“I still dont (sic) know what happened,” Sierra Desiray Frederick posted on TikTok about getting hired and fired from her new job in less than two week—prompting many to respond with their views on how companies train (or don’t train) their new employees, Business Insider reported.
Federick said that she started her first full time job, in graphic design at a Nashville firm, after graduating from college in August. Last week, she posted a video in which she told of her spending five shifts, three or four in which she did "nothing because there's two other people on my team and they didn't know how to train me," at her new job.
Co-workers told her, “I don’t know what to give you to do today” or “I don’t know what to show you today.” She felt “very useless.” She texted her boyfriend that she should talk to the CEO because she wasn’t learning anything.
On day six, she arrived at work to find that she was being let go—by the CEO personally. “You’re not working out,” he told her. “Thanks for coming in.”
Posting another video in which she expressed that that she had originally thought that it was her fault, she said that friends and family told her that she was not given a fair chance.
Viewers chimed in with their own stories of inadequate onboarding or training, with some sharing similar situations.
"Most jobs training today is: Figure it out yourself. It's amazing. 30 years ago we had trainers," one wrote. "I got let go for not being productive and a 'quick learner' when I wasn't being shown anything," wrote another.
Some offered advice.
“Not having an onboarding process/schedule is now a red flag for me. If I don’t get a schedule for first week, I know you’re a mismanaged business,” wrote one. “ive [sic] been burned by major companies dropping the ball with no onboarding, i learned to ask during interviews what the onboarding process is,” wrote another.
An “elder millennial” expressed empathy. "I love gen z,” she wrote. “When this happened to me i internalized it & thought I was the issue."
One commenter expressed skepticism. “There is DEFINITELY more to this story,” he wrote.