I have a new job and I HATE IT!!!

Starting a new job generally brings nervous excitement. Day one your inducted, you meet your new co-workers and get the grand tour. It’s a lot to take in, but you’re looking forward to forging out a great career with your new employer. A month ticks by and you discover you despise your new job and are looking for the nearest exit! How do you fix this disaster?

First things first, don’t rush to judgement. It takes a few months to settle into a new environment. So give yourself a ninety day adjustment period. In making this commitment you can focus on adapting to your new manager, responsibilities and work environment. You can review how you’re feeling about your new role once you reach this milestone. Yet if you simply can’t stand another single moment working in the role, then consider contacting your former employer. If you left on good terms there may be an opportunity to return. Just be sure to have a compelling reason for your boomerang manoeuvre. Your former employer may be sceptical you will not be returning for the long term.

Resigning from your new job role in week one will not create a blemish on your resume. I mean, realistically, are you even going to update your CV to include this position in your working history? That would be a no. If you are like most of us and need the income to survive, you’re probably going to stick it out, but stealthily seek out another role quickly. Again, if you can achieve this in a rapid time frame, there is no need to add a short lived job role to your resume. If you cannot swing a quick switch up and have a track record of staying in a job role for the short term emerging on your resume, you may be in for a two year stint. And that is when you need to get creative about   managing a job that you find less than satisfying.

If you are not gaining the satisfaction that you seek from your employment, perhaps there is an opportunity to find this elsewhere without quitting prematurely. A shortfall can be combated in other ways. You may have a competitive salary however your need to progress is not being met. Thus if you seek further professional development, consider a course of study that does fulfil your need to expand your knowledge and expertise. Often one role is a stepping stone to something better. So think twice about your options before you throw in the towel. You don’t want to be branded a quitter!!

Often the realisation of finding yourself in the wrong job is due to a lack of understanding of the role prior to commencing. Be sure to do your research and ask the right questions of your prospective boss and of yourself. Clearly no job is perfect. There will always be a trade off. Yet if there are aspects of your new job that you do enjoy, and only a few that you don’t, why not focus upon improving those elements that make it difficult to get out of bed every day? A discussion with your manager may bring to the fore a pre-existing issue. If you’re prepared with an effective resolution to the problem and the means to implement it, maybe you can find another reason to stay.

Needless to say quitting after not long beginning a new job role is not an easy decision to make. Being offered a job role gets you out of the job seeking rat race, instilling a great sense of relief. So to rejoin the job queues will not be a choice made lightly. But maybe the writing was on the wall before you even accepted the position. If you allowed the pressure of mounting bills to sway your decision to accept a job role you knew you would never be happy within, then you definitely made the wrong choice. Living by the motto of taking any job you can get and being grateful for having a job will not necessarily lead you down a path of bliss. And one must be happy in their job if they are to succeed.

When searching for a new employment opportunity it is important not to turn off your radar. While you may be looking to impress a potential employer, you also need to analyse the role on offer in terms of fulfilling your needs. Neither you nor your employer will prosper if you are miserable in your job role. So avoid falling into a vortex of bad employment choices by having clearly defined job seeking parameters. You may not find a best-fit position immediately, but if you make too many sacrifices, you will not find a position of fulfilment at all. Maintain your vision and your patience.