Twentysomething: Why it’s smart to quit a job after just two weeks of work
This is a guest post from Jamie Varon. She’s 23 years old. Her blog is called intersected.
Not too long ago, I started a new job, in which I moved my self from point A (college town) to point B (Bay Area). This was supposed to be my career launch. It took me about two weeks to admit to myself that I was unhappy. So I quit.
I had the security of knowing I could go back to my parents’ house to live. (Which, by the way, is such a good idea that 65% of new grads do it.) Here are five reasons why I am sure it was a smart decision to quit my job after just two weeks:
1. Your job performance will be terrible if you hate your job.
If you hate your job from the beginning, then you will never fully dedicate yourself. In fact, you’ll resent both the company and yourself for staying at a job that you knew you didn’t like early on.
I get it: You have this desire to prove to yourself that you are capable of sticking it out. Or you’re worried that this makes you a complete failure and you have given up. So what? You learn from your failure. You learn from that mistake. You’ll end up quitting at some point soon, so why draw it out?
2. You’ll have more respect for yourself if you respond to your needs.
Once I admitted to myself that I hated my job, I worried that if I didn’t quit this job immediately, even if I had no backup plan, that I would be setting myself up to allow negative situations into my life. If you know that going to your job will make you stressed, unhappy, and angry, every single day, then continuing to go is being disrespectful to your well-being. The more you continue to disregard your own feelings, the further away you get from happiness.
When we’re in our twenties we need to learn about who we are and what we like, so that we can find a work life we are passionate about. Staying in a job you hate doesn’t help.
3. You’ll prove your commitment to passion and engagement at work.
Quitting that job after two weeks is actually one of my proudest moments. I think it shows that I have integrity and passion. I understand the fact that productivity comes more easily in the face of happiness. Quitting quickly is showing impatience for a meaningful work life. Everyone should be impatient for that.
Also, people who switching jobs regularly makes people more engaged in their work. This makes sense. If you stay in a job for a long stretch of time, your learning curve goes down and things do not feel as new and stimulating.
4. You’ll do the company a favor.
If you stay unhappy at a job and then quit after, say, six months, the company will probably never know that you had hated your stint there. When you quit a job after two weeks, the company will notice and question what they had done to push you away so quickly. (A smart company, at least.)
Employees at, Apple, for example, produce the best products in the world because they are passionate about the company’s mission. You are not helping the company by staying at a position you hate when someone else may be better suited for it who will, no doubt, excel, while you are just getting by. Do the company a favor and quit so they can reevaluate their training, that position, and their hiring strategy, so the next person doesn’t want to jump ship after a week.
5. You’ll set yourself up for success.
High performing employees in companies like GE, Proctor & Gamble and UBS all get to rotate through a wide range of jobs at the beginning of their career. This is because job-hopping is a great way to build skills early in one’s career. We should all have that chance. There are no rules that say you need to stay at a job that is not teaching you enough.
And there are no rules that say how long it takes a person to know a job is not right. But there is a rule for who succeeds and who doesn’t: People who have self-confidence, respect, good teamwork instincts, and a sense of when it’s time to cut their losses; these are the people who succeed. That’s why high-performers leave bad jobs after just two weeks at work.
This is a guest post from Jamie Varon. She’s 23 years old. Her blog is called intersected.
In the where-are-they-now category, Jamie has breathlessly announced that she is moving to Italy. She admits to being in debt, and to having no rational reason for moving. “I want to go, in pursuit of pleasure, yes, fucking, please.”
The funding source for this pleasure pursuit was undisclosed.
Jamie is moving to Italy. She is in debt, and admits to having no rational reason for moving. So why? “Pursuit of pleasure”. The funding source for this pursuit was not disclosed.
Tell me again how brave, brilliant, inspirational, insightful and mature she is.
Sometimes two weeks is two weeks too long. I quit a job after one day! I took the job and then came in my first day to discover I had been blatantly, outright lied-to about the circumstances I was stepping into (I had been told that the previous employee had just left the previous Friday, she had been gone for over a month! And in her absence people had piled requests on her desk – expecting me to handle them all my first day!) I was parked in a dark, dank office by myself with a non-functioning computer – no one came to see me except to poke their head in and ask if I had handled their request, and then would refuse to answer any questions I had. No one asked me to go to lunch – which I didn’t require, but has ALWAYS happened on my first day in EVERY other job I have had – either the boss takes me out, or at least a coworker will ask me to join them for lunch. I went to see a couple of coworkers – one refused to talk to me, the other wouldn’t say much except “Watch out for X (my boss). Watch your back. That’s my best survival tip for you.” At 4 p.m. my boss – who I had not seen that day up to that point – came in and started asking questions, and when she figured out I had not been able to do something (because I had NO information about what it was or how to get it done) started screaming at me. That was it. I left at 4:30 and called the next morning and told them I wasn’t coming back. It was a nice title at a great salary but I am smart enough to see a mile down the road and knew this was a living disaster. Why stick around for that?
What a lot of employers don’t seem to realize is that a lot of people (and not just in one generation – boomers, Xers, Gen Y, what have you) have decided a job is not worth making your life miserable. It’s better to quit something that is very obviously not going to work out than to waste everyone’s time and work yourself into a nervous breakdown in the process. I envy people who have had nothing but great jobs where people were up-front about the duties and challenges and were willing to work to solve problems. I’ve had some jobs like that, but I’ve had a couple of experiences now where I was outright lied-to about the job and lured in under what I feel were false pretenses, and then ended up in a horrific work situation. This isn’t the 1950s and people aren’t just going to suck it up any more. If I feel someone has had the poor integrity to lie to me about the job, it’s going to be difficult for me to respect them (and respect is something that’s earned, not automatically given). I have a young son and my husband and I are fortunate to be more or less financially independent (we have no debt other than a very inexpensive mortgage and we only have to pay for that and our day-to-day living expenses, which we have savings to cover if my husband were to lose his well-paying job) and I am not going to stay in a job and capitulate to the petulant, unreasonable demands of a sociopath rather than be with my family. A “career” is not that important to me. I’ve already decided I don’t give a rip about being the VP of whatever at XYZ Corp so who cares? If it’s not something that’s fun and allows for work-life balance I am not interested, and I’m not going to stay in a bad situation for the sake of saying I did. This is the new paradigm and if employers don’t understand it, it’s going to be their loss. People need meaning and flexibility now. A paycheck isn’t enough to get people to stay someplace and be abused.
Wow. That chick had a lot to say. I haven’t read anything on this page. I just heard we were trashing someone in the comments and I just wanted to get my licks in.
You smell bad.
Okay, that’s it.
My husband is currently interviewing people for a position in his company. One lady who applied had NINE jobs listed that she had in the last TEN years. Maybe she was busy “finding herself” or her “passion” or something, but he declined to interview her as that kind of record does not look good. It makes you look like you are unable to handle the difficult situations that arise in all work situations.
And, yes, I do think spelling is important. (Note to Sidney)
It does actually make an impact when you are misspelling words on your C.V. Sorry to tell you that news.
I am working as a health care auditor for 6 months now. I am switching assignments next week, and am a bit excited about it – because I abhor the work that I am currently engaged in. But what sucks about this other assignment is that, though it will be slightly different, it will prob be more of the same old crap as now.
I realize, from my past experience, that I am more interested in being around people, listening to their problems, and helping them resolve those problems. I really don’t know what to do. With this economy being as bad as it is, its hard to find another job especially coming out of college. I definitely can’t quit this job because I have a one year lease that I need to pay for, and other expenses that come with living on your own. More importantly, I don’t even know what kind of job I should apply for or would tailor to my needs.
I would love to hear your thoughts on what I should/can do. I definitely lack guidance, and my parents have nothing constructive to say but to save money, buy a house, live until you die aka the lifestyle that they lived.
@ Paul
"It’s funny, I was just talking to a coworker today about all the crap “The greatest generation” went through when they were your age. The Great Depression, WWII, Civil Rights, Women entering the workforce – Do you think at ANY time they said to themselves “This is difficult, therefore I will no longer do it?”
It's not a matter of it being difficult or not, back then times were different people during WW2, and The Great Depression didn't have any other options and I find it absurd that you made such a comparison. It's 2009 and a completely different world. Why should you fault someone for taking advantage of options that are available to them?
"I labored in a job I semi-loathed for 5 years after college, and you know what? It was COMPLETELY worth it. Employers notice it – they don’t need to worry about me leaving when I have a bad day and forget to Tivo “Idol”.
Okay you stuck it out at a job you hated for 5 years, and according to you it was worth it yet you are still angry and bitter judging by the tone of your post.
"And from a personal perspective, I have so much more appreciation for my current (dream) job because I invested time in finding out what I didn’t like, what I could overcome, and what it turned out I could actually live with without sacrificing my integrity"
so you call quitting a job "sacrificing your integrity"? Get over yourself you're not some sort of martyr. Just because you made yourself miserable for 5 years doesn't mean that's the path to happiness. because honestly you don't sound very happy to me.
"You are typical of your “instant gratification” generation, and I have very little sympathy for you. Just because you’re female doesn’t make it okay when you tell a date/employer THAT YOU LIVE AT HOME. No matter what they say to your face, they’re all thinking “LOSER”. And yes, that includes your parents"
Unless you are a telepath there is no way of knowing that's what an employer/date or her parents really think of her because she's living at home. What you are saying is impossible to prove and your own personal bias. Furthermore, I don't see where OP asked for sympathy.
"Turns out, in this life you still have to work for things. Short cuts might get you ahead in the short term, but they’ll leave you cold in the long one."
Yes you do have to work for things, however quitting a job you don't like to find something that's better suited for you is not a shortcut.
"Get your crap together and take a “job”, as terrible as that sounds. Boo freakin’ hoo."
I don't know how you expect people to take your comments seriously when you speak with such bitterness and hostility
I read this post a couple of months ago when I was checking out who this Jamie Varon kid was. This post, coupled with seeing some of her previous work was all I needed to know that she was worth hiring. What I got out of the post was that she was unwilling to stay somewhere that she wasn’t doing amazing work.
I’ve since hired her, and after seeing her work ethic, product and demeanor, I am so glad she left her job after two weeks. My company is lucky for it, and the people I’m recommending her to are lucky for it.
I’m left a little struck though, by the people squandering their frustrations here in the comments. There are so many young people who are willing to take big risks, contrary to the advice of an older generation (sometimes only slightly so) in order to make their mark on the world. Meanwhile, those who’ve avoided such risks sit cursing the seemingly capricious nature of said world-changer and behind those curses there’s a hint of jealousy. And that jealousy is absolutely justified, because they’re seeing another person perform at a level they could have achieved if they actually quit cursing and tried.
Congratulations on quitting Jamie!
I agree with this post. I had just started my first college job at a property management company and I hated it. I dealt with a lot of client’s complaints and customer service issues. If I had known the real duties and tasks of this job, I would not have taken it.
yes, I did quit it after a 1.5 weeks of working and I am currently looking for a new job. I don’t think I am irresponsible or flaky for quitting this job. I know for a fact that I NEVER want to work in property management and I will never apply to this type of job again. I learned a very powerful lesson. Only apply to jobs you are really interested in.
Unfortunately most of what you have written leaves me only agreeing with 4. You’ll do the company a favor. I think you give yourself a bad reputation starting a job and then leaving it 2 weeks later. I guess potential employers will overlook this on a single occasion but as a recommendation there needs to be some staying power as well? IMHO.
I once had a job where the employer decided to let me go after 2 weeks. I wasn’t given any reason or explaination why. All I was told was that “it wasn’t working out” and that was it. I did everything they asked me to do to the best of my ability looking back I don’t know if there was anything I could have done differently. I’ll never know the real reasoon why they fired me. However, if it’s okay for an employer to let someone go after 2 weeks without giving them a proper explaination, why shouldn’t it be okay for an employee to leave after 2 weeks if they decide the job is not for them?
If you not happy with a job, quit! It do not make any difference if you do research or not about the company. What it do not work with you, work for somebody else.
I also had a job once that I absolutely hated. I waited until I had another job before I quit. What I did in the meantime was to try to learn as much as I could about myself in that situation, how I responded to adversity, to working with difficult people, what type of position or company I would look for that would be a better fit for me. You may not have had the option to quit so soon if you didn’t have financial stability. While I think it’s good to get out of a bad situation, sometimes you must endure for a while if finances just aren’t there. Also, what did you learn about asking better questions at the next interviews so that you can make a better choice for future jobs? That would be important to know.
I agree with the main point presented here. It is all about doing what you do and be honest with yourself. Right? I had a job that I hated once. Well actually two. But the one I hated the most I had to put up with it for a year so that i can build my resume. It was the worst thing ever. At the end though I had to do it in order to find something better.
i think this is a great post. going through something similar myself. im in school for cosmetology, which i love, meanwhile i’m at a deadend job I HATE (going on an interview today =]) and my father tells me “be thankful i have a job” and “ur blowing the situation out of proportion”. on the other hand, my mom (they’re divorced) is very supportive of me, and is always about happiness over anything else. well written enjoyed the post!
So you’d quit if you don’t have a passion in what you do and hate what you do. So what if you don’t hate it but just suck at it? Is it reason enough to quit if it seems as though you will never excel at what you do?
I lost my job 2 mos ago and found a job at a new resto that has an extremely disorganized management. I've only been at it for less than a month but I feel the energy and motivation draining everytime I go to work. I am staying at it until I find another job but someone told me to stay at a job for 6 mos before you quit. I'm not sure what is the right thing to do.
I too have started a new job and am absolutely hating it. The people are lovely and friendly but the type of work was entirely unexpected. I realise now that I tried to play myself up without questioning the position itself… Basically it’s very mechanical (dirty) work, and I’m craving more of an office job… I want to quit but my partner and family suggest I stay for at least a year. I feel bad to leave so soon, wasting the company’s efforts and time, yet I probably make it worse by sticking it out knowing I will definitely leave soon enough. I am into my 2nd week and can see how it may be to early to judge, but the nature of the job already spells out its future. I would really prefer a junior office role so I’m thinking to at least look for what’s available.
Should I look after myself and find something I can enjoy at least half of the time, or should I suck it up for a year?
I just quit a “Devil Wears Pradda” cool aid drinker. She is a screamer, thrower, and I’m pretty sure a bit racist. I have never just up and quit with out giving 2 weeks and already having another job lined up but this was unique to me but she was giving me stress hives.
Andrew: Quit. You sound like you are thinking in a rational way & are articulate. Do not stay at something you hate. It will only lead to depression & a low quality of life. You have obviously analyzed why this job is not the right fit for you so you will make a better decision next time. Life is too short to just “exist.” You sound very mature & not at all “flighty” as some of the other posters do.
B. Rodriguez: Hope your new job does not require correct spelling as a “job description.” See a specialist about your hives. Good luck.
Wishing much success for both of you (& all the others, too, of course).
Thanks SG! =) I was starting to force myself to “enjoy” it until the past few days, with one of my bosses having me come in at 6am. Even though I may regret being at that position for such a short time, I now know what I am really looking for and can appreciate it all the more.
Just “existing” is how I felt to others, and I want to avoid falling into some zombie like state of living. I can now really look forward to the future (may consider studying IT or Journalism part time).
Apologies for any perceived dramatics and cheers for your response :)
I’m 25 years old. I recently left a job after a little over a year, because it became very stressful and they changed my primary job role to something I wasn’t passionate about and no longer utilized my skills. After a couple months, I was offered a job with another employer and probably should have thought twice before taking it. After a couple months in the job, my performance wasn’t very good, as I just wasn’t interested or knew enough about the field to be motivated. I went to my supervisor and told her that my heart just wasn’t in it. I said that I thought about sticking it out and looking for another job while at this one, but knew this job needed someone more dedicated than that. I said I felt it would be unfair to them and just wanted to be honest about where I was. My supervisor thanked me for my honesty, gave me a hug and said she hopes I find something I am passionate about, as I’m a very talented individual. She said I didn’t have to come back in to the office, as I had no pending projects, and insisted on paying me for two more weeks. I was nervous to tell my mother what I had done, as I was afraid what her reaction might be. I considered just not telling her, but I did, and maybe I should have kept my mouth shut. She thought it was a stupid thing to do, that I was “flitting from job to job,” that it must be nice to just say “Oh, I don’t like this job, I guess I’ll just quit.” Completely unsupportive and making me feel even more like crap when I’m already doubting myself and depressed enough. Thank you for writing what you did. It made me feel better.
I get it: You have this desire to prove to yourself that you are capable of sticking it out.
High performing employees in companies like GE, Proctor & Gamble and UBS all get to rotate through a wide range of jobs at the beginning of their career.
The rotations are usually a one year minimum. They are very demanding and they are trying to weed out quitters. You have to relocate every year, usually to a different part of the country, and you’re always the one person there with no experience so people treat you like you don’t know anything for the first 3-4 years of your career because you’ve only been in their sector for less than a year. It’s like being a rookie 3 or 4 times in as many years. You don’t just do two weeks on the job and say, “I don’t think this is for me. Can I go to the next assignment now?” haha you’d just get laughed at.
Good luck justifying that to potential future employers without looking like a quitter.
A good rule of thumb is to hack it out at a job for at least six months before you cave.
Also, here’s a little secret you need to know about business and working in an office environment…NO ONE likes it. Sitting at a desk all day sucks for anyone. You’re not special. The people that have been doing it for 30 years are miserable and can’t wait to retire and get outside for a couple of hours other than to grab lunch.
Essentially, sitting at any desk job is very similar to doing an 800 mile road trip everyday. You can’t get up and move around unless you need to pee. You stop about half way through to get lunch and refuel. I guess a road trip is better because you can wear whatever you want…But you don’t get paid for it and you’ll end up actually living out of the car you don’t have money to afford because you quit your first actual job after two weeks.
Why couldn’t you hang in there for a while and save some money? That’s what I did and now I’m back in school (still working) to become a firefighter. It’s really challenging and at times it even sucks, but I can respect myself for hanging in there and it will be something to point to as an intangible accomplishment when I am interviewing with fire departments. Plus I will have some money to live off of while I’m job hunting.
I suppose for females the money thing is quite different though, because most people still view them as the weaker sex…I’m not saying I do, but that seems to be what makes it ok for a female to not work and live off of her parents or a significant other because she is, as you said, “respecting her well-being.” If a male does that, the significant other or parents who are supporting him are seen as facilitators of a lazy person and people call him a loser.
Anyway, I’d love to hear where you’re at now.
“Good luck justifying that to potential future employers without looking like a quitter”
You don’t have to justify anything. Future employers don’t need to know about every single job you had, just the ones you choose to put on your resume. A job you had for only 2 weeks not even worth putting on your resume.
“A good rule of thumb is to hack it out at a job for at least six months before you cave.”
According to whom? From what crediable source are you citing this from? If you don’t have one then this “rule of thumb” doesn’t amount to a hill of beans. Why six months? What objective evidence do you have that concludes this is the minimum amount of time you must spend at a job?
“Also, here’s a little secret you need to know about business and working in an office environment – NO ONE likes it. Sitting at a desk all day sucks for anyone. You’re not special. The people that have been doing it for 30 years are miserable and can’t wait to retire and get outside for a couple of hours other than to grab lunch.”
A Strawman, she never said she was special as for the rest of your diatribe. Some people do like working inn an office and for those who don’t what’s your point?
“Essentially, sitting at any desk job is very similar to doing an 800 mile road trip everyday. You can’t get up and move around unless you need to pee. You stop about half way through to get lunch and refuel. I guess a road trip is better because you can wear whatever you want – But you don’t get paid for it and you’ll end up actually living out of the car you don’t have money to afford because you quit your first actual job after two weeks.”
Noy every desk job is the same, and how do you know she’s living out of her car? I have quit jobs in less then 2 weeks and I never lived out of my car.
“Why couldn’t you hang in there for a while and save some money? That’s what I did and now I’m back in school (still working) to become a firefighter. It’s really challenging and at times it even sucks, but I can respect myself for hanging in there and it will be something to point to as an intangible accomplishment when I am interviewing with fire departments. Plus I will have some money to live off of while I’m job hunting.”
There is nothing respectful about somebody who sticks it out at a job they hate when they other choices just to cling to some stupid ideal. As if they are doing their employer a favour. Nevermind the fact that your employer doesn’t give a shit about you and would throw you out on your ass in a heartbeat if it saved him some money. I have more respect for people who when they are unhappy they actually do something about it. Rather then just go to work everyday bitch about how much they hate it and never do anything about it. Those are the real cowards.
“I suppose for females the money thing is quite different though, because most people still view them as the weaker sex – I’m not saying I do, but that seems to be what makes it ok for a female to not work and live off of her parents or a significant other because she is, as you said, “respecting her well-being.” If a male does that, the significant other or parents who are supporting him are seen as facilitators of a lazy person and people call him a loser.
Anyway, I’d love to hear where you’re at now.”
LOL You don’t see women as the weaker sex lol BULLSHIT. This paragraph reaks of sexism. “oh I don’t think that way but everyone else does” You’re not fooling anybody pal.
I guess if you’re trying to get jobs that don’t require any experience or a degree, like if you want to be a secretary or something, then it wouldn’t matter that you’re a quitter. However, in jobs that require a security clearance, they will do a 7 year background investigation and part of that is what they consider “moral character”. They will talk to every neighbor you’ve ever had, every boss you’ve ever had, and if they find that you’ve omitted something, you’ll be blacklisted by the entire industry and you’ll never be able to obtain a security clearance, which companies often require because corporate espionage is a serious problem. If you’ve left a job within less than a month, it will raise a huge red flag because it is an enormous investment to hire a new employee and if they leave, it’s a very costly loss to the company.
Also, by rule of thumb, I mean a general accepted standard that people tend to go off of. It’s probably not actually written anywhere. The “ideal” to which you are referring is called self-respect. I served in operation Iraqi freedom and I was a scout in the initial invasion with the 4th infantry division. You can’t imagine how challenging that was. I saw 18 and 19 year old American’s bodies ripped to pieces by shrapnel from the enemies improvised explosive devices, rocket propelled grenades, and .50cal rounds and I wanted to quit. We all wanted to quit at one time or another. But we stuck to it because of an “ideal”. We swore to defend the American way, whether we agreed with it or not, and I can hold my head high because I will always know that I am not a quitter. I know that I will always stick to my ideals, no matter how difficult times get. And my loyal service to the United States military and the brothers and sisters that I fought beside will always attest to that for me. But that’s why I graduated college with honors and also why I had a dozen job offers over $75k when I graduated. They know I won’t quit just because times get a little hard. But that’s just me. I don’t need to be taken care of by my mommy (although I know she’d love to have me back at home) and when I get married, the woman will know that I will never give up on her either. See, it means a lot to people when someone has the fortitude to stick by their beliefs and not quit. Quitters become haters…and you sound like you’re starting to become a hater.
Oh, the question I had for you guys was, “if you quit within the first two weeks, does that mean you put in your 2-week notice on the first day?” Because if you had a job where that mattered, that employer would be really pissed, and if you had a job where that didn’t matter, I’m guessing it was Wal-Mart or Costco that you were working for to begin with. Either way, you suck at life! lol
This job market is terrible. I am ready to quit this monotonous job, but I dont want to be unemployed. The fear of remaining unemployed, and not being able to find a job is too high.
Although I will add, two weeks is simply not enough time to judge anything. I think 1 year is a bare minimum. Seriously, most jobs take you through training the first two weeks. Even in the most basics of job duties – i.e.) a cashier at Walmart, you will not be performing your daily job functions, until after the first two weeks. Even then, you will go through the struggle of getting adjusted to a new environment. This could take anywhere from weeks to months. It isnt until after that, when you can decide if the job, and the job responsibilities are to your liking.
I wanted to quit my current job after 2 months of starting it, but I am glad I didnt – because I have certainly learned and gained a lot from it (financially, and experience wise). Now when I leave this place, I have a good measure of comparing my experience here to the new experience.
Now every time I read a blog, I expect every blogger to speak like Penelope. Now it’s a little refreshing to see a guest post. I gotta agree on this: If you stay in a job for a long stretch of time, your learning curve goes down and things do not feel as new and stimulating.” I have been with the same company for almost 3 years that it’s no longer challenging, no longer rewarding. Or maybe I am not pushing myself too far. Well while I agree with this, I do not agree quitting without a backup plan but I am no believer of returning to your parents house and become a menace again. I just don’t believe that I can live on my parent’s income again, after living though it all my childhood years.
Jonha
Just wanted to give an update to you guys:
I have been hating my job since I have started it. I asked my dept. to move me, and they refused. I thought about quitting, but thought about how that would hurt my resume. Even spoke to a recruiter and she said to work for at least 2 years before quitting. A year and a half later, I am being moved to a different department. I learned a bit in my time here at this department, despite feeling like I wasn’t at times.
Stick it out, and don’t leave until you can find another job. Cash is King!
I just quit my job, which was a mistake to take in the first place…
I had been working for them one day a week for two months, knowing that I wouldn’t be offered a job (boss explained it would just be over summer), so i was working that job and another job i enjoyed which involved engaging with people every day (a backpackers travel agent, which i took after hating my internship of 3 weeks in the same industry I just left)..
Anyway I was offered an opportunity and felt as though I SHOULD take it, due to wanting to eventually go overseas, the money offered, and the expectations that most people have of taking a job related to your field of study if you are offered it (field of study was finance, job was at a stockbroker). I also thought that this time it might be different so I should give it a go and I wasn’t on internship for that long!!
I worked at the job full time for 6 weeks almost 50 hours a week, the duties were good if not a bit monotonous (expected), the boss was great and I enjoyed the routine and earning my own coin.
My reasons for leaving were that I didn’t want anything to do with the industry, which was a reason why i took the travel agent job in the first place.
It was a part moral, part desire to break out of my fathers shadow, who also does the same job. Whilst I am living at home I would love nothing more than to move out, just need the right people to do it with!!
Anyway, I agree that you need to stick things out, however if it isn’t the actual duties you hate but looking at what senior management do and knowing thats not for you and you feel as though some of your principles will be subverted than leave and don’t come back.
I made a mistake leaving a job I liked for money and stability/routine, however I won’t make the mistake of stewing in a job in a profession that I have no interest being a part of.
I think there are right reasons to leave a job early and wrong reasons, i’ll leave that up to you the readers to decide. But ultimately your greatest judge is yourself and sometimes you need to ignore the expectations that others and society have of you and follow your intuition.
I am 22
would love to hear your thoughts, even though the blog is a bit out of date
Encouragement:
If you KNOW that you are slow to commit & want time to acclimate to a company while they assess you as well-there are staffing agencies that can assist with long or short-term situations like that. No need to mar your record or stress out your life by quitting when you can continue your search for a perfect fit while working at one you put on personal probation while you decide for sure.
Truth is: YOUR VALUES SHAPE YOUR DECISIONS & each person’s values are different so those choices remain agreeable or disagreeable accordingly. I value truth & personal integrity with a NO-LOSERS policy in every area of my life. There4 I am NOT more committed to myself than another. To me, fair means everybody wins or I have nothing to do with it.
So -my view is: someone is counting on me & regardless of how I feel about them or the situation, I am trustworthy & able to follow through on my word. My integrity remains in tact regardless of the situation. Besides, feelings lie (they change like the wind & can NOT be trusted). Because I am gold for my commitment, I watch carefully & commit slowly. Being honest is being vulnerable & requires strength & responsilibility to keep trust & security in tact. Therefore, I have to work with a company that believes in me as I believe in them. Working success depends on the merging of both personal & vocational goals being unified with a shared purpose for the organization’s growth & profit.
I worked through 3 hard positions at my last job (6 1/2 yrs), not liking any of them. I figured out 3 years ago that I was doing what I was born to do & loving it! My boss died suddenly & tragically last fall & now the department is being restructured with another director who wants to choose her own assistant. I am out of a job & wonder if I could find my niche again.
I am looking for another job knowing that nothing will be better than this one -UNTIL I make it that way:start off as the new person a little unsure of what I’m doing until I get started and MAKE whatever job it is into something I rule & own, but this will take time & patience, wisdom & understanding (courses I’m sure they don’t offer in college). I’ve decided that my perspective of what works and what won’t will not be determined by circumstances but only by me & what I choose to accept. Experience is a great teacher & only cowards pass it by. Life offers opportunities -to do good or to do evil. They are only opportunities with no power until you take advantage of them.
Yes, we all have our opinions, but I cannot criticize or condone this personal choice b/c Proverbs declares that only a fool judges a matter without knowing all the information. -and b/c I have questions still, I must reserve my opinion about the specific circumstance.
I live by this: What doesn’t kill you becomes a memory; and, whether it’s a good or bad one depends on what you do with it. Make sure what you don’t die from is something you can live with.
Just be slower with your choices & commitments. -and give everything T I M E (you won’t get it back)
Quit in 2 weeks? maybe in an extreme situation of some kind. I am NOT a slave to my work. I WANT to work & so do most of us. Jamie went to school for what she wants to do-she should be able to do just that. But when opportunities are small, we need to accept them & stop just being greedy & self-important. We need to remember that no matter how special we are, it does not exempt us from pain or hardship (something I hope your parents are teaching you). The sense of entitlement could really get us into some serious trouble & we should know that hard work doesn’t even guarantee anything except a sense of self-respect (which is invaluable & not for sale). But if we had more compassion, we would feel appreciation, not superiority. If we don’t feel superior, we wouldn’t consider any job beneath us -but, rather feel creative, secure in ourselves, & self-assured enough to know we can make a difference anywhere & maintain OUR integrity regardless of whether or not any1 does. There are some people who are not our definition of “perfect” & for the same reasons deserve all the same advantages; howbeit, not on the same terms. (I’m talking about best-case scenarios of course). I’m wandering, sorry…
Priorities -watch priorities. Maybe people avoid quitting too soon b/c they value persistence & hard work & believe in themselves to get ahead to turn their own situations around.
I’ll go now – i’m getting “passionate”. But I’ll leave you with this: “How you see the problem IS the problem!” -John Hagee
Stop borrowing someone else’s glasses & just get your own eyes fixed.
reading your post made me think for a while..
i’m 26, yo. i just started working in my current workplace about a month ago. truthfully saying, i hate it here. i started hating it from the 2nd week i was here. but i told myself, give it some time, maybe you’ll get used to the people and the environment.. but guess what? after one month plus working here, i STILL feel miserable.. and i dread going to work every single morning. the work is OKAY but the people here makes me miserable and they make the work harder that it seems. i’ve always been a happy-go-lucky person but since i’m working in this company, its as if it has suck all the happiness out of me. i’m miserable around my loved ones and i hate it.
so, i’m glad i came across this article telling me that its okay to quit; cos i was never a quitter, i spend 6 years doing Computer Science, albeit not favoring it, i stuck around and finally graduated.
it takes the stress out of my head knowing that quitting is not failing, but even if it is, you learn from it and hope to be a better person in life and profession.
I don’t believe that you quit your job after two weeks because it wasn’t your “passion.” Unless the people that hired your were incredibly duplicitous (and, no doubt, sometimes they are), you must have had SOME idea of what the job was about before you started, and whether it fit with what you really wanted to do.
Sometimes it makes sense to quit a job you dislike quickly. I’m a boomer/gen-xer (on the cusp), and years ago I started a job I thought would be great for my career. It was, but the head of the department was crazy. He would scream obscenities at the top of his lungs whenever he didn’t like something, which was often. I don’t think that anyone with any self-respect would remain in a job environment like that. I quit after a month. It was the right decision.
However, in this case, I have to say, it sounds like you just want to crawl back into the womb. I’m very, very glad that my parents made it clear to me that they were always there for me if I needed them, but that I was expected to work, and that work isn’t always fun.
Lastly, I am 100% certain that if you speak with most highly successful people who are pursuing a passion, they will tell you that there were times when they had to do work they didn’t like. There is a difference between letting your passion and your real self be smothered (not good) and being unable to tolerate doing anything that isn’t 100% to your liking. What I see happening with many Generation-Yers is that their parents overprotected them and solved too many problems for them, and they are ill-equipped to deal with the realities of the work world. It is a strange paradox, as so many of these young people are highly skilled (with the exception of writing skills, which are mostly appalling, as evidenced by “Taylor,” above) and over-educated, and appear to be much more confident and self-assured than my generation was at their age. If this generation just had a little more self-discipline and concern for others in the workplace (yes, it affects others when you quit your job after two weeks – it takes a while to hire and you’ve left someone else to pick up the slack), they could accomplish amazing things.
This in in reply to “Jon” and his Feb 24th post.I know I’m about 6 months late, and this blog is rather out of date. However I don’t really check blogs that often. I figure better late then never.
Background checks vary from company to company. It also depends on what industry you are in. Jobs that require a high level of trust such as working in a hospital, school or in government will require more extensive background checks. However other jobs may not require these background checks. especially if you've decided to change fields. They will check for criminal record, credit scores, financial records and employment verification. They will not necessarily speak to your neighbours, they will not speak to your friends, and they will not speak to the manager at Taco Bell you worked at 15 years ago. They only check for relevant information. I agree that leaving a job after 2 weeks is a red flag for certain companies, however that all depends on the industry because the background check may not be that extensive depending on the job. Now if the OP started making a habit of quitting jobs after a few weeks. This would definitely be a problem.
Regarding your “rule of thumb” that so many people go off of but is not actually written anywhere. Christopher Hitchens said, that which can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence.
As for your time in Iraq, It's great that you were able to stick it out in over there and that you are proud of your accomplishments but I think that chip on your shoulder is starting to replace your head. It's admirable to stick to your convictions but honestly.. nobody cares because the decision to accomplish things is something one must make for themselves because making FOR YOURSELF is what makes is satisfying. Accomplishing things so that we can please other people (angry bitter individuals such as yourself) just makes us slaves to your approval.
Futhermore quitting ONE job doesn't make you a quitter. No human is defined by any one action that they do. If you failed at something, Does that make you a failure? and just because someone works at walmart or quit one job doesn’t mean they “suck at life” as if these things should define a person’s entire exsistance.
and the fact that you look down at people who work at wal mart and costco is quite revealing. I really can’t imagine you have much friends because nobody wants to be around someone who acts like such a shallow elitist prick.
jaime quit her job bcos she didn’t like it. end of story. its HER job and she is her own boss, and she can do anything she wants with her job/life/whatever. she will then face the good/bad consequence later.
the mistake she did is preach about it in this article. what she feels as the right decision will not be the universal truth. this is like saying “why you should go on a juice diet for 21 days to become slim (bcos I did it)”. an article like this might benefit a segment of readers, BUT NOT ALL. It might even prove dangerous to some one like my dad, who has Type 2 diabetes and will probably go into a coma if he eats only fruit for 3 weeks.
quitting after 2 weeks or 2 months… is that relevant for people with obligations? debts? dependents? are they supposed to quit in 2 weeks? esp. in this recession?
what about slow starters? compulsive job quitters? future entrepreneurs who need the experience?
what about single parents? people with not so exceptional talents? differently abled?
if this article is only for NEWBIES, she shd have specified that clearly. or if it’s only for college-educated grads with well-to-do parents and lots of time in their hands.
at least if she’d written this when she’s 33 or 43 and a successful person, it’d be more credible.
if working environment is truly unbearable, then you can even quit on the 2nd day.
i’m in india and i’m about to quit a job after 4 weeks bcos it is killing me. Office hours are till 6pm, nobody budges from their seats till it’s 9pm. Everybody stares at me when I leave at 7:30pm. And no, over time is NOT paid. Lunch hour is supposed to be 1pm to 2pm, but nobody takes more than 15 min to eat and then they are back at their workstations. I went out for lunch thrice a week, and then the HR told me that one-hour lunches can’t be taken every day, only occasionally.
The manager, on the second day I started work, gave me a laptop to take home so that I can work after I go home in the nights, during any deadlines. But till now, he has made me work at least an hour every night even after I go home. He calls me at all time in the weekend and sends me excel sheets to work on.
When I tried to say that I have a life outside work and I don’t want to take work back home, I was given a pep talk about how I should work as if I am working for my own concern, and I should consider it as my “baby” and give it all my attention. I was made to feel a selfish person because I casually mentioned that I am thinking of going to a island retreat next month and immediately my manager said “pls take the laptop, we have so much work to do, i haven’t taken a vacation in 3 years” (bcso he is one of the founders and it’s his company)
So, in short, I am quite miserable. I have to admit here that my colleagues are nice people and my managers also are very polite and pleasant people. it’s a small firm where everybody is friendly. The work I do is great, but very, VERY intense and I’m tired by 6pm and all I want to do is unwind, but I can’t. I am not paid the best rates, but I am at a stage in my career where I value experience more than money (as I eventually want to start my own company in the future) and that’s why I accepted the job because it promised me a great learning experience.
But i am going to give my notice as soon as I get my salary this month. i can’t go on like this. i want my weekends and my evenings to pursue my other interests, and spend time with my family.
there are people who might think that i am selfish and spoiled, but my priorities come first. i am sure i will get a job where. luckily i’m not in debt or have any loans, so i can afford to take this step. it all depends on how unhappy you are, whether you can afford quitting and how willing you are to learn from your mistake. in my next job interview, i will make sure i find a job that suits my requirements.
I totally can relate to your story as I have a similar situation while I was working for a bank. I am not lazy and in fact pretty hard worker. But I am already tired working straight til 9pm or so. Come to think that it is everyday. It is fine to work til midnight and on weekends, if compensated and once in a while. It is a SG culture I guess.
I just started work today and as part of my induction do’s and don’ts I was sent this link by my HR. (no prizes for guessing where this belonged)
Whoa!
Does the OP chick know that she is going to be followed throughout her life and judged based on this article?
People are going to be watching if she is successful and undamaged after penning such advice.
I wouldn’t be able to live with such pressure… unless I’m really, really thick-skinned, indifferent and don’t give a damn… and nobody should take career tips from such a person!
thank you so much for writing this, regardless of all the negative comments i want you to know that this has helped me immensely.
while im sure i will be viewed as a slacker, or another person who got a “dose of reality and couldn’t swallow it” i can assure you that i am not.
i just graduated college and was bursting with excitement about getting a new job as a graphic designer.
i hit the job search hard and found myself hired within a couple weeks!
it wasn’t the job i had hoped for, but i still went to work ready that monday morning. i found that the description i had been given in the interview process was nowhere near what the job was like. the first day was all training and the second day was 9 straight hours of staring into a computer screen in a tiny cubicle fixing typos and answering phone calls. maybe i had anticipated too much, but this was a terribly depressing lifestyle. i only worked there for a week, and when i broke down on my lunch break and started crying in a restaurant across the street i knew it was time to quit.
i gave it one week. and i couldn’t be happier with my decision.
life is too short to stay somewhere dreadful. there are just some things that are more important, everything happens for a reason and i know that i’ll find another job that i can be truly passionate about and fall in love with.
so again, thanks. :)
I haven’t read all the comments but boy did this gain some heat from both sides of the fence. I had to comment because I actually am in a situation in which I am not sure the job that I am at (I have been here for 6 months come March) is the right fit for me. However, I was trying to ‘suck it up’ and still am because I am still here, but I hate it and honestly, my performance shows. I do a ‘good job’ but I know if I was passionate about it, I’d be doing a great job. To make it even more of a unique story, I could go back home to mom and live under her roof, not pay any bills, and eat well b/c my mom loves her kids. However, at the same time, my mom taught us not to be freeloaders and to work hard b/c she struggled and didn’t want that for us. So I did that, worked really hard in school and even in this terrible economy, after a year, landed this job that is sort of related to what I went to school for. The money is great, the people aren’t too bad, but it’s not my PASSION but b/c of the way I was raised and the type of person I am, all the work this company has already put in me to train me, etc has made me feel like I need to give them at least a decent return since they put such an investment in me in this short amount of time. I can do the job and do just enough to get by, but that also is not who I am and in a setting where I was passionate, it would not be like this at all.
So I really don’t have an answer for myself on what to do but to keep on sticking it out and hoping that via the rotations that happen after a year or so that I will find something I like, but I would like to know what you guys think of my dilemma. I want to leave, but I don’t want to seem like a failure, but I also don’t want to burn any bridges b/c a job is really hard to find these days.
-RAF
I admire people who can quit within weeks (i.e. almost immediately) if they don’t like their job or any aspect of it. Last year I got a job and was still on probation when after 2.5 weeks I decided to quit. I didn’t even take a weekend to think about it, I hated it and I just told my boss I wasn’t coming in anymore. I was feeling very undervalued in that company and the boss had no respect for his staff. I was definitely happy with my decision and like you, I felt it was an accomplishment and it made me feel proud of myself. A friend of mine just quit her job after about 5 months of working there and it really got me to look back…if my friend didn’t like it she should have quit within weeks. 5 months might not look good in your resume IMHO.
Thats just plain stupid and lazy to set there and quit a job like that. You keep the job until you can find another job. Done move back with your parents they dont want to see their lazy failure setting on the couch eating cheetos and watching south park. 65% do it because their parents let them. If I did that I would be SOL I have a crappy job that is hard to do but I do it everyday because that is how america was built. Through hard work.
It’s understandable really, but I’m one of these people who hates giving up. I’ve been in a job coming up 15 months, it was the “dream job”, but it’s part-time, irregular shifts and pay patterns, and generally just dull and uninspiring. oh, and the money is awful. it also meant moving away from home 150 miles back to the city i went to college, but without all my old friends. i took a second job 10 months ago, not in what i wanted to do at all just to cover my costs, and after finally being given the benefits, this has become my main job. i’m on the verge of leaving the “dream” one behind and staying on the books as it’s freelance, but it doesn’t mean i have to do any shifts. i’m hugely gutted to be taking this path, but i want a way out. i hate the thought of moving back in with my parents without a job (getting to an interview would cost a fortune and a whole day off), but like the idea of going back and being around the people i love again. i’m just scared to because it will wound my pride. and i know how hard it is. I’ll decide at the end of summer. Though I seriously doubt nothing will change apart from a (very slightly) improved bank balance. i’m about to turn 25, and believe if i could get something thats paid a fair amount and at least allows me to be around my friends and enjoy myself, i’d snap it up. but the worry is huge as I’m turning into a jack of all trades, master of none.
I graduated 3 years ago, straight after the recession hit took a job in a shop instantly to just get money as i had to, that was going bust after six months so i got out into a temporary job two months before, but that finished up five months later. after cleaning toilets all summer, i got a post-grad course/working placement, which turned out to be a joke for 3 months. then i took this. i have so many valid reasons for what’s happened and why i’ve been in a few places. but employers dismiss you as a flitter between jobs, without looking at the real reasons why. i’ve spoken to so many people about this, and no one can have a definitive answer. at the end of the day you are at the mercy of the box-ticker with the clipboard if you even make it to an interview. i knew after a month i’d made a mistake moving away, i’m still here, i’m still alive, but just want to be closer to home. i wonder if that’s a good enoug reason?
Hey mike. I feel like I am in the exact situation. I recently graduated this past year from college. Because it is so hard to get a job, I felt I needed to Pounce on the first job offer that came my way. Although it’s within the field that I eventually would like to go in, the pay is not great and I feel I’m going to have trouble making ends meet. It’s about two hours away from my home so I would have to pay rent a long with other expenses. I feel now that I have a job, moving back with my parents just isn’t an option but I don’t feel confident enough in myself to make ends meet. I don’t want to sound like a snob and in no way shape or form do I believe that I’m entitled to more just because I have a degree. I strongly believe in working hard for what you get. I’m 22 and I feel that with this pay I just won’t be able to enjoy my current situation. Is this similar to what you experienced?
I have really enjoyed reading this, I commend you for doing what you felt was right. I myself am quiting a job after only two weeks, I am a 24 yr old male. I am currently a student and as it is the summer I was interviewed and got a job as a porter in a 4 star hotel. I have had jobs in retail outlets, bars, a factory and an office. these where all more or less seasonal as I pay may way through college apart for some work I did in supermarkets at night while at college. I have never been in a situation like this, I feel so stressed in this work and there is no satisfaction. The work is demanding(under staffed hotel) and is not furthering me in my career at all as I am studying computer science.
It does not give me a good feeling leaving though, as I am letting both my co-workers and employer down, who has hired me to do the job I said I would but at the same time this is ireland and at the moment it is not hard to fill positions especially positions in an entry job such as a porter.
My feelings are that, there are many things I would work as, when I work I do so to my full ability. I just can’t spend another moment in a job that makes me unhappy and stressed.
and for the people who may say, you just started how could you know? In this type of work you know after the first day what it’s all about
Can anyone answer this for me? On a couple of jobs I have had, when I have been on the job for about 3 or 4 weeks, I started to notice that the people I was working with started to change, they got more meaner, disrespectful of me, I was just wondering is there something about me that caused this to happen?
I’m actually in a simmilar situation. I studied Business Administration and Management in College and got married shortly after. I was out of work for 1 year or so because of the military and then we moved to a different town shortly after my husband got out. Now, I’m stuck at a job that makes me so unhappy. I never thought a job could make you that depressed, but it can.
Fortunately, for me, I have a husband who supports me no matter what my decision and I was so scared that this would ruin my reputation for further employment, but this helped me see that for my healths sake, it’s ok. I just have to find a job that I can like. Thank you for writing this! It made me feel so much better about my decision. I guess I get to quit on Monday! Job search away…
Let me preface this by saying I am 29 years old.
This is exactly the mentality of my generation and beyond- self indulgence, impatience and entitlement. Two generations ago, people worked in factories, not because they found “inner fulfillment,” but because they needed to put food on the d*mn table and own up to their responsibilities (did I mention, these workers started at 14 YEARS OLD?).
My generation/future generations are in big trouble, because they have been spoiled, indulged and infantilized throughout their adolescence and well into their mid twenties. And this is why countries like China and India will end up surpassing us, because they are still taught discipline and duty, rather than “do what makes your heart flutter!”
I am not entirely condemning this, because without the creativity that America is famous for, we wouldn’t have the freedom to create the incredible inventions of our time. I just think it is very important to balance that search for creativity and happiness with HARD WORK and PATIENCE.
Yeah, Old Soul! Previous generations had it all right! Why are we letting these 14 year olds slack off? They should be working in factories, preferably ones that are not up to fire code! That would just prove their commitment to discipline and duty, which is WAAAAAAY more important than being happy! Loyalty to some faceless company is the way to go! When you find yourself on your death bed someday, you can look back on your life, and know that instead of doing what moves and fulfills you, you mindlessly, yet dutifully, did what moves and fulfills somebody else. And by the way, you could end up on your death bed tomorrow, so while patience is a virtue, so is pursuing what you want in life, and giving your needs a high priority!
You know, the thing about evolution, cultural or otherwise, is that you advance beyond your ancestors. Thank god we’re evolving beyond the “what you want doesn’t matter” mindset, and demanding more of ourselves and our employers! Given what it’s like to live and work in many parts of China and India, I’m okay with them surpassing us in the ability to get the most while giving the least to their workers….
In the field I work, I cannot understand the nuances of new job/company/business well into my 3rd month with the company or so (and this is true for all the jobs I had). During this “training” period my feeling are mixed: scared, excited, hate my job etc etc. Only after I fully understand my work can I decide if its worth continuing.
So, in my opinion 2 weeks in very short time to make such a decision especially if you land in a company that traditionally operates slowly with regards to giving you high priority assignments.
In the field I work, I cannot understand the nuances of new job/company/business well into my 3rd month with the company or so (and this is true for all the jobs I had). During this “training” period my feeling are mixed: scared, excited, hate my job etc etc. Only after I fully understand my work can I decide if its worth continuing.
So, in my opinion 2 weeks in very short time to make such a decision especially if you land in a company that traditionally operates slowly with regards to giving you high priority assignments.
I’m so glad I found this article. I recently was offered 2 very good job offers, one permanent with in pharmaceutical company and one contract position in banking industry. I ended up taking permanent position in pharmaceutical company and the job was not what I expected. I’m basically doing work I use to do over 10 years ago. I was totally misled! I’ve reviewed job description that was posted for the job to understand if I might have overlooked a disclaimer or sentence that might have been a red flag. Therefore, I ended up contacting the firm representing banking job to see if job was still available. It was! Now, I will be quitting after 3 weeks on the job. I know it’s a risk taking contract work over permanent work. I need to take this chance and look after what’s in my best interest. If role was reversed, a company would not think twice about letting employee go if it was not working out….
I agree that all makes sense and sounds good. You could do that and hope you like your second job better. I’m 28 and thought the same thing when I graduated, but trust me, its not worth what I’m paying on my resume now. The bottom line is that you will always have situations, people, days, endless things that will always be there ready to consume you at work. The real challenge is being strong enough to handle all that while still being positive and productive.
http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2010/04/22/never-hire-job-hoppers-never-they-make-terrible-employees/