He may not be pushing you out. Some managers are a little more intense and it isn't necessarily a personal issue with you. You have to learn to adapt to him. Give him updates on where you are at with projects before he asks. When he gives you an assignment, ask for very specific instructions on what he is looking for and write it down in front of him. If you complete a project and he isn't happy, ask him what you could do differently in the future to meet his needs. As he gets to know you and learns that you are competent, he may back off, but you have to beat him to the punch by informing him of everything each step of the way. This may also bring to light areas where he wants you to move differently so that you don't complete the entire project and find out it wasn't what he wanted. Good luck!

Sounds like the Administrator I was working for who eventually pushed me right out of my position. Although I did many of the things Lynne suggested in her comments, the new Administrator just did not want me there and did everything in their power to get rid of me. They wanted their own person in the position and not someone with years of experience. I left, the Administrator is still a micro-manager and has gone through two assistants since my leaving.

Lynne is right find out exactly what the manager's expectations are. This does not have to be confrontational but rather "let's get to know each other better so I can respond to your requests as needed." Keep a pleasant attitude and if things he does not respond, discuss with HR. Document what you discuss (I have found a follow up email restating what was expected or discussed with supervisor or HR is allows a good practice.) A good HR manager will check into the circumstances and get communication in place.

And as Lorynn notes--life is short--maybe there is something you wish you could be doing. Being unhappy in a position simply is not worth it--I moved on and am so glad I did--I was close to retirement as well but now have found new energy (and ways to cut back, the money just isn't that important and there are other ways to get the benefits.) Good luck.

People who think that the new supervisor might be trying to push you out might be way off base. Just because a new person starts giving someone bad reviews who previously received good ones doesn't mean there is an ulterior motive. It often means the employee is not measuring up to the expectations of the new supervisor. It can be as simple as this: A new boss means new expectations.

I say this because I have been in the reverse situation, with someone under me having said she never received a negative review from any supervisor in her life until I came aboard. But just because she was doing things the way other supervisors wanted her to do them, it didn't mean she was doing things the way I wanted her to do them. And yes, I can be a micromanager. However, we were able to solve the problems after months of my being disappointed in her performance by doing two things. First, we sat down and I explained what my expectations were, how I wanted her to do things, when I wanted her to do things, etc. Second, we had weekly meetings to discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly, so things were dealt with on a timely basis rather than being allowed to build up. Within weeks, the problem was gone.

Micromanagers are detailed oriented, so I would suggest sitting down with the person and going over, IN DETAIL, what they expect, what they like about what you are doing, and what they do not like about what you are doing. Document it in a follow-up e-mail to make sure you are both on the same page (excuse the pun).

I agree with many of the previous posts. I think it's very important to document and communicate with your new manager. I hope everything works out.

Mark & Lynne offer good advice, which you should follow if you can. However, your suspicions may be accurate, and that's why you have to document everything & bring in HR if necessary. Many years ago the company that I worked for changed Presidents. The new President wanted to have a new assistant and what he did was to take away the existing assistant's responsibilities and gave them to a younger woman. The existing assistant "took the hint" and left the company within 2 months thereafter. In this bad economy, it is exceptionally difficult for older workers to get a job unless they can be hired by a government agency (where they really enforce age discrimination). I would do everything possible to keep your job (especially if you like your work), and see if you and the your boss can figure out a way to work harmoniously.