I just graduated and work at a small firm.The job is very fast paced and stressful.
The problem is I am quite slow at doing things. Or at least I am not as fast as I thought I would be.
It takes me more time than usual to figure out the most efficient way of doing things without compromising on quality. To be honest, I have always been a slow worker, who does things very accurately and carefully and goes through many iterations to make sure that no mistakes occur.
Sometimes, I miss internal deadlines in terms of completing all the tasks I am given and the work is given instead to someone more experienced who does it faster. Sometimes the boss asks other people to help me with the work to finish quicker.
I have noticed that some colleagues get frustrated with my speed of doing things and especially when they have to cover up for me. Was your first job like that and do you think they will give me the opportunity to improve or could I get fired because of this?
Do you have any advice on how I can work faster?
JonathanLivingston
Oct 17, 17 5:35 pm
Give less fucks.
citizen
Oct 17, 17 7:32 pm
I think it's give fewer fucks.
JonathanLivingston
Oct 17, 17 7:34 pm
I don't care
Non Sequitur
Oct 17, 17 5:43 pm
Have more confidence, learn how to use the software, given even less fucks.
spiketwig
Oct 17, 17 5:44 pm
learn to prioritize. also, not everything deserves iterations.
for example if you are asked to draw, say, an accessible restroom, don't do more than 2 versions. I see this all the time with interns that I ask for a few studies and they come back with (literally) 12 options. If more options are needed, let them tell you that.
If you're just slow at CAD/Revit...learn the keyboard shortcuts. I swear, the number of people I see clicking away at the ribbons blows my mind, it's 10x slower.
thisisnotmyname
Oct 17, 17 5:52 pm
Students shouldn't be allowed to graduate architecture school without passing a test on keyboard shortcuts. Most recent graduates I encounter don't know anything about them.
spiketwig
Oct 17, 17 7:07 pm
Whereas I don't even know where the tools are on the ribbon... the first thing I do whenever forced to upgrade my CAD is kill every single dialogue window. Just me and the command line and I'm happy :D
s=r*(theta)
Oct 18, 17 11:05 am
acad pgp
thatsthat
Oct 18, 17 11:40 am
yesyesyes! My first command is typically CLEANSCREENON because I hate all of those popup menus and windows and I hate hate hate the ribbon. I have no idea where anything is on there. With every new install, I have to go setup my commands again so they are what I learned/am used to, instead of whatever comes out of the box. I hate it. Somehow my 'profile' never saves these command settings. When I work with a new grad, I challenge them to use clean screen and see what they know in terms of commands.
thatsthat
Oct 18, 17 11:41 am
thisisnotmyname, I 100% agree. I see new grads all the time looking for stuff on the ribbon and it makes me so crazy. If they're asking me a question and I'm standing there watching them struggle, I just tell them the command.
thisisnotmyname
Oct 17, 17 7:24 pm
What can an employer do help slow employees? I've got one.
thisisnotmyname
Oct 18, 17 9:39 am
Get their production speed up to the office average.
JonathanLivingston
Oct 18, 17 1:29 pm
Set expectations. Give them a goal for each task. Most people want to please, so impress upon them that you expect this task to take Xhrs, Or check back in with me after a couple hours to let me know how its going and if you have any questions. Chances are they will usually beat the goal and dive into the task immediately knowing you expect quick feedback about it.
Koww
Oct 17, 17 8:41 pm
trust me, you're lucky. you could be faster than everyone else and bored out of your mind for days on end like me
s=r*(theta)
Oct 18, 17 11:20 am
then ask for more challenging task. if you are siting there bored for days on end, those are days you could be growing with more challenging task instead of being stagnant. so you are actually hurting yourself and stunting your growth and value. I once was hired at a company for a certain wage, and the task they gave I would use only 40-60% of time to complete accurately. I would then ask colleagues and management if they have anything they needed help with, long story short I got a 4k bump in 3.5 months of being hired.
s=r*(theta)
Oct 18, 17 11:29 am
many times you have no idea what he owner/ principals, etc. have in the hopper or clients they maybe turning away because they think they don't have the man/woman power. I was even once given a 23,000s.f. generic turnkey side job by a principal because he thgt it not worth the hassle of creating a job file and no real significant profit
Peter Normand
Oct 17, 17 10:19 pm
being slow but checking your work and doing it correctly the first time is probably on balance faster than doing your work quickly but with many mistakes that need to be corrected.
Things should improve with experience.
Over and OUT
Peter N
randomised
Oct 18, 17 12:50 am
Slow and steady wins the race.
randomised
Oct 18, 17 10:38 am
But then you might get bored as Koww pointed out ^^
archinine
Oct 18, 17 11:47 am
Everyone is slow when they first start. That's why you get paid less and your billable hours are cheaper. Relax. Learn hotkeys. Eventually you'll get faster.
s=r*(theta)
Oct 18, 17 12:10 pm
I would say relatively slow. I knew people who if you gave them the time still would be drawing a basic stair section until next presidential election! and it would still be wrong
s=r*(theta)
Oct 18, 17 12:23 pm
^ true, but depends on the project
thatsthat
Oct 18, 17 11:57 am
I used to share a workload with someone who took WEEKS to do 1 sketch that took me 2 hours to complete. And it was so frustrating because he wasn't stupid at all; he just took a lot time reviewing, making iterations, revising, making more iterations, reviewing, etc., when all that was expected was picking up some redlines on 1 drawing.
As a new grad, they often train you in school to provide more than what is asked for. Which can be great sometimes. But most of the time, your boss is asking for exactly what they expect to see. And they are asking for exactly what they want because, unlike school, your time is actually now worth money to people. Prioritize the tasks you know will take you a few minutes, get that stuff out of the way, then spend time picking up the more time consuming tasks.
zonker
Oct 18, 17 12:43 pm
I work at a very hectic fast paced office - everyone has to use keyboard shortcuts on Revit - The best way to learn Revit, is to read the manual and do the tutorials online - don't ask busy co-workers - show how resourceful you can be by figuring it out for yourself. - give yourself deadlines - then strive to beat them. When my PA/PM asks for something - I have to produce - no excuses - or the gives the work to someone else - 3 times of that and your done
leaves
Oct 18, 17 10:33 pm
You are just a fresh grad, still got a lot to learn.
Hi everyone,
I just graduated and work at a small firm.The job is very fast paced and stressful.
The problem is I am quite slow at doing things. Or at least I am not as fast as I thought I would be.
It takes me more time than usual to figure out the most efficient way of doing things without compromising on quality. To be honest, I have always been a slow worker, who does things very accurately and carefully and goes through many iterations to make sure that no mistakes occur.
Sometimes, I miss internal deadlines in terms of completing all the tasks I am given and the work is given instead to someone more experienced who does it faster. Sometimes the boss asks other people to help me with the work to finish quicker.
I have noticed that some colleagues get frustrated with my speed of doing things and especially when they have to cover up for me. Was your first job like that and do you think they will give me the opportunity to improve or could I get fired because of this?
Do you have any advice on how I can work faster?
Give less fucks.
I think it's give fewer fucks.
I don't care
Have more confidence, learn how to use the software, given even less fucks.
learn to prioritize. also, not everything deserves iterations.
for example if you are asked to draw, say, an accessible restroom, don't do more than 2 versions. I see this all the time with interns that I ask for a few studies and they come back with (literally) 12 options. If more options are needed, let them tell you that.
If you're just slow at CAD/Revit...learn the keyboard shortcuts. I swear, the number of people I see clicking away at the ribbons blows my mind, it's 10x slower.
Students shouldn't be allowed to graduate architecture school without passing a test on keyboard shortcuts. Most recent graduates I encounter don't know anything about them.
Whereas I don't even know where the tools are on the ribbon... the first thing I do whenever forced to upgrade my CAD is kill every single dialogue window. Just me and the command line and I'm happy :D
acad pgp
yesyesyes! My first command is typically CLEANSCREENON because I hate all of those popup menus and windows and I hate hate hate the ribbon. I have no idea where anything is on there. With every new install, I have to go setup my commands again so they are what I learned/am used to, instead of whatever comes out of the box. I hate it. Somehow my 'profile' never saves these command settings. When I work with a new grad, I challenge them to use clean screen and see what they know in terms of commands.
thisisnotmyname, I 100% agree. I see new grads all the time looking for stuff on the ribbon and it makes me so crazy. If they're asking me a question and I'm standing there watching them struggle, I just tell them the command.
What can an employer do help slow employees? I've got one.
Get their production speed up to the office average.
Set expectations. Give them a goal for each task. Most people want to please, so impress upon them that you expect this task to take Xhrs, Or check back in with me after a couple hours to let me know how its going and if you have any questions. Chances are they will usually beat the goal and dive into the task immediately knowing you expect quick feedback about it.
trust me, you're lucky. you could be faster than everyone else and bored out of your mind for days on end like me
then ask for more challenging task. if you are siting there bored for days on end, those are days you could be growing with more challenging task instead of being stagnant. so you are actually hurting yourself and stunting your growth and value. I once was hired at a company for a certain wage, and the task they gave I would use only 40-60% of time to complete accurately. I would then ask colleagues and management if they have anything they needed help with, long story short I got a 4k bump in 3.5 months of being hired.
many times you have no idea what he owner/ principals, etc. have in the hopper or clients they maybe turning away because they think they don't have the man/woman power. I was even once given a 23,000s.f. generic turnkey side job by a principal because he thgt it not worth the hassle of creating a job file and no real significant profit
being slow but checking your work and doing it correctly the first time is probably on balance faster than doing your work quickly but with many mistakes that need to be corrected.
Things should improve with experience.
Over and OUT
Peter N
Slow and steady wins the race.
But then you might get bored as Koww pointed out ^^
Everyone is slow when they first start. That's why you get paid less and your billable hours are cheaper. Relax. Learn hotkeys. Eventually you'll get faster.
I would say relatively slow. I knew people who if you gave them the time still would be drawing a basic stair section until next presidential election! and it would still be wrong
^ true, but depends on the project
I used to share a workload with someone who took WEEKS to do 1 sketch that took me 2 hours to complete. And it was so frustrating because he wasn't stupid at all; he just took a lot time reviewing, making iterations, revising, making more iterations, reviewing, etc., when all that was expected was picking up some redlines on 1 drawing.
As a new grad, they often train you in school to provide more than what is asked for. Which can be great sometimes. But most of the time, your boss is asking for exactly what they expect to see. And they are asking for exactly what they want because, unlike school, your time is actually now worth money to people. Prioritize the tasks you know will take you a few minutes, get that stuff out of the way, then spend time picking up the more time consuming tasks.
I work at a very hectic fast paced office - everyone has to use keyboard shortcuts on Revit - The best way to learn Revit, is to read the manual and do the tutorials online - don't ask busy co-workers - show how resourceful you can be by figuring it out for yourself. - give yourself deadlines - then strive to beat them. When my PA/PM asks for something - I have to produce - no excuses - or the gives the work to someone else - 3 times of that and your done
You are just a fresh grad, still got a lot to learn.
Anyway, you should talk to them.
Eventually, you will find what suits you best.
Are you still slow?
It will be ok after some times