Leaving a new job after 6 months

ddraver

So

I moved to London at the start of the year to start a new job which, to put it mildly, is not working out. I have a feeling the manager and I reached the end of each other's tether today and to be honest now i'm just looking to get the hell out. Communication has been abysmal from day 1 and I have received hardly any support since I joined despite me doing stuff that is new for me. There are 3 of us in the team, including the manager, and another person who left after a year and a half at the company but we don't at all work as a team, we do different projects by ourselves. There is an element of Insanity being doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results about work at the moment...

But whatevs

The question is how is this going to look on my CV? Although getting a new job would probably take another 6 months or so i would have been there for a year - give or take. is this the sort of thig that would be a "stain" on the CV for the rest of my life or if I come up with a load of stuff about "learning experience" and "just a bad match" etc would it really matter?

To be honest i'm inclined not to give a monkeys anyway as life just sucks at the moment and frankly it's not worth feeling this sh1t day by day.

Thanks guys!

VTech

Be honest on your CV, explain that the position didn't work out, its not as though if you put anything else down they would give a glowing reference.
I have employed several people who's previous job didn't work out and they were fab.

southdownswolf

As above.
It only becomes a problem if it doesn't work out several times, then poeple might wonder.

Never worth staying in a job though if it makes you feel carp. Last thing you want is for it to start affecting your health.

crispybug2

To be honest i'm inclined not to give a monkeys anyway as life just sucks at the moment and frankly it's not worth feeling this sh1t day by day



The answer, as always, is in the question

arran77

southdownswolf wrote:

It only becomes a problem if it doesn't work out several times, then poeple might wonder.

That's the key.

I can't see it being an issue as a one off if you can explain positively why the role was wrong for you.

Like you say there's no point feeling shite day in day out so if I were you I'd be looking to move.

Pross

southdownswolf wrote:

As above.
It only becomes a problem if it doesn't work out several times, then poeple might wonder.

Never worth staying in a job though if it makes you feel carp. Last thing you want is for it to start affecting your health.

Yep, just had exactly this discussion in an interview today.

sloppyschleckonds

You could omit it from your CV and put it down to experience. Will your old company take you back?

ddraver

They might do, but they re in The Netherlands and I'm not quite ready to go back yet

Thanks guys. Feeling a bit more positive now!

pinno

ddraver wrote:

They might do, but they re in The Netherlands and I'm not quite ready to go back yet

Thanks guys. Feeling a bit more positive now!

...all those pretty Dutch women, you must need your head read.

ddraver

All those pretty dutch women have ice fridges for their obviouses

pinno

ddraver wrote:

All those pretty dutch women have ice fridges for their obviouses

You're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence

ballysmate

No point staying with a company who don't appreciate you.
After all, Burger King need assistants as well.

slowmart

Be open and honest when you are applying for your next job and avoid criticism of your last manager.

Take the experience as a learning exercise and replay the events if asked. Most companies are not just looking for specific skill sets but also new team members who will add value and compliment their existing set up. Most people sitting opposite you will draw their own conclusions without a detrimental view of you.


However and as the old adage goes, if you run into one idiot in the morning and that continues for the rest of the day then it may be you that has the issue

Best wishes and put it down to experience. No doubt if there is a high turn over of staff with this one individual then that should be noticed and actioned higher up the food chain.

rick_chasey

One piece of advice I would give is look for jobs whilst you are still in one.

Much more likely to land somewhere.

kajjal

Rick Chasey wrote:

One piece of advice I would give is look for jobs whilst you are still in one.

Much more likely to land somewhere.

This is the main piece of advice to follow. I wouldn't worry about changing job after 6 months, I have done in twice before in the past and it didn't cause any problems. Just make sure you have a good answer ready for the interviews incase you are asked.

Giraffoto

VTech wrote:

Be honest on your CV, explain that the position didn't work out

It could even work to your advantage if you ask the right sort of questions in your next interview and look as if you're aware of what sort of places/people/teams do or don't suit you.

rick_chasey

If I was your recruiter I would advise not to mention why you left or want to leave on your CV or cover letter if you write one.

That's something to discuss in the interview.

The more you write that stuff down the more the client will think about it.

In an ideal situation they bring it up face to face - you handle well - and they're left with the impression it is all cool so don't give it another thought.

Keep you CV focused on responsibilities and achievements and leave the rest.

VTech

One thing I would like is a law surrounding the CV and what I "think" constitutes fraud.
I know someone who went into business with a couple and it turned out that the background they said they had, was in fact a lie and in the end he lost over £2m from money this couple legally took from the business (i.e) over £100,000 on a website built by their friend !

Sadly, as far as I know, the police won't act on such matters ?

ballysmate

CVs are covered by the Fraud Act.

This usually concerns making false claims such as holding qualification that are not held or falsely claiming to be working in posts previously.

Fraud Act 2006 S.2

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/35/section/2

Section 3 deals with information that you are LEGALLY obliged to disclose.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/35/section/3

ai_1

Leaving after 6 months is not a big deal. However, I'd say ideally, it's good to be able to explain why you left without getting into the fact that you didn't get on well at the company for whatever reason. That's easier to do this if you were moving to another job, going back to college, going travelling, etc...
So if you can, get a new job before you leave and it's unlikely to pose any problems in future but if it's really horrendous and you can't wait, then your mental well-being is more important. Of course if you plan to leave anyway you've nothing to lose by being frank with your manager, telling him exactly what you're unhappy with and how severely the problems are affecting you and see if he's willing to address things. If it's a bigger company with a HR department you could even go straight to them and see if something can be done. They might be helpful, they might be adversarial but if you've already decided to leave unless things improve, there's not much to lose and potentially a lot to gain.

sloppyschleckonds

Rick Chasey wrote:

Keep you CV focused on responsibilities and achievements and leave the rest.

Good advise, omitting details on your cv is not a crime.

Coriander

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Keep you CV focused on responsibilities and achievements and leave the rest.

Good advise, omitting details on your cv is not a crime.

If he looks for a new job while tolerating the current one, there'd be nothing to 'omit' or 'admit to' on his CV. THen all he has to tackle are questions in interview about why he's looking for the new job.

Paulie W

Rick Chasey wrote:

If I was your recruiter I would advise not to mention why you left or want to leave on your CV or cover letter if you write one.

That's something to discuss in the interview.

The more you write that stuff down the more the client will think about it.

In an ideal situation they bring it up face to face - you handle well - and they're left with the impression it is all cool so don't give it another thought.

Keep you CV focused on responsibilities and achievements and leave the rest.

Absolutely agree. Dont highlight the 'problem'. It might not even come up.

simonhead

I recruit engineers in the oil and gas industry and see this fairly regularly, infact faced it myself a couple of months ago, advice mentioned so far is spot on. The CV should be a showcase of your potential and how your experience fits with their business. Concentrate on Capability (does the CV show you fulfill the experience parameters), Certification (degree etc) and credibility (how is it presented, grammar etc). Happy to help if you want and assist with CV writing etc, just send me a pm.

sloppyschleckonds

Slowmart wrote:

However and as the old adage goes, if you run into one idiot in the morning and that continues for the rest of the day then it may be you that has the issue

ddraver

Thanks guys! That sounds good.

To summarise a bit I'd definitely stay in the current job until finding a new one. I would imagine that knowing that I'm getting out of there and can see light at the end of the tunnel will make it a lot less stressful anyway. Then it's a case of getting the most out of the bad situation that I can (there's already 2 software packages I can add). Just such a shame it's ended up like this

Simonhead, I may take you up on that offer as I'm a geologist in said industry!

rick_chasey

Don't let work dominate your mood outside of work hours.

Appreciate it's sh!t spending all day doing something you're actively hating and/or being with people you don't like, but do try and leave it at the door of the office.

Easier said than done - I struggle - but when I manage it makes a big difference.

mfin

Ddraver... I recently interviewed and then employed someone whose previous jobs were durations of 6 months and 3 months. His job before that was 2 years, but the one before that was again only for 6 months. Of course, alarm bells were ringing, but, in your case you're not looking at anything like that level of 'mmmmmmm' to a prospective employer. Plus, you have your reasons to move on, so don't worry about it.

Believe it or not, sometimes the reasons you have for moving on from a particular position can actually appear positive too.

(It turns out he was going through as series of sex-change operations)

(not really)

nathancom

Rick Chasey wrote:

Don't let work dominate your mood outside of work hours.

Appreciate it's sh!t spending all day doing something you're actively hating and/or being with people you don't like, but do try and leave it at the door of the office.

Easier said than done - I struggle - but when I manage it makes a big difference.

You get paid the same amount either way so why worry once you walk out the door. Anyway, there is nothing wrong with doing 6-9 month jobs. A lot of contractors often do shorter periods than that. Just have a positive reason for moving on to hand for when you get asked. And ask for a pay rise, better to ask for too much than too little.

simonhead

ddraver wrote:

Thanks guys! That sounds good.

To summarise a bit I'd definitely stay in the current job until finding a new one. I would imagine that knowing that I'm getting out of there and can see light at the end of the tunnel will make it a lot less stressful anyway. Then it's a case of getting the most out of the bad situation that I can (there's already 2 software packages I can add). Just such a shame it's ended up like this

Simonhead, I may take you up on that offer as I'm a geologist in said industry!

Not a problem, unfortunately GnG is the area i know least about, i may have some contacts that would be useful though.

trekker12

I think you have already had lots of support and made your mind up but I thought I'd add my input.

I Found myself at a dead end so moved away and changed jobs. The new job didn't work out (and I also split with my fiancee which had serious impact on my state of mind and performance at work). After six months my previous company then invited me back which was the same dead end I'd been at before but at least it was familiar and I needed to sort out my personal life (and get out on my bike more).

As expected the company I had returned to maintained the same false promises as before and within a year I looked elsewhere. I was honest on my CV about time spent with each company but didn't go into details. At the interview I explained exactly the reasons for the previous 18 months and with an understanding nod, nothing else was said. I've been in the new company for 18 months now and it was the best thing I did.

p.s it's also related to the O&G industry but unfortunately we don't employ geologists