Leaving a job after a short amount of time

[Yogurtpot]

Has anyone here left a job after a short amount of time? How did it work out for you?

Long story, cut short but I recently started a part time job after many years as a stay at home mum. I was lucky enough to get back into the industry I was in before kids and had been quite excited about getting back into working. Sadly the job isn't the right one for me for many different reasons. But the trouble is i don't know where to go from here. I worry about leaving after a short time and how that will look on my CV, especially after being out of work for a long time prior to this. I had intended to stick it out for as long as I can, but struggling with sticking at something I don't really want to do... Anyone have any words of advice?

I think honesty is key. There's nothing wrong with saying "to be frank, I made a mistake. I was so keen to get back into the workplace that I didn't fully think through if my current employer was the right fit for my skills and experience. I won't make that mistake again. It's really important to me that I get my next move right as I want to work somewhere where I can stay a long time and really develop my skills and contribute to the organisation" (assuming it's a perm job you're interviewing for of course lol)

@HundredMilesAnHour

I think honesty is key. There's nothing wrong with saying "to be frank, I made a mistake. I was so keen to get back into the workplace that I didn't fully think through if my current employer was the right fit for my skills and experience. I won't make that mistake again. It's really important to me that I get my next move right as I want to work somewhere where I can stay a long time and really develop my skills and contribute to the organisation" (assuming it's a perm job you're interviewing for of course lol)

Love this response - thanks. I always believe that honesty is best and just need to try and think of a good spin on why I want to leave after so little time.

Make sure to check your notice period. Mine and my partners are both 3 months and we're not even senior.

My notice period is the standard 1 month, I am also still in my 6 month probationary period. Although saying that, my job share, who was recruited at the same time as me, has already left (due to similar concerns to mine) and did not give a full month's notice.

My employment history prior to my stint as a SAHM is mostly jobs held for 2 years or longer, with no gaps from graduation to when I had children. My shortest employment period was 8 months but that was a temporary contract and I left to take on a permanent role elsewhere.

Your prev employment record sounds totally fine

The fact your job share has left speaks volumes - I’d bring that up at interview!

I'd recommend that you consider either getting out a month before your 6 month probationary period is up or staying a few months after you pass it. Maybe I work in a suspicious industry (probably, if you've read my previous posts) but if you left at 6 months, we'd assume you'd failed your probation and that was the reason for leaving. Just something to think about, and add to the list of paranoid stuff future employers may look at.

As an aside, OP are you aware that quite a few of the big firms do return to work programmes i.e. they pro-actively consider people who have been out of the workforce for 2+ years who want to return to the level they were previously. Obviously I don't know your background but it might be an option for you if your profile fits?

Find a job and leave. It really will not reflect badly on you, in fact I think staying in the wrong job has a worse affect on both confidence and happiness, which can have a knock on effect on job interviews.

There's no one way to explain leaving a job so soon to a prospective employer, honesty is best but you can spin it to fit the company you're interviewing with e.g. you're looking for a faster pace, more responsibility, it could be home/work logistics, you feel the culture/purpose is a better fit. You have to read the room and adjust your answer accordingly.

I left a job after 3 months, I was massively underpaid and it made me feel worthless. No regrets.

The market is crazily competitive atm so it's the perfect time to make the move