To ask if anyone has left a job with nowhere to go

[Heltonwelton]

I'm in a job that I loved for so many years. Worked my way up, had so much experience in the sector here and abroad, but now I hate it.

I dread getting up and starting work, it puts me in such a bad mood and I get annoyed at the smallest things at home and in work. I don't like/agree with the projects I am working on as they've changed in the last 2 years. If I wanted to stay in this job I would have to continue with these projects as that is now what the sector is and has changed to.

I don't have another job to go to but could afford to have a few months looking for other positions or try another sector.

I suppose my questions are (technically not AIBU):

• Has anyone else done this, and if so what did you say when you gave in your notice?
• Am I being totally stupid - what if I don't find another job?

Yes. I knew it was making a negative grey cloud hang over me at interviews (I'd had several before the cut off). I couldn't describe what I'd done in an energetic enough light, with a 'point' to it, because of having spent a year hanging on doing only one thing (where I had previously done many) and working with only one person (remotely) in the main. Fine, but again, doing other things meant more contact and involvement which I really needed. I had so little energy for anything else, never mind bigging up CVs and job applications. It has brought some worries and anxieties but I do feel a lot more positive and a lot more like me.

What I would say is look into some application and interview coaching first, before you properly go - job coaches, not general coaches. There are various freelancers that look good to me. Shop around to an extent. Pay for the coaching - it does not have to be mega expensive but I wish I had done it while I was earning. All of the interview books and a DVD I've got seem to be geared towards people just entering the job scene, and rather 'salesy' - I'm not after corporate jobs. You should have a CV review and a few interview training/feedback sessions, esp . for Zoom interviews which still feels icky for me. I think it is worth having someone who has made this their business over several years, not someone you know.

....And you will find another job. It's a numbers game, which is sometimes not fun, but you will. Once you've taken one, you stop looking, but I would say that many ads that I'm really interested in, and fired up by, show up each 2 weeks or so. The more applications you write, the more time you save yourself with your practice at writing.

Some places want a many-screen application process and it's time consuming - they make my heart sink a bit. But I've set up paragraphs in a Word doc that I can copy and paste (the job outlines of past positions) to make that a bit easier.

I did this four years ago. I was so pissed off I just handed in my notice. We had enough savings to survive for two years so it wasn't like the wolf was at the door. I got another job during my notice period so it all worked out well.
Having said that I wouldn't recommend it unless things really are unbearable where you are at the moment. It raised eyebrows when it came up during interviews - I was asked 'why have you left your role without another job to go to?' kind of questions. You could tell the interviewer was thinking I might have had disciplinary issues in the role I was leaving.
Btw I went to three interviews and was offered one of the positions - I'm still there four years on.

Yes I did, although I knew I could do related and not badly paid temp work whilst looking for the next job. I had only been in awful job about 6 weeks though.

It worked out brilliantly for me and I don't regret it. I was temping for about 3 months then got a job that transformed my career and was the launch pad to get me where I am now.

In terms of how I presented it to future employers at interviews, I was quite honest about knowing very quickly that the company I left wouldn't be a good fit for me and that culturally it wasn't somewhere I felt I could spend any more time. It really was a matter of principle for me, and I think because I had left quickly, it didn't seem to cause much of an issue at interviews etc. ...I had several feasible job offers before accepting the one that I then stayed at for many years.

I did. The only thing I regret is not walking sooner.

As for what I said, I took out a grievance for bullying, I sent photos of their various health and safety violations to head office and I made sure my supervisors wife found out that he was banging the managers daughter.

I did this.
Id been in a role for over 10 years and loved it but they were restructuring the team. Alot of us had been there a long time and didnt see eye to eye with the new manager as her ideas just werent suitable for the environment (she had no experience in this industry).
Our roles were changed overnight with a drop in salary. Once we kicked up, redundancy was offered (and it was decent).
I snapped it up and walked out the next day with nowhere to go.
I managed to find a new role within a week and started a few weeks later.
I hated it at first but gave it a chance and am still there 8 years on.
Best thing i ever did.

DH has more than once. He did it just before lockdown which meant he had to take a temp call centre role. He then took a temp role that was made to respond to the pandemic. He is now in full time permanent work for a job he applied for that was delayed.

Only once. I'd only been there a few weeks. I went in on the Monday morning to yet more major lies from the owner. The small ones had been bad enough. Hadn't even thought of looking elsewhere although I should have been doing just that.

Wrote a very quick note and handed that in along with my laptop, phone and company car keys (hadn't even thought how I'd get home)

Got home to a phone call from him saying I'd never work in the industry again. I did say he thought he had more influence than he really did.

Started job hunting straightaway and landed my dream job within a week. Although I've moved companies a couple of times since, my role is still one I'm very happy doing.

Funnily enough, he ignored me the next time we were in the same place

All people he has ever employed have left after a short period (even his son!). He's since gone bust after trying to defraud the wrong people. Happy days.

I did. I had been there a matter of weeks when I realised it was a horror show (this was NHS) and started looking elsewhere. As my desperation to get out got worse it must have started to show because interviewers became visibly more uncomfortable as time went on and it was obvious that I was running from the current job rather than towards a new job.

I resigned exactly nine months after I started so that with three months' notice I'd have been there a year. I've never lied about it, but if people wanted to assume it was a fixed term contract then...

It cleared my mind totally, and even when I was conscientiously working my notice I felt liberated. I got offered the next job I interviewed for.

In my exit interview I told them that I wasn't prepared to tell lies to cover others, string people along, work 70 hour weeks, and do the jobs of people two pay bands above me. They recruited three people to replace me and none of them lasted three months, so clearly they still hadn't taken it all on board.

Yes, I wanted to leave the job I was doing at the time, I did give a month's notice but had no job to go to.

I signed up with a temp agency as I'd seen an advert they were running for a three month contract in the public sector, got the job and ended up a year or so later being taken on permanently and staying nearly nine years.

A friend also signed up as a temp with the NHS as they have a temp bank.

I left a long term position in a school I hated - working there was making me I'll and I was signed off for several weeks, during which I handed my notice in. I had nothing else to go into but signed up with the supply agencies and have done that more or less ever since.

Yes.
Great fun at first until I struggled to get a new job and had to use my savings to live. Naively assumed it'd be easy to walk into a new job of my choice. I wouldn't recommend.

I wouldn’t unless you are absolutely desperate. Particularly if you’ve been in one company for years it looks suss if you’ve suddenly left no job to go to.
Things to try are booking on any courses, anything to get away from current hated work and build skills. Can you go to any networking events etc.
Obviously do your job but prioritise actively seeking another.
I left one job after 15 years. Ended up taking a very part time role just to keep toe in then finally got proper job 2.5 years later. I found it added an extra layer of stress when applying for jobs.

Those who managed to get redundancy are different as it’s an easy sell to new employer/easily explains gap. It’s harder if it’s a I just left scenario. What would you say op?

I've done it. It was either that or my mental health and at the time the health of my daughter. It was scary but fine. I took some jobs I was over qualified for for a bit which actually helped build my confidence back up. I was so relieved when I left!

Me. Last September I left my support worker role with nothing lined up. I gave myself 4 weeks to get my head straight and then got an agency job in November. I'm now on a long term agency contract doing factory work where I may be taken on as a permanent employee at the end of March. If I get desperate I might go back to support work but I will avoid it if I can.

I left once after a row with my boss. The row had been bubbling up for some time, however.

It worked out for me, but I was in an industry where I was in demand, and where I had a long notice to work anyway.

Generally I try to have something else lined up though. Back then, I had no dependents and now I do.

Yes I did this a few weeks ago. I was basically doing the work of 3 people and then a very lazy colleague was given extra leave time ( for no confirmed good reason) after barely being there for months. I flipped and said I was leaving.
I have been lucky to secure 3 part time jobs within a month, have yet to start them but that is only due to slow recruitment processes. i do sometimes think I was too impulsive as I loved my job but the team and manager were impossible. i do feel so much better for leaving although I feel totally exhausted and feel like I am still recovering from the months of trying to keep things going.

I have - left a great job - big mistake. A couple of dud interviews and I quickly lost confidence. Took a long time to get back to the same level and my choices were much more limited.

How do people explain why they left at interviews? Especially if they were years in a role? I know sometimes you can pretend you are still working at the company if you do interviews within a few weeks of leaving.

I know that younger people say they are going travelling, and go travelling for a token 3 months. You can't say caring for a relative as they may think you are not flexible.

I left a job with nothing to go to, when I was single in my 30s. The hours were very long, and they really needed 2 people. I was there less than a year so I pretended it was a contract role.

Prior to that, I had got made redundant from a nice job after 7 years. I was upfront and positive about explaining the redundancy. This was in 2005. However the interviewers pulled faces and seemed visibly shocked that I was telling them I got made redundant. It seemed to be a faux pas, that I was not aware of.

Yes I did it once. It was terrifying. It depends entirely on your financial position. I had left a job I loved to take up a new position in London with a much higher salary. One day in I knew it was not for me and I couldn't go back. I had nothing to go to. I asked my previous employer if they would take me back but they'd filled my post. I temped and eventually found another position but it was truly awful as I needed to work.
If you can afford to jump without something to go to then do it, but otherwise be cautious and try to find something else first. Good luck.

Yes, it was scary but the right thing to do.

I had a job that I was great at, worked my way up and loved it. Then I didn't and had to get out! I handed in my notice and things were really tough for a bit then I had to get a part time job back in the trade but with less responsibility, it was OK.

I changed career completely and had to go on a lot of interviews then I finally got a good job and meet dome really great people along the way!

It can be done!

And of course, good luck!!

Yes - I worked as an interim for years, and that gave me confidence in my abilities to find work when I want to, and feel comfortable about taking breaks from work if I need them - so if I am being treated with no respect or in an otherwise dysfunctional organisation, I move on.
Life is too short to stay in a job that makes you miserable - but being able to cope financially with a break in working helps too. - otherwise you're likely to be more stressed by struggling financially than you were in a shitty job.
having a break, reflecting and moving on mentally can also give you a far better mindset when interviewing for new roles.

I did this 3 weeks ago. I've since had 3 offers, all with very good payrises.

However I am in a sector that's booming and I have a lot of proven results and experience. Added to which the WFH element has made even more jobs available to me that previously wouldn't have been.

I just told my old employer the job wasn't what I expected and i hadn't enjoyed it. No hard feelings.