New job timescales

greasedscotsman

How long do you reckon is a reasonable amount of time to figure out if you either like or dislike a new job?

joe2008

about 15 minutes

tangled_metal

Yet to work that one out. I guess yay I simply don't like work!

sniper68

Took me less than half a day and then spent 18 months trying to get out.

Pross

Of the two jobs I haven’t stayed long in I knew at the end of the first month in one (had suspicions they were a shambles on day 1, got paid a week late at the end of the first month which confirmed this) and on the other it took me about 3 months when I attended a management meeting and they were discussing who they could get rid of to reduce their target earnings to their income rather than ideas to increase income. That job had seemed OK for a month or two despite it being obvious early in that they had less work than I had been told.

pblakeney

Not easy to give a single timescale on how soon as they are all different.
Here are my timescales though.
Year 0-1. Learning curve.
Year 1-3. Productive and good.
Year 3-4. Taking the place for granted and taking the pi$$. Or they do it to you.

I've never worked anywhere past 4 years.

mouth

Perhaps one of the most difficult questions to answer. So many extenuating circumstances.

My boring, menial task comes with a corner office and a new view every second. Bus driver. One of my line managers recently described it as Hotel California. I hardly break a sweat, get paid on time every week and its never wrong, work as much overtime as I fancy, and if I need a day off or a later start, or earlier start there's usually a way around it.

On the other hand there is very little reward besides what arrives in my bank account every Thursday, but the money's passable considering I left school with neither academic qualifications or a trade. In short, I'll likely never earn any more than I do now whilst still sleeping in my own bed every night.

If you have a feeling in your stomach that you need to decide whether you like your current role, then you probably already know the answer.

Stevo_666

It really depends. Some you may well dislike very quickly, some you may grow into.
Sometimes you have to take a long term view. If it is somewhere with prospects etc and you're good at what you do/able to develop then in say 3-4 years you could expect pay rises/promotions and you will probably want to stay longer.

Matthewfalle

It once took me 5 minutes. Walked in, met the boss realized that I had fukkkked up massive amounts by taking the job. Went to my new desk held my head in my hands for the next 9 months of hell.

The only advice I can give is if you hate it immediately look for something else and get the hell out of there. You’re too important to put up with being unhappy all day everyday.

robert88

'Sedentary work'. That tells me I won't like it. And bosses who poke their noses in.

First.Aspect

Matthewfalle wrote:

It once took me 5 minutes. Walked in, met the boss realized that I had fukkkked up massive amounts by taking the job. Went to my new desk held my head in my hands for the next 9 months of hell.

The only advice I can give is if you hate it immediately look for something else and get the hell out of there. You’re too important to put up with being unhappy all day everyday.

On the offchance that you aren't a kept man, I'd suggest actually securing something else before flouncing out of a job.....

FishFish

First Aspect wrote:

Matthewfalle wrote:

It once took me 5 minutes. Walked in, met the boss realized that I had fukkkked up massive amounts by taking the job. Went to my new desk held my head in my hands for the next 9 months of hell.

The only advice I can give is if you hate it immediately look for something else and get the hell out of there. You’re too important to put up with being unhappy all day everyday.

On the offchance that you aren't a kept man, I'd suggest actually securing something else before flouncing out of a job.....

In fairness he did describe a sequence of looking for something else and then leaving. I take it that English is unfamiliar to you.

timothyw

My experience is that the first two weeks of any new job is an agonising journey out of comfort zone, most evenings spent thinking wtf have I done.

After that fortnight I'm used to it and just get on with it.

If it's still shit after a fortnight, then you probably know you need to find a different job.

ben@31

In the time it takes to talk to your new boss and find out his attitude.
I can tell straight away that some genuinely believe in slavery / Victorian working conditions and will suck the morale out of their workforce. They have no idea how to motivate people.

capt_slog

Sniper68 wrote:

Took me less than half a day and then spent 18 months trying to get out.

Been there, but it took me three years to get out.

ben@31 wrote:

I can tell straight away that some genuinely believe in slavery / Victorian working conditions and will suck the morale out of their workforce.

And that was why. It would have been kind for the present inmates to have given a little shake of their heads as I was being shown around at the interview

Much later I got to work with a psychopath for boss, and it was just me and him in here. I always said it was like prison but without the food (and unwanted 'attentions'). That took me another 3 year to get out of.

Jeez, I've had some shit jobs :roll:

shirley_basso

It depends what you do.

If you hate everything about your job your pretty unlucky.

Usually there are at least one of: interesting/rewarding aspects of the day job, good people, flexible working hours, good pay, good prospects for the next role or good employee benefits.

I'd say audit struggles to meet any of those criteria but the prospects thereafter have been good and the people were nice.

thistle_

On the day of the interview when they tell you more about the company.

It's close to home though and they have stuff for cycling to work.

Agree with oxoman - usually about 6 months until the novelty wears off.

capt_slog

Shirley Basso wrote:

It depends what you do.

If you hate everything about your job your pretty unlucky.

Usually there are at least one of: interesting/rewarding aspects of the day job, good people, flexible working hours, good pay, good prospects for the next role or good employee benefits.

I'd say audit struggles to meet any of those criteria but the prospects thereafter have been good and the people were nice.

It's sometimes the case that you don't realise how bad the job is until someone who made it bearable, leaves.

Midlands Grimpeur

If you are already questioning it, sounds like your gut feeling is that this may be the wrong job for you. Like others, with some jobs I realised after the first day that I had made a mistake!

drlodge

Its not about the work you do, but the people you interact with, especially your Manager/Boss. My Manager has pretty much defined the amount I enjoyed or hated my job.

First.Aspect

drlodge wrote:

Its not about the work you do, but the people you interact with, especially your Manager/Boss. My Manager has pretty much defined the amount I enjoyed or hated my job.

That's like saying its about personality, not looks, isn't it?

drlodge

First Aspect wrote:

drlodge wrote:

Its not about the work you do, but the people you interact with, especially your Manager/Boss. My Manager has pretty much defined the amount I enjoyed or hated my job.

That's like saying its about personality, not looks, isn't it?

I guess so. However something looks initially, it soon wears off and you have to live with how you communicate.