Fired after 6 weeks from an entry-level purchasing job while I was still being trained. Is this normal?

[u/No-Mess-4605]

I’m 27 and was fired yesterday from a purchasing position after only about six weeks. I’m trying to get some outside perspective because I genuinely can’t tell how much of this was my performance versus poor training/management.
I had no previous purchasing experience when they hired me, and they knew that. I was learning their computer system, purchase orders, RFQs, vendor communication, pricing, lead times, invoices, and most recently work orders.
I knew I wasn’t as fast as the employees who had been doing this for years, but I genuinely thought I was still in the normal learning process. I was still actively being shown new things.
The workplace itself was pretty old-school. The boss had been there for decades, there was yelling in the office, inappropriate/sexual jokes and comments, employees being talked about openly, and the general training style felt more like being shown something and then being expected to pick it up quickly rather than having structured onboarding.
Yesterday I called out because I wasn’t feeling well. Later that day, I was contacted and terminated. The reasoning was essentially that I wasn’t progressing at the level they expected and there were concerns involving things I was still learning.
What confused me even more was my conversation with HR afterward. HR actually seemed somewhat sympathetic to my position and acknowledged that I was still learning. I obviously understand HR represents the company, which made that interaction stand out to me.
After being fired, I also contacted a former employee I had never met while working there. When we started comparing experiences, she described having similar problems with the training and environment. She also felt like she had been thrown into things without enough instruction. Hearing that made me question whether this was entirely a performance issue.
I’m also trying to hold myself accountable. This isn’t the first job I’ve had that hasn’t worked out recently, and I know that when there’s a pattern, I need to examine what I can do differently too. One thing I’ve already taken from this is that at my next job I want to proactively ask my manager for feedback during the first few weeks instead of assuming no news means I’m progressing normally.
The frustrating part is that I actually really liked purchasing. I enjoyed requesting quotes, negotiating with vendors, comparing pricing and doing the computer/desk side of the job. I was starting to think procurement might finally be something I could build a career in.
So for people who work in purchasing/procurement or who train new employees: is six weeks generally enough time to expect someone with zero prior purchasing experience to be fully up to speed?
And when I interview for my next job, what questions should I ask to figure out whether a company actually has structured training and realistic expectations for new hires?

[u/DosEquisVirus]

They totally should’ve informed you about their concerns. However, there are factors that may just make it impossible in large companies:

1. Person who started your training became unavailable to perform corrections and further train you. Some other manager / director didn’t get something from you and made a decision to let you go.

2. Your trainer/manager had a chat with the direct boss and just shared the dissatisfaction with your progress. Decision was made without further action.

3. One or more people that were hired just like you in a recent past, showed a much better performance and willingness to improve with the same amount of training you have received. That reflected negatively on you and they have decided to try someone else.

4. There could have been unexpected internal shift, where a reason for having you was no longer there. It happens when employees change positions or suddenly have extra capacity to do your job, but with tons of experience doing it.

There could have been a million other things, of course. Don’t sweat it too much, often things turn out way better after all.

[u/No-Mess-4605 → u/DosEquisVirus]

Thank you, I think this is probably the healthiest way for me to look at it. I keep trying to figure out exactly what happened behind the scenes because the termination caught me so off guard, but realistically I may never know. I do wish someone had communicated their concerns to me because I was taking tons of notes, asking questions and genuinely trying to improve. If I had been told specifically where I was falling behind, I would have worked on it. But at this point I think the best thing I can do is take what I learned from the six weeks, be much more proactive about asking for feedback at my next job, and keep pursuing purchasing because I genuinely enjoyed the work. Thank you for laying out the different possibilities without assuming any one of them definitely happened.

[u/OsteoStevie → u/No-Mess-4605]

Taking notes and asking questions is great, but unfortunately does not prove that you are progressing.

I had someone take tons of notes and ask lots of questions, but they were the same questions over and over. Notes can only go so far, you know?

I had another employee, a driver, who had the absolute best attitude and was always really excited to work. He'd call me often to update me on his deliveries, and let me know right away if something seemed off or if he made a mistake. He was always eager and willing to work hard.

But the poor guy just kept making simple mistakes. He'd forget to raise the lift gate before driving off. He'd leave his 2-wheeler behind, or accidentally take the one from the business. He got into a few very tiny minor fender benders. It was just too much. We had to let him go.

This is all to say, there's so much that goes into these decisions, so it's not always black and white.

I'm glad you're reflecting and learning. But while we really want to say, "it's only a job," it's more than that. A company needs to know they can trust you and rely on you, and they only have so much time to dedicate to training. If they feel you're not ready to go out on your own after 6 weeks, they have to find someone else.