Discuss with boss about performance and plans

Question

I started my first job position 2 months ago and I feel that do not receive feedback from my boss and I do not have details about what I am going to do in the next months.

So far I have been doing small separated tasks and I would like to take more responsibilities.

So basically I would like to discuss the following: Feedback about my performance, what I am going to do next, have more responsibilities/more interesting tasks.

I work as engineer in an a big company. My boss is the team lead and the project manager.

Is this a good idea? How should I ask him to discuss these points in better words? Is it common to do this kind of meetings on a regular basis?

Answer 1

It depends on the structure of your company where you should be going for tasks, and where you should be going for feedback. That won't always be the same person, but in your case you have your boss, the team lead, and project manager as the same person, so you will be going to them for everything.

You should normally be in almost constant contact with your project manager about what your priorities are in what you're working on. Since you don't have a dedicated PM to work with, I'd say once a week is probably a good target for figuring that out.

Feedback on how you're doing should be at regular intervals. It doesn't need to be formal sit-down reviews, but something casual letting you know how you did on your latest feature or bug fix is something any good manager should be doing.

What it really seems like is this person is stretched way too thin. They are doing at a minimum 2 jobs, and don't have the time to be working with people they way they should be. It's likely not a situation they volunteered for, but were forced in to as a cost saving measure. I'm sure they know they could be doing better, and if you're more proactive in seeking feedback, they'll be willing to provide it.

Answer 2

Yes, it's a fine idea. Tell him exactly what you have told us:

So far I have been doing small separated tasks and I would like to take more responsibilities.

So basically I would like to discuss the following: Feedback about my performance, what I am going to do next, have more responsibilities/more interesting tasks.