking for clarification on an account and she responded that I was rushing and just to read slower and I would understand. I was pretty bummed by her response. I told her I hadn’t done this type of task before and that no one had showed me yet. She gets pretty mad when I do something minorly wrong, so I wanted to clarify with her so I wouldn’t. In the end, she never really guided me how to do the task. I came out of it just feeling stupid. I did what I could and made notes on my thought process so we could finish it together and she left me on read :/
My boss and coworkers are friends (as in all same age and hang out after work). I feel out of the group a bit because of this.
How to navigate new to underwriting and excel at it?? I really like this job. I worked hard for it. But I worry my boss doesn’t like me? I’m too hard on myself and a perfectionist, but the advice & work style is a bit confusing for me. I just want to excel at this job. I get really down when I get criticized for doing something wrong. My coworkers admit they constantly make mistakes and it’s part of this job, but my minor mistakes get blasted.
When I ask for resources on where they are getting information or how they know it, they just say it’s in their head and I’ll learn it eventually. Insurance is constantly changing - I highly doubt they have everything memorized as we work with 10+ carriers in multiple states. Is that normal for an underwriter?? As an UW, what do you just know vs look up?
What tips or resources or learning is out there to help me excel at this position??
TLDR- new to underwriting and sensitive at work to criticism. Boss has varying and conflicting criticism. Really want to excel at this job. Tips, advice, or resources to help be the best underwriter possible?