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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to think that 11 months in your first job out of uni isn't unusual?

24 replies

frgr · 19/01/2011 19:51

i graduated back in the late 90s, went into a job which involved quite a lot of being on call at the weekends etc from just a few weeks in (so a massive change from student life, even though i had 2 part time jobs during fulltime study and was used to working odd/many hours). i hated it and wanted to quit within a month of starting, but couldn't afford to (had bought a share in a house by this point). i ended up walking out after 11 months after finally getting something less stressful.

was talking to a colleague today about what i call my "11 months of first real job hell" (i don't call it that out loud though, just commented that it was challenging) and she commented that she was surprised i'd got another job after only 11 months in.

DH has mostly worked contracting through his career, so maybe i'm used to seeing 8 months on 1 job, 1 year on another - fragmented work history. clearly that sort of thing isn't good long term if you're in permanent jobs... but is 11 months in a first graduate job that strange?

i know plenty of people who graduated and decided the job/industry/company they went to wasn't right and left without staying there for 5 or 10 years, but i was today at lunchtime how strongly my colleague thought this was odd! AIBU?

(p.s. i moved to another company which i stayed with for nearly 6 years after my first job, since i knew by then what i was looking for, so i'm not some flakey job changing person by reputation for my colleague to be commenting on!)

OP posts:

gilmoregirl · 19/01/2011 20:01

hmmmm I've only stayed for around a year in several jobs. I don't think that 11 years is amazingly short time before moving on.

I suppose perhaps to someone who has been in jobs for five years plus at a time it may seem like it though.

gilmoregirl · 19/01/2011 20:01

oops sorrry meant months

PatPending · 19/01/2011 20:02

Think your colleague is a bit naive TBH.

Your situation was pretty normal I'd say and statistics apparently show that on average people change jobs a lot more often than you'd think (can't remember figures ).

MumNWLondon · 19/01/2011 20:06

i think quite normal - for various reasons eg dh's first job was a 6 month contract. Others find that its not what they expect and don't last either.

ohnoshedittant · 19/01/2011 20:06

My first job out of uni was only 13 months. I don't think it's unusual. YANBU.

mum295 · 19/01/2011 20:41

I was made redundant after 10 months in first job, walked straight into something else. YANBU.

wildfig · 19/01/2011 20:47

YANBU. I spent 8 months in my first job out of university (it was meant to be a stopgap thing while I worked out what to do), then did a 6 month internship, after which they only had three jobs for six interns. I moved to another company, worked there for 2.5 years and got a couple of promotions, then went freelance. Which I've been ever since.

My first jobs were so badly paid (typical creative industry) that I don't think they expected anyone to stay for more than a year or two. There was always a queue of desperate eager young graduates willing to work for peanuts to get a foot on the ladder.

Prinnie · 19/01/2011 20:50

YANBU - my first job out of uni was 5 months, then 11 months and now I've been at the same place 4 years. It just builds over time IME.

fluffles · 19/01/2011 20:51

my first job was a fixed-term 9 month contract.

in the last ten years i've only had one 'permanent' job and left that after 2yrs, the rest have been between 9months and 4years contracts.

it's the nature of what i'm good at - large capital project work.

BetsyBoop · 19/01/2011 20:59

my first job after graduating was 5 months (really hated it), the second one was 23 months (not keen on that one either!) finally found my niche & stayed over 20 years with the third company (before taking voluntary redundancy to be a SAHM!)

YANBU

GrimmaTheNome · 19/01/2011 21:03

YANBU

My first job was 10 months, then a job was advertised in the same field but not at the opposite end of the country as my fiance (now DH). I've been in this job nearly 25 years (and current co took over the first)

Its probably quite common for the first job out of uni to be one which gets your toe in the door of your field.

FrozenFlowers · 19/01/2011 21:27

I'm in my first job out of uni at the moment. I've been there for 15 months, but I am beginning to consider moving on to something more challenging if I can. However it's a pretty secure job, and I am aware of how lucky I am to have it (even if it is a bit dull!) so I might stick with it a bit longer. I definitely don't want to be there forever though, and there isn't much scope for career progression within the organisation.

CrispyTheCrisp · 19/01/2011 21:30

My job out of Uni lasted 16 years, so i guess i am the odd one out

Obviously my loyalty meant that much to them that they made me redundant after DC's....

masochismTangoer · 19/01/2011 21:35

I managed 12 months in first job out of university then moved on to a better paid job with out the bullying boss. The two other people straight from Uni I also worked with managed 10 months and 18 months. We all walked into better paid jobs.

PowderMum · 19/01/2011 22:17

My first job was for 12 months, I knew after about 6 months that it was the wrong career path for me. Took my time and found the right option and have been doing it successfully ever since (25 years)

Now I am considering whether it is time for a change/new challenge

TheEvilDead2 · 19/01/2011 22:19

My first job lasted about 2 months! But I was 16..

Muira · 20/01/2011 00:07

My first job out of uni was an academic post that was 12 months long. Totally normal. Sure, I'm now unemployed with a doctorate but my DH also had a first job of 12 months after his doctorate and went straight into a life-long tenure post. You never know what exciting things might happen and that very first job is a stepping stone to everyone I know in academic and non-academic jobs. YANBU.

LolaLoves · 20/01/2011 01:00

My first full-time job after uni lasted for 12 months - would have been shorter if I could have found something better paid/less boring sooner!
However my second job was what I really wanted to do - I'm still here now and have been for several years, and intend on staying as long as they'll have me!
I think a lot of people get a job after uni simply to pay the bills, and realise a bit later what they actually want to be doing. Its normal and most of my friends have done the same thing. YANBU.

LDNmummy · 20/01/2011 01:22

I'm going to graduate this year and I have been warned of future employers wanting people who stick in a job for a long period of time, Unless you left for something better. But if you have a history of hopping from one to the other after a year or so at each, they would think twice before hiring you and wonder if you are reliable or too weak to stick it out. Its very competitive now and employers have a wide choice of candidates so they can be picky about minute details. Employers expectations have changed in the last few years, your lucky if you come out of uni and get a job at all. My friend had to do 6 months unpaid internship to get a decent job and was unemployed for 2-3 months prior to that. I don't think you have to stay somewhere for years, but at least 18 months.

threefeethighandrising · 20/01/2011 21:23

I agree your colleague is naive.

PlanetLizard · 20/01/2011 22:39

YANBU. There's far more to your work choices than simple length of time in a job.

ClaireDeLoon · 20/01/2011 22:43

My first job out of uni I hated two - I was tied in to a 3 yr contract but left after two as I couldn't stand it any more, I would have quit earlier if I'd had the balls.

Leaving was a pain as I had to request permission to transfer my contract from my then employers before others would interview me (training contract linked to my professional qualification) so I had to put blind faith into resigning with no job to go to.

The job I moved to, I'm still there 14+ years later, so I'm not fickle/lacking staying power.

Not thought about it really until read this thread but I really do think there is something in what you say OP.

proudfoot · 20/01/2011 22:48

I don't think it's particularly unusual.

I have been in my first graduate job for 2 and a half years now but originally only planned to stay for one year!

LaraJade · 21/01/2011 00:12

My first full time job out of 6th form college lasted 2 years (long time for a teenager). Walked out of next job, had stuck it for 8 boring months. After that mostly had temp contracts, longest was a year. Went to uni at 24, and am still in my graduate job after 7 years.
I like it but am getting itchy feet...

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