Frequent job changes and should I wait

[pteradactyl]

I am looking for some opinions here really. I left uni in July 2014 as a mature student. Before this i had been in my last job 3.5 years...after uni, straight into a job which I stayed in til May 2016. I then got a job in a company with some of the nastiest people i have ever met. I was there 6 months and then got a new role where I am now. I am 2 months into my 3 month probation and whilst i enjoyed it for the first 4 or so weeks things are coming to light now which I also really am not happy with. The job itself is also really not what I expected and the more I learn the less I like it.
However! After being at my last job 6 months and this one for 2, I feel like nobody will employ me if I look for another job. This place is really getting me down, as much as I tell myself to man up and get on with it cos it is only a job. I just feel trapped really!
So, if it was you, would you just grin and bear it until a suitable amount of time had passed to move on or would you cut your losses and try to find another job? Or has anyone else been in a similar situation and been successful at job hunting? I really really don't like changing jobs at all, so it isn't just cos I can't stay in one job, I just seem to have had a run of crap luck in jobs!

Honestly when I see CVs that jump all over the place I don't take them any further. Our roles are always over subscribed so it's another way to cull down the applications.

I've recruited before and job hoppers don't worry me all that much...and this isn't even that bad. Ultimately if you put your CV out there and someone is interested they're not worried either. They may ask why at the interview and you can have a good robust answer ready.

If you don't try you won't know. A lot of companies can be hung up on it... A lot are not. Go for it! Don't stick around somewhere and be unhappy.

That is pretty much what I expected to be honest. Unfortunately! What would you call jumping all over the place, for future reference? First job almost 2 years, then a 6 monther.. if you saw that on a cv how long would you want them to have been in the current role before it isn't jumping? In your opinion of course, I am sure plenty of people have different ideas on this

Go with your gut feeling. It's not always greener on the other side, but sometimes you land in a terrible fix and then it might be worth to change track. Nobody can really give you any good advice but you, yourself, since you're the only one who knows enough details about your current job. Questions to ask oneself includes whether there is a big turnover at that job, whether people around you are dishonest, whether your self-esteem is taking a hit, etc.

And thanks Sarah. My OH keeps telling me this but I just felt that people would be immediately put off. Which I suppose some will but you are right, I won't know if I don't try! Interesting polar split haha

And language...good points. I agree about the grass being greener, if I knew then what I know now I would have stayed in the first job! Things worth considering there, thank you

Last few jobs I've recruited for we've had so many applications I asked someone to sift through and automatically reject candidates on certain criteria to reduce the pile. One of these was if they hadn't stayed in their last two jobs for long. I didn't even read those CVs.

Conversely for specialist roles that are harder to fill that wouldn't be an issue. It depends on how much demand there is for what you do and how many people you are competing with.

I had a role I hated but stuck with it for a year. With holiday you've probably only got 9 working months to get through.

I'd never not look at a CV if they had shorter service in previous roles....you're just doing yourself a mid-service as the recruiter, many of the roles could be FTCs to gain experience which is invaluable.

Controversially...someone who has been in the same job for years and years (like 10+) I am always hesitant about! Just go for it...if you find you're not getting interviews then there's your answer. If you're in London you'll have more chances as job hopping is more common due to the availability of jobs.

Like SaltySeaBird, I've been in a few roles that I've hated but have always stuck at them for at least year. However there is no harm in applying for things and see how you get on.

Ptera not wanting you to out yourself, but what is it about the current role that has disappointed you after 4-5 weeks? Is it the people, the job content, are you finding it dull? Complex? Disorganised?

I always try to break these workplace issues into show-stoppers versus fixables, as to whether I think I can grit my teeth and plough on, or whether I absolutely cannot stand a day longer in a place and have to bust free. And all shades of grey in between .

I would normally encourage sticking with it for longer than you have just so your work history doesn't raise eyebrows, but sometimes life is just waaaaay too short...

To try and be brief, major lack of support and poor management. My supervisor is useless and my big boss man is horrible. Unapproachable and a big fan of dressing people down very loudly and very publicly. Misunderstandings over overtime pay and regularity (it's not paid. It is every night) amd just general crappy attitides from my workmates. Maybe it all seems a bit trivial,l and I may be making mountains out of molehills, but I really dislike it l. I probably could stick it out a little longer but it would definitely be a long and miserable few months.
I will probably apply for things as there is no harm but not be disheartened if I hear nothing back!

Those things are not trivial. You are right to have concerns. Sounds like there is a toxic culture from the boss down, which is normally how these things go.

I would try to get out when you can find something else, and the sooner the better, so it doesn't completely destroy your self confidence.

Exactly what daisychain01 said.

My last office was just like that and it was only after I left that I realised what it had done to my confidence and self belief.

If you are really miserable, I'd move on. It might take you a few weeks to find a new job in which case you'll have done around 6 months in your new place anyway.

It is difficult, I am suspicious of people who move around a lot. I think you can have one mistake - and if your career has been a long one, more than one, but I'd be a bit wary of people who jump around all over the place and never work for more than a year in one place, unless it's clear that they are all fixed term arrangements.

I had a disaster in my first role after I qualified, I knew on day one I'd made a mistake - I left after 6 months, but I was in my next job for 5.5 years. Than I was made redundant after a year in my next job, but have done somewhat better in terms of the time I've spent in a job in later roles, and have been in my current role for over 4 years.

Ultimately though there is no point being miserable and it's better to have a slightly harder job to find a new job than spend months and months not wanting to go to work.