The Inbetweener: He hates his job but he's just been hired - would quitting now ruin his resume?
When I returned to work after completing my studies, I had a plethora of advice from friends who seemed to forget that although I was starting a new career path, I had many years of work experience under my belt and knew how to behave in the office.
But one piece of advice I definitely took on board is to bond with my peers and take an interest in how they are going in their new careers. We are in the same boat so why not exchange notes.
I recently asked one of the guys who started at the same time as me how he was doing. "I just ask myself everyday: What have I really committed to?," was his grim response.
He already feels stuck in a rut. The job isn't living up to what the company promised it would be. He loves the employer and gets along well with the team but the work itself is so boring that it is draining him.
My colleague told me he doesn't want to stay in the job but feels he has to, otherwise it will look bad on his CV. I wonder though: if he hates the role, won't his performance suffer anyway, thus putting his job in jeopardy?
I have a friend who had the same problem a few years ago. She started a new career and just three weeks into it, realised it wasn't for her. Things got so stressful that the thought of going to work actually made her physically sick.
Luckily, she was able to discuss the situation with her firm, who supported her decision to move on. It even let her stay until she found another job, and gave her a glowing reference. But that was pre-GFC.
I was always under the impression that you should stay in a job, even if you hate it, for at least a year, otherwise your premature departure would come back to haunt your CV.
But what do you think? If you realise very soon after starting a new position that it isn't right for you, how long would you wait until you started looking elsewhere? Is it worth talking to your bosses or would that only insult and irritate them, and result in you leaving even sooner than planned?
