Minimum amount of time I can have in hell job without ballsing up my CV

[Terramom]

Hi all,

I need some help
and a handhold please. NC for this but long time poster.

I will try and keep this brief:

I have been in my new job for 4 months and it’s making me ill. My line manager is a micromanaging bully and the only person above her is too busy to care/do anything (I have tried) but also spends most of her time so busy and stressed she is unavailable and can be incredibly rude. I have far too much work, I’m interrupted constantly, there is so much pressure on top of dealing with the behaviour from my superiors.

This has never happened to me in a job before but I think I’m starting to get ill. I was in tears at lunchtime and on the way home due to the way I was spoken to throughout the day. I didn’t eat my lunch as I felt sick. I have no history or mental health issues.

it’s a skilled admin based role that requires certain qualifications, which I have.

we have no HR - small business.

Please don’t make suggestions as to what I should do differently, I have made up my mind that I want to go.

-I am 38
-been in this job for 4 months
-previous job 2 years (left as gained higher qualifications that weren’t really useable in that role)
-job before that 3 years, left due to relocation

I have passed my probation in new job and have become aware that they have had problems getting someone to “stick” in the role, the person before me lasted 3 days.

Looking at these facts- how long do I need to tolerate my current role before I can leave without it making my CV look bad ? 12 months ?

if I have an end point in mind I think it will help me cope.

thanks 😊

OpenLearn with the Open University "Marketing Communication in the Digital Age". That kind of thing.

I recruit roles similar (sounding) to yours and I wouldn't even question a 4 month job gap. You could have been looking for the right role, studying, moving home, taking time out, travelling etc. if you stay on for 6 months, just call it a contract or temp role.

Happy that it's worked for you, but honestly, I wouldn't suggest leaving a 3 week role on your CV. Unless it was really specialist work experience.

Wasn't intentional was a vile work place as stated I had to do it

'What it looks like on a CV' isn't a thing anymore.

To be honest, CV's aren't really a thing anymore either.

In the 'reasons for leaving' on the application form for a new job , simply put that it wasn't a good fit for you. You can spin it to say your confident in your abilities and skills, and realised this job didn't utilise them.

Don't lie ( why does mumsnet always suggest lieing?) ..a reference might be asked from this short term role if it's your last role.

100% leave. I've been in a similar situation. Left after four months but knew in the first week I couldn't stay. It had a big impact on my mental health. It took a good three years to get over what turned from micro management to character assassination and bullying. I just said it didn't work for me and my current employer accepted that. Life is too short.

Leave and omit from CV with something like you had to care for a sick relative for a while. No one will question that.

I've received some very shirty and panicked looks when asking that question before. One job at a charity was relisted after six months. They wanted someone to get their database in order and working ASAP. I said something about it taking time to understand the charity and their processes so I could design and validate the data appropriately.

They made very clear that it was the Wrong Answer (I've never actually had an interviewer tell me my answer was wrong before or since), and that it was part of the reason the last person had failed. Then they asked me a lot of questions about my passion for the charity.

It was an air ambulance charity. I'm not sure that many people are either passionate about them or vastly opposed - they're basically just a pretty good idea if you need them. I cobbled together an answer about how I lived remotely and understood the difference they made in search and rescue because I'd been involved in a few.

I was turned down due to "lack of ambition to hit the ground running and lack of passion for the charity".

I wasn't surprised to see the post listed again six months later. They were clearly churning through database specialists who couldn't magic up a solution overnight and didn't have a clue about IT projects.

If its been less than a year you can quit right now and just miss this job off your cv altogether. You can tell future employers that you took some time to yourself for a few months using up some owed leave and doing small bits of freelance work. A 6 month gap isn't a problem.

6 months is okay - especially if you can say you worked there to gain some more experience in X or Y, however you can work it for you, you can always say it was a temp position in the initial advert

I left a hellish job (with a hellish 3hr each way commute) after 4 months (carried my resignation letter with me every day for 3 of those months). Did it politely and worked my week's notice (I signed up for a course and gave that as my reason for leaving, rather than the bullying culture and high octane workplace batshittery). Never had to explain it in an interview or had a problem when I had to get a reference from them. You're not doing yourself or your employer any favours limping along in a job you hate and intend to leave.

Why can't you be truthful?
Just say - I only managed to stick it for 4 months as it was not a good fit. The manager was a micromanager and I didn't enjoy working that way. I'd respect someone who was up front and honest like that.

Just leave. It's only a red flag if you keep doing it. When asked, just say that it was a very unhealthy culture - if that's a problem for the interviewer, you don't want their job anyway...

Definitely leave.

I managed a sales team and this could happen to anyone.

And I had a similar experience myself and stayed a year - I literally couldn't bear another day and should have left much sooner.

At my current job I knew I was going to like the company when in the interview they said ‘we’re not going to ask you why you’re passionate about our company, we know no one dreams of working in (very boring area of financial services) when they’re growing up” - unfortunately we’ve since been taken over by a large company that expects interviewees to be ‘passionate about their values’ 🙄

The sooner the better. Recruiters can understand 'i realised very quickly that it wasn't the right role/organisation/culture for me' (I'm sure most of us have had a job like that) with an otherwise stable history.

Wait a year though and as your other roles weren't THAT long, you start to look like someone who gets bored/job hops

Just leave, Any recruiters who consider that such a short stay is some sort of blot on your CV are stupid cunts and you wouldn't want to work at their shit organisation anyway.

CV's aren't a thing? Since when? I change jobs around every 2 years (strategically) and have not filled out an application form for about 20 years. I only ever employ off a CV, and all the agency's i know use CV's.

OP - don't lie, just say you stuck it out, it wasn't for you so you decided to find something more compatible.

Whenever I’ve mentioned my shorter permanent jobs which I’ve left off my CV to recruiters, most of the time they’ve just advised me to leave them off.

I've done a lot of recruitment, and unless you had a really sketchy CV I wouldn't be at all concerned by that, and if you explained at interview that it wasn't a good fit for you and that you needed to move on quickly I wouldn't be at all bothered, especially if you could produce a recent reference.

Good luck with the applications. It's a horrible situation, I've been there, the best thing is to move.

CV's aren't a thing? Since when? I change jobs around every 2 years (strategically) and have not filled out an application form for about 20 years. I only ever employ off a CV, and all the agency's i know use CV's

Glad to hear that because mine's going out today!

Haha, good for them! You know, that reminds me of my own interviewing experiences. I've never once asked or been interested in whether people are passionate about the sector. Some of the worst staff I've managed were the passionate ones, absolute nightmare. Give me objective competence any day.

OP - another interview tip is to mention your recent training and competency, and that you honestly don't feel like your current organisation is a good fit to a) use those skills and b) learn more due to the workplace culture.

My last hire was a woman under qualified for the role who honestly said that she couldn't pass the qualification because she was working til 8pm overtime every night and had young children.

She was fucking fantastic, I gave her a 10% payrise when she finished probation because she was already making a significant contribution to the business.

Would it mess up your CV if you left. i think the days where people had long stretches of work in the same firm are gone. You having one blip after a couple of good runs is not going to be seen as job hopping.

and this

Recognise that this situation is not your fault.

Staying will damage your confidence and possibly mental and physical health - in turn, making it harder to get another job. Leaving sooner might be the smarter thing to do in professional terms.

If you're leaving with no other job to go to and have the balls for it, you could try telling line manager you're considering leaving due to management style and wonder if she'd like to work with you on it. If you think it would fall in dead ears then don't bother!