Desperately unhappy in mis sold job and want to quit

[BluebellBlueballs]

I started a job a year ago, it turns out the job itself is nothing like that described in the job description or during recruitment (it was through a recruiter, she said she was going on what she was told by the employer and I believe her as she was probably going off the 'work of fiction' job description too )

I thought I'd stick it out a year and see if I could make it work but the job just fundamentally doesn't do what it says on the tin or allows me to use my skills. eg I am supposed to be managing a service but I'm cut out of the loop from both above and below as my boss wants to control everything so I'm essentially just an assistant to implement her decisions, and the people reporting in to me are competent and happy to just get on with their work without my input and I just feel superfluous. The role was vacant for a while before I started and they just adapted without this position. I've tried to carve a niche but it hasn't worked.

I have burning itchy feet now and a whole pile of resentment that i was mis sold this role. I know it's not me as I've never felt like this before and found out the past 3 people in my role left because of these very reasons and I was told yesterday by one manager that he watched every year someone start with enthusiasm and then see it all drain out of them before they quit.

I have been looking for other opportunities and got pipped at the post for 2 roles recently but it's a tough market out there. I feel trapped until I find something else and it's making me miserable every day. I'm so tempted to give my notice (12 weeks) and line something else up even interim work I'd be happy to do and if I was out of work things would be tight but manageable for a short time. Am I crazy to consider giving my notice? I feel if i don't, I 'm trapped her for god knows how long. The money is good but I just feel like a wage slave.

By all means start actively looking and applying but despite being very disappointing about the role I wouldn't hand in your notice, there's no point, just keep going and think of it in terms of extra service history on your CV. 18 months looks better than a year.

I feel you, it is horribly stressful being in this kind of job, I've been there, it sucks but really, if the job market is that tough you'd be better off sticking at it until you can get something else. Interim work can be OK but by it's nature isn't that reliable and often people brought in as interims get the shitty work no-one else wants so it's not always that great on a CV.

The fact you've been pipped at the post twice should be encouraging (although I appreciate also really disappointing!), surely a new job should be just around the corner. If you're not really needed or utilised currently can you 'check out' mentally, obviously be physically present or available on Teams whenever you are required to be (you don't want to get sacked!) but stop putting more than the bare minimum effort in and treat job hunting as your new full time employment (I get this is easier WFH than in an office with other people looking over your shoulder, can you ask to WFH more often if you don't already?). I have a similar story of woe, headhunted at great expense and with great fanfare to what sounded a super exciting job with a boss highly respected in the industry, only to discover on day 1 said highly respected boss had been 'let go' the day before and the very exciting project I'd been hired to work on totally canned . They probably should have bitten the bullet and let me go too TBH but I guess the money they'd spend on headhunters put them off so instead they found me a tiny amount of work insultingly below my paygrade and then essentially ignored me for the next 6 months. No-one wanted to engage with me at all, least of all the reluctant woman who'd been assigned forced to be my new boss, afraid they'd be tarred with the sacking brush/tainted by the 'failed' project I guess. Like you I tried really hard, went round being friendly and helpful to all and sundry to drum up some useful work but got nowhere. So instead I spent about an hour a day doing my 'busy-work' then the rest of the day either job hunting or doing chores around the house or watching Netflix (obviously within reach of my laptop should anyone try and call me which they never did). Was a little bit rough finding a new job as everyone wanted to know why I'd left my previous job for this one and why was I leaving so soon but I made up some weaselly words about 'career development' and 'new challenges' and eventually it worked and I got a great new job (the final bizarre twist in the tale was the 'non-job' company suddenly freaked out when I said I was leaving and offered me a huge pay rise and begged me to stay which was really weird when they clearly had no work for me to do, turned that down obviously ).

So I'd say chin up, don't let them grind you down and keep focussed on your exit strategy. Obviously, if things deteriorate to the point where you honestly feel you can't cope any more even this advice changes, your health is the most important thing so if quitting needs to happen then quit...

Thanks, luckily I can wfh 60% of the time and have quiet quit as you suggest @daisychain01 .

I have told my boss I'm not happy with my job description not making contact with reality (.said that more professionally to her!) and she seemed genuinely concerned but I can tell she can't really change the culture there tothe point the job would work the way I'd need it to and she's said as much. So when you know, you go.

Sorry to hear of your experience @daisychain01 and how strange they didn't want to use ypu but didn't want to lose you. Maybe the big headhunter fee would have been questioned?

I will try and plod on but I am looking at interim eg mat cover as well as perm as I need to get my rusty skills up and can be good way to develop.

I keep thinking 'if things are no better by x date'( eg after my holiday in june) ill give notice just to give myself an illusion of a light at the tunnel bit I will probably not have the guts to, and the quiet quit option is more likely.

Glad you got it sorted out eventually @daisychain01

I just spoke to a recruiter who said whilst there may not be as many jobs as last years there are not loads of candidates either. I suppose many people are not risking a move unless they are desperate like me!

I will just bide my time until something comes along and do the bare minimum in my role to get by. A few trips and plans this summer so I'll think of it as paying for the outside work enjoyment, miserable as I am inside work.