How long do you have to be in a job before it's acceptable to leave?

[leicestershiregirl]

Please can anybody advise me?

I'm tempted to leave my job but I'm worried that I've not been in it long enough and to leave now would look bad on my already less-than-impressive CV.

I'm a nursing assistant, part-time, and have been in post for nearly 8 months. I realised not long after starting that it's not for me, but I thought I'd better stay for at least a year - the longest I've ever stayed in any job is 8 months exactly, I'm aware this looks flaky and I don't have anybody I can rely on for a solid work reference (my old boss wrote me a reference for this job but I was surprised she did as I was there for just 5 months).

A friend of mine thinks a year is not long enough to prove I've got staying power but the thought of working there any longer than that seriously depresses me. I'm thinking about continuing to work at the hospital but applying for a different role e.g. in admin - would this count as a new job to future employers or would it just be seen as an internal transfer?

I would feel very unsure about asking my current boss for a reference because I've not exactly been Employee of the Month in this job - it's difficult to be motivated about something my heart isn't really in, though that's no excuse (by the way I'm talking about things like being late, not things that would impact on patient care - please be assured I look after my patients well and take my duties in that regard very seriously). I do a lot of voluntary work for a couple of charities and am totally on top of that because it's about more than just earning money. Guess I would do that for a living if I was able to (I thought if I got into admin I could maybe ultimately get a job as an administrator for a charity and enter the voluntary sector that way. But also think I would like working with kids).

Forgot to add: ... and when you compare that against peer candidates, who have proven they are passionate and capable, and the fact that in this climate no one can afford to take risks... it's not surprising, sorry...

It's a tough market out there. Repeatedly leaving jobs at the 8 month mark is going to get you a reputation (even if it's just on paper).

I often hate my job. I have been there six years. I have been promoted to the top level position that I was interested in and I still often hate my job. It's adult life. This isn't television. If you continue to leave jobs and move sectors in this economic climate, you will quicky become totally unemployable.

There's a balance somewhere in between leaving every job after eight months and staying in a job you hate for six years, though.

indeed, 6 years does sound like quite a long time. but then she might be in her late 40s, and have been promoted into a new (higher) role every 18 months - 2 years in that.

so 6 years in the same company can be bad or good. it also depends on what sector/what the industry norm is. IT, creative and othe rindustries where short contracts aren't only considered normal (but needed - to get the depth of exp. needed) obviously wouldn't fall into the category where 6 years in the same role would be considered good. in some of the more staid, partnership type professions it might though. i'm thinking accountancy or legal, perhaps.

my post was not offensive - i made a number of valid points all based on what you your self posted and how i as an employer would see this - i am pleased that other mumsnetters did not see anything wrong with it
i am also very surprised that it was pulled by mumsnet

Edam, I don't hate my job.. I often hate it, but I like it too. It's life. Fgaaagh, I'm not in my late 40's, but was promoted after one year and then seconded to a higher role two years after that, which became permanent a year after that. Even since gaining that permanent post, I've taken on other contracts etc so all the time gaining experience, also been paid to do an MSc and had a year out with mat leave.

Six years in a sector is nothing and for many of us, staying a sector involves working for the same employer. The vast majority of people I know have been with their companies for 5+ years, across a range of sectors e.g. accountancy, IT, legal, engineering, NHS. It takes a while to really settle to a job and gain valuable experience to secure promotion. 8 months is barely dipping your toe in the water, even more so if you move sector..

mollymole, your post was hugely offensive. The horrible posts on here seriously knocked my confidence, which was low anyway, and I started to think maybe I just don't have anything to offer and should go back to being a SAHM. I'm not entirely sure now that's not the case.

I don't know why everybody has focused on whether or not I've paid my dues - I didn't ask whether or not I'd paid my dues, I asked how long I have to stay in this job before, in people's opinion, I could leave without it looking bad on my CV.

In terms of admin what I was thinking of applying for was a job as a ward clerk. This involves doing admin for nurses and is a not-uncommon sideways move for healthcare assistants (it's on the same pay band) - the ward clerk on my ward used to be a HCA. So it's not completely unconnected to what I'm doing now.

Regarding training, for this job I've had 5 days' training. For my previous jobs I had no training - none whatsoever. One of the things I like about the NHS is its commitment to training - if I do stay in my current role I will take advantage of the opportunity to do a Level 2 IT qualification, something I don't have and useful no matter what I go on to do.

Me being late for work has not impacted on patient care. The ward is not making the best use of me. One, I start work in the middle of the afternoon rest period when the patients are all asleep. Two, there is a 45-min crossover period when both the HCA I ostensibly go in to take over from and me are both on the ward (just because she has to do all of her contracted hours, as do I). And three, we are a generously staffed ward anyway. When I ring in sick they don't get anybody in to cover for me, they just manage without me, perfectly well.

I know I work well with patients, they like me and I take good care of them, including providing personal care. It's ironic that most of the haters on here almost certainly wouldn't consider doing my job in a million years because of that element of it but are quite happy to bash me for thinking about leaving.

We obviously work in different 'sectors' then. In my job, you can stay in the same field but move between loads of different employers.

No-one's bashing you for thinking of leaving, but they are critical of you for regularly turning up late and moving jobs every eight months. Neither of these things make you a desirable employee. But both can be changed, if you want to. Move to ward clerk sounds good but only if that's something you will actually enjoy. Is it a job where you will want to turn up on time every day? Is it a job where you won't get itchy feet after eight months?

What do you enjoy about your current job and what do you dislike? Try the same test with your previous jobs. And then see if ward clerking will give you the stuff you enjoy and less of the stuff you don't like.

It sounds as though you don't really like working for other people. Perhaps you could consider self employment? Set up a day nursery or care agency?

Meanwhile, apply yourself conscientiously to your present job - persistent lateness is tiresome at the very least and conveys the message that you believe that your time is more valuable than those you keep waiting (colleagues? patients?)

I wouldn't interview someone with your track record, so looking on the bright side you must be coming across positively to gain interviews in the first place.

Good luck!

See, people aren't reading this thread properly. Where did I say I was turning up late for work regularly? It's happened half a dozen times max. That's too much - enough to make me uncomfortable about asking for a reference right now - but not regularly.

As I explained above I don't keep anybody waiting when I'm late. Please read what I've written properly!

Would love, love, love to be self-employed. You're right, I don't especially like working for other people (though I guess a lot of people don't) and I like having a bit of autonomy over my work - something I don't have any of at the minute but did have a bit more of as a TA and believe I would have as a ward clerk. Not loads but just people trusting you to get on with the job and leaving you to it.

Have actually thought a little about opening a nursery.

You seem to think that anyone who doesn't flatter you and/or agree with you is abusing you in some way. I've tried to offer a little constructive advice - I do apologise if I've got better things to do on a Sunday evening than do more than skim through threads!

Your attitude is a little bit strange! It's really not up to you to decide if you being late is or isn't an issue, that's for whoever line manages you to comment on.

I'm not saying this to be bitchy at all, btw. The way you are phrasing things sounds like you don't have a very good grasp on what people are looking for at work. Generally, even if a post genuinely involves you twiddling your thumbs all day, most employers would expect you to turn up on time and would consider repeated lateness an issue, and you seem to realise this because you are uncomfortable asking for a reference.

Cover due to sickness in the NHS is kept to an absolute bare minimum, the fact you are not covered doesn't mean that your job is an irrelevance, it simply means that the budget doesn't stretch to cover you and if you call in sick either a) other people need to work harder to cover the workload or b) patient care suffers. I'm sure you know this, but again, your posts seem to suggest that you don't really see your role as important and this affects your ability to perform in your post.

If I were you, I would seriously consider staying in the NHS and gaining the Level 2 IT qualification among others. You can go for a ward clerk job but at this stage I don't know how likely you would be to get it, you might be better off continuing with getting appropriate experience and training. Apply for posts if and as they come up, but be careful of making a bad name for yourself... I am guessing you probably are local to where you work and if you are in a Trust, references will mean an awful lot and you want to show that you are a good, committed employee.

Opening a nursery is a very, very time-consuming procedure and involves a lot of commitment as any new business start-up does.. you would need some capital and it's not something I think is very easy to do alone, you would need a very firm grasp on Early Years policies etc and employment law, health and safety, accounts etc. It's a competitive market and it wouldn't do to not be behind it 100% and showing up late, getting itchy feet etc.

leicestershiregirl, we are reading what you've written.

"I've paid my dues albeit not all in the same job." is a quote from one of your posts, I didn't make that up.

I'm telling you - with your work history, you've shown that you haven't stuck at something, which makes employers:

• concerned that they might fall into just another 8 month employer
• compare you against other candidates in this regard (you don't need an extra "small niggling worry" angle - there's plenty of that even if you're the perfect candidate!)
• unconvinced if you claim something appeals to you (i.e. you can't prove any words about being passionate about the job, even if you genuinely are, it's catch-22)
• likely to pick a surer candidate even if they like you

You do have things to offer an employer. Others have already pointed out that you have a steady insight of experience into several different types of job. Now do what posters have suggested, identify which bits made you have itchy feet, move on with that knowledge, and go build yourself a career. That is the angle you're failing to see just now.

p.s. over how long have these 6 incidents of being late occured? if it's in the last 2 years, that would be fine (tho, we know it isn't because you've not been working there more than 8 months). if it's within the last 2 months, no.

To put it into perspective: there is no impact at my current place of employment if I'm late. I'm basically a print marketing assistant who mostly deals with charity sector contracts (I arrange budgets, guide and oversee creatives, hire freelancers when we need them, that sort of stuff, but I'm also client-facing, so deal directly with the charity contacts). No one is put out if anyone in my team is late, unless it's one of the three or four lunchtime meetings we schedule with clients (or, say, we miss a freelancer interview, I suppose). But do you know how many times I've been late in the 2.5yrs I've worked here? Twice. once when our power went out and the alarms didnt go off, the 2nd time when a neighbour had died and i had popped in the morning to check if she wanted anything from the supermarket on my way home (she looked after DCs sometimes, so quite a regular arrangement), I was a few hours late that morning due to wanting to inform her children myself rather than some random stranger.

Twice. in 2.5 years. and I take 2 buses to work, and 2 back.

i'm not saying this to boast - I'm giving you some perspective. there is no excuse to be regularly late, no matter who you think will or will not be impacted.

it's called professionalism.

Reading between the lines I seriously hope that you are not contemplating moving into the sordid adult industry. I seriously hope I am wrong but the lure of easy money and a so called easy life may on the face it seem appealing but as someone who has suffered from the actions of someone who has used adult services I have to say how sordid the effectscan be.
Please do not consider this work in any way no good will come of it

maxinefan, what the..?

WTH? Yeah- it really seemed as though that was her next move, didn't it?

? Maxinefan I find your post really inappropriate...how did you jump to that conclusion?

Right, firstly I can confirm I have no plans to enter the adult industry :o

Now I don't mind people telling me I should stay in my job or that I need more experience. What I do object to is people being rude and bitchy about it.

For example, fgaaah. "It's called professionalism"? How's the view up there on your high horse? Nobody on here is my boss so I don't understand why people have given me such a hard time.

Regarding opening a nursery I have a good idea of what it would involve - I'm not stupid. Capital - would have to raise some, I suppose by writing a business plan and getting a bank loan (know that's not a guaranteed way of getting money, before somebody posts on here and tells me that!). Accounts and health and safety - have dealt with that stuff as part of my voluntary work. Employment law - have always handled my own legal matters and never employed a solicitor in my life, confident I could learn what I needed to know. Knowledge of early years - would do a childcare qualification and get advice as needed. Why on earth, working9while5, would I get itchy feet or be late? What a silly thing to say. I would be running my own business i.e. in control of my own destiny.

This a constantly evolving situation anyway. Today at work there was a notice on the staff intranet saying they may soon be inviting people to take voluntary redundancy as the Trust is a pants state financially. A rumour went round last week that our ward might be closed. Who knows what's going to happen.

There is no point you posting on this thread.

You know it all, everyone is patronising you. You know best.

Stop wasting MN's time. No one has been insulting, silly or patronising. It is called professionalism, there's no high horse there. If you have a good idea of what it would involve to open a nursery, get up off your ass and do it rather than posting idly about all the things you think you want to do and getting arsey when people suggest what's involved.

Why on earth would you get itchy feet or be late? People here only have the evidence of what you have written, and you have suggested that this is an issue that you have struggled with. "In control of my own destiny" sounds like a teenager talking, not a businesswoman, sorry... that's just the way it is.

Nobody on here is your boss, you are right, but nobody on here is your friend. If you posted looking for objective opinions, you got them, but you are not interested in anything that doesn't match your own opinion.

I suppose you are going to report this, because it doesn't match your own take on this constantly evolving situation. Have a conversation in RL or write down your own pros and cons list but if you are going to be rude to people who were trying to share their opinions, I think you should stop posting on MN.

Not on a high horse, I just think that people being late regularly (i.e. 6 times in 8 months and thinking that future cases are "no big deal") is unprofessional.

You can report me if you want; it wouldn't change the fact that I think you have a very naive and unprofessional sense about what's required to show you've "paid your dues" at the bottom of the workplace heirarchy.

Please listen to some of the very constructive advice that's been given to you here. I'm leaving this thread now because you've already had good advice, it's now up to you to take action on it.

[shrug]