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Original poster

Have you ever quit a job soon after starting?

31 replies

stripe8 · 16/06/2018 20:08

Advice please :(

I haven't been in a job long at all but it's not going well. I keep making mistakes, colleagues haven't accepted me and I don't seem to fit in with the culture. It's a career change and not what I was expecting, as I don't even do the things I was strongest at in my previous job :(

Managers have been making a big deal of the fact I am on the quieter side. I am quite a private and independent person, I do have social anxiety but I thought I was generally okay - I'm never going to be an extrovert but I do talk to people and I'm friendly etc. But apparently that's not enough.

So my question is - have you ever been miserable in a new job and quit very soon? What was the reaction and did this harm you in your job search?

OP posts:
chickenowner · 16/06/2018 20:13

I walked out of a job after 3 weeks!

The conditions weren't as promised, my colleagues were really unfriendly, the management refused to help when asked, the commute was horrible, I didn't fit in, I was criticised for actually daring to take a lunch break, I was expected to work far in excess of my expected hours, etc etc...

Luckily my contract hadn't arrived so there was nothing they could do.

chickenowner · 16/06/2018 20:15

Sorry, to answer your questions...

I signed up with a temp agency immediately and was in work a week later.

This was several years ago and I now no longer include these 3 weeks on my CV. It's never been an issue at all.

I definitely did the right thing.

Original poster
stripe8 · 16/06/2018 20:16

How did your manager react @chickenowner?

OP posts:
Redcliff · 16/06/2018 20:19

I left a job after 3 weeks once (although I had another on to go to) as it wasn't what I had been led to believe. They were annoyed (I only worked half my notice) but there wasn't anything they could do.

GetInMaBelleh · 16/06/2018 20:19

I always find that I hate hate hate new jobs... but make myself give it a 6 week period before quitting- I often find that with a little time I come to like it as my stress levels drop and I find my feet.

Aaarrrggghh · 16/06/2018 20:22

No, but I wish I did. It hasn't got any better. I'd say give yourself a dead line like the pp above suggests then if you're still feeling the same then leave. It really affects every aspect of your life, well it has for me.

DramaAlpaca · 16/06/2018 20:23

I walked out on one after three days Blush

In my defence I knew instantly it wasn't the right fit for me. My average stay in a job is over five years. That one was a major mistake & it doesn't appear on my CV.

BigPinkBall · 16/06/2018 20:28

Half a day! I walked out at lunch on my first day and didn’t go back!
To be fair it was a temp job, they didn’t introduce me to anyone, tell me anything about the company or where the coffee or loos were or even give me a desk. When I arrived they gave me a pile of papers to put in date order and left me stood at a filing cabinet doing work on top of it.

Lotsofplanetshaveanorth · 16/06/2018 21:33

Nope but I bloody should have

RavenLG · 16/06/2018 21:37

Half a day here too, also temp work. Was told it was admin, was actually cold calling elderly people to get “missing data” collected but questions were awful (what is your sexuality? To a 95 year old!!)

I would say if you’re really unhappy just leave. No job is worth it! I left another job after 2 months after being in company a year but moved departments. Hated every day and it affected my mental health! So much happier out of it.

FairyPenguin · 16/06/2018 21:38

Yes I left a job after 8 weeks. I started looking for another job after 2 weeks, I knew I couldn’t stay when I felt sick when I woke up every morning. They were fine about it actually which made me feel even guiltier. They’d been very friendly and welcoming, but the job itself was completely not what I was expecting and the wider company was not so friendly. I keep it on my cv though - makes a good talking point, especially if I get asked interview questions when I can use it as an example.

blackdoggotmytongueagain · 16/06/2018 21:40

Yep. 2.5 weeks. I went to see the manager just before lunch, then went out on my break and didn’t go back. (I gave her the option. I was happy to walk but I would have stayed a week or so while she sorted shifts). It just wasn’t the right fit and I was thoroughly miserable. Could do the job with my eyes closed but the thought of doing it forever made me seriously miserable (to the extent I went home and sobbed every lunchtime and then got my brave face back on for the afternoons). She was gobsmacked. Hadn’t seen it coming at all. It doesn’t appear on my CV.

BigPinkBall · 16/06/2018 21:41

I should add that once I didn’t leave a job when my gut was telling me it wasn’t right and I ended up being fired after 6 months for “not fitting in”, then I found it really hard to get a job afterwards because I couldn’t miss it off my CV but I also couldn’t use it as a reference. If I was in that situation even again I’d quit in a heartbeat.

countingdowntobedtimeagain · 16/06/2018 21:43

What sort of role are you currently in? Is it something you could put on your cv as a stepping stone?

HeartshapedFox · 16/06/2018 21:56

Slightly longer here - six months. Walked into a completely toxic work environment, one of my colleagues had been passed over for my role and everyone hated me from day one. My daily tasks were vague and I constantly felt like I didn’t know what I shouldve been doing. The manager just locked herself in her office in denial that everyone hated her too. I’ve never worked anywhere like it. It knocked my confidence for a while but leaving (to temp while I job hunted) was absolutely the right decision - I wish I’d gone sooner. Had fun filling in HR’s feedback form though...

Gouldengirl9 · 16/06/2018 22:04

I walked out after 3 weeks, the new office manager who started 1 week after me decided that if we wanted to go the loo or get a drink of water(no hot drinks allowed at your desk) then we were to raise our hands. No personal phone calls are to be received even if it was urgent, she would take a message and decide if we needed to be informed.
I didn't take the job to be treated like a 2 year old.

NoTractorsAtTheTable · 16/06/2018 22:12

I'm considering this - I'm a few months in, and am just not happy with the culture or how I fit in it. I've had anxiety in the past, and this job has really triggered it, so I'm looking elsewhere. There's nothing intrinsically 'bad' about it, but I'm just not happy.

StarUtopia · 16/06/2018 22:16

I walked out after 5 weeks. Retail environment. I'd come from bluechip. This was a family affair. And wasn't it just - I was 100% convinced shoplifting was going on amongst the other senior management so started asking questions. Things then started getting nasty towards me.

So I walked. Ended up on gardening leave for 12 weeks so all in all, best paid job I have never had!

Awful company. Still trading.

daisychain01 · 17/06/2018 04:16

I've just commented on another thread, along similar lines. If things aren't working out well, or don't feel right it's better to make the decision to leave. In your case, I wouldn't resign (unless you find it unbearable and it's affecting your health) without first trying to find a new job, at least you have continuity of work for the time being.

If the worst happens, and your mind is made up, don't worry what your manager's reaction is, it's your decision so it's best to own it and be the one to pull the plug if that's the way you feel. If it's a few weeks into the role leave it off your CV. Can you register with agencies, and use Indeed.com?

ShottaSheriff · 17/06/2018 04:27

I left a job after three months. I was headhunted into it, but realised pretty quickly that it just wasn’t the right job for me. It was only the second role in my career and I was perhaps a bit naive. I completely failed to meet the targets set of me and I walked before I was pushed, just as my probation period ended. Anyway, it was the best thing that could have happened, as it sparked a change in direction and I now have a successful career 13 years later in a different area. It was horrible at the time though.

lifechangesforever · 17/06/2018 05:18

5 days.

By day 3 I'd been in touch with my old manager and asked for my previous job back, he was brilliant and even wangled it so that I kept my continuous service.

You've just got to brazen it out when you're telling them, yes it's awkward but if it's what you really want then just get it over with.

That being said, I couldn't have done it without a job to go back to.

JobHunting4 · 17/06/2018 06:57

Not me, but worked with a young man who turned up on his first day and asked what time the boss started, he wanted to tell her he had a new job... She sent him home within the hour.

Oliversmumsarmy · 17/06/2018 07:19

2 weeks.

Different times. Like dp I was given 2 choices. Nursing (really hate ill people) or working in a bank.

Quit banking after 6 weeks struggling on the £80 per month salary. Did a lot of temporary part time jobs that paid triple to what I was coming out with in the bank.

Always trust your gut.

Choccablock · 17/06/2018 07:28

I gave notice at 6 weeks (half term) and left after 14 weeks. (As a teacher I had to stay until the end of the next term)

I think you just need to do it. Get out if you know it's not right.

WeKnowFrogsGoShaLaLaLaLa · 17/06/2018 07:34

On one occasion, I left after One day, working in the sales office of a gym. I turned up and every single person left to go out and do an event in the city centre. No showing me anything, explaining anything, just left me.

To my credit, I did try and work my way around the computer system and answered calls etc to the best I could, but when it got to 5pm and I still hadn’t seen another member of staff I left and didn’t go back.

Boss called and left a voicemail the next morning saying he didn’t think from my interview that I was the type to do that. Neither did I until that day. 😂

Also left a sandwich shop after about three weeks. The owners wanted to use my previous managemt experience but only pay me basic. I gave them the option to either pay me properly, or I’d leave. They didnt want to pay me. 😂

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