Lots, no tons of great advice and life lessons. I’ll reiterate two that are incredibly important for your sanity and long term happiness. Do what you love, love what you do, and if you are exceptionally lucky, you'll get paid to do it. It’s always easier to find a job when you have a job. Always have something lined up when turning in your notice. If you plan a short hiatus or vacation or whatever between the two, it isn’t a hole in a resume time line. And then one for resume appearances. Short term job hopping is frowned upon in many corporate careers.
The OP has received a lot of sage advice and I've enjoyed reading all of it. There are some wise, experienced folks here at TSD! One thing I might add is to be careful how you leave a job and make sure that you don't burn bridges behind you. The world is a small place and you will encounter people in your field again whether you want to or not. Always be civil, kind, and professional.
Thank you! Would it be considered "burning bridges" if I go back to the job, then something else pops up and I hand in my notice again? Or would leaving things as they are right now (and moving to something else) give me a better opportunity to come back to the company one day on good terms?
Hard call. Have to weigh circumstances. It could leave a bad taste in their mouth. The offer to come back even for a short time may be a face saving offer on their part...don't remember if that might have been mentioned. But...if it helps finances, and stops a 'time gap' on your resume, it may be a good temporary solution for the longer term. My wife worked for a company for 23.5 years. At that point, they closed the department, moved it offshore to save not taking on pensions for those coming up to 25 years. She got a long buy out. Dilly dallied around, started searching near the end of the buy out $.....and the time gap/not being currently employed issues did seem to get in the way with a couple of companies.
You getting the "worst" work I assume also means the most complicated. Some people might take that as a compliment. They clearly viewed you as capable and noticed your ability to solve problems on your own which was why they trusted you with the complicated assignments. And I think you did say in your original post that they liked you. Those are things most employers find highly valuable. You were there for a year and a half. When I first started in a large commercial bank managing assets I worked hard for relatively little money. It took two years for them to promote me from a non-official level to a level with an official title. I don't mean to bring up what is now in the past but it may help in your perspective as you continue on your journey. It takes time for things to come your way in the world of business. There's another saying. Good things come to those who wait. Is it possible that if you stuck it out a while longer you could have maybe been promoted to one of the manager slots since you seemed to be able to resolve issues that even the managers could not? I think someone else said you have to pay your dues. Translated, that really means put in the time grinding away. This should be a valuable lesson for you. You're young and just starting out. You'll do fine if you learn from your mistakes.
This point is so so true. I once was filling a position in my department and had been looking for quite a while. I had a candidate who seemed like a good fit. I offered her a 20% increase over what she was making where she was. This position was a step up from what she was doing and so was the company. Add the 20% into the mix and I thought, slam dunk. When the HR person conveyed the offer to her, I got a call from the HR person and she told me the candidate became indignant and said that her response was to say she's worth twice that and some other things I don't remember. I told the HR person to let her know that I was considering pulling the offer. To that she responded that she was just "negotiating" and that it was a big misunderstanding and really wants the job and would like to meet with me whether she gets the job or not, so she can explain. Not having anyone else even close to her I agreed to meet with her. And I ended up hiring her. And for two years she was fantastic. Did a great job. Got along with the rest of the group. Clients liked her. Then one day I'm out in California for a week long business trip and Monday morning she calls me to tell me she's leaving to take another position somewhere else. I'm not one to stand in someone's way of advancement. Turns out the company was a better company than ours. But when I asked when her last day would be, she said this coming Friday, which equated to almost one week of notice when the standard is two. Plus I would not be able to sit down with her to go over her workload and become updated as to where she was with each account. I told her this and fortunately she made the decision to come in on Monday when I came back, but that was it. So after a week out of the office I had to take a full day to go over her assets and assign them to other people. I wasn't happy. Years later, I had moved to another job and out of the blue I got a call from her where she needed me to be reference for her with a job she was pursuing. I suggested that I might not be a good person to provide a reference given my view of how she came into the company but more about how she handled her departure. I actually felt bad about saying that but I also was telling her the truth. She made things difficult for me when she left. Plus I found out some time after that she left a full time position working in my group for a summer internship at this other company with the hope of matriculating to a full time position. That didn't end up working out for her. You could say I was being vindictive or being a hard ass for no reason or I was doing what was right. I've discussed with lots of people since and everyone has said I did the right thing. Who knows.... So, here is a specific example of how decisions you make at various points in your journey can impact your future career path both negatively and positively. Take it all in.
I've been in the same job, almost 28 yrs now. I've thought about quitting several times. But, I have had kids, and a family to think of, so, responsibilities came first. Now that I have been at the job so long, it is better, and I have 4-6 yrs left, to retire. That is, retire on my own terms. I could have retired at 20, but young kids took priority. Weigh your responsibilities, and make the decision. Then, go all out looking for another job.
Dude, I am not sure where you are in life, but there is an old saying, "A bird in hand is worth two in the bush." If you were going to quit, you should have had your next step planned and lined up. However, now that your old employer knows you will quit at a drop of a hat and come back back when you don't have something else, they'll more than likely treat you as the person that you presented. I personally, as someone who is in a hire and fire position, would only hire you back if I know I will be able to pay you less, and not miss you if you leave or are let go. If I were you, which I am not, I would get a job somewhere else doing anything else until the position you want in another company comes up. I'll give you an example of an older co-worker of mine. He was working in my field making great money. He got tired of it and just quit before the end of his contractual obligation. After a few months he regretted his decision. However, he knew he would not get a good shake with his original company. So he worked at Starbucks for awhile until something else came up. Another company came along in his original field. He jumped on the chance and was able to avoid the downfall of his earlier decision. It's always easier to get a job when you have a job. If you are not working and you are applying for jobs employers have this idea that there is something wrong. Why are you not employed? What problems will this employee bring if we hire them on? If you are employed and you are applying for a job have a good reason why you are swapping companies. Do not bad mouth your last company. Being employed is like dating. What you say about your last date will reflect what your future date will think you will say about them.
Thanks again, everyone. Most of you turned out to be correct - the company backed off on their decision and I can't go back anymore. Focusing on the future now - hopefully it will bring happiness and positive moments
Take what you learned in school. Stop being somebody else's robot. Start your own enterprise. There will be challenges and obstacles but they will be yours and not some other corporation's road blocks. Rely on yourself for your happiness and well being not rules set by upper level people with whom you never even come in contact. Be confident. Be your own man.
Small update - after 3 months of looking for a job and 6 interviews (in which I almost landed another job), an opportunity to go back to work for the same company came up. It's only fixed-term for a month and in another department, but it will: 1. Expand my CV with new skills. 2. Erase the gap in my CV from the last few months until now. 3. Erase the "burning bridge" potential issue. 4. Have the contract end as an excuse to my next employer, rather then leaving the previous permanent position on my own. Just wanted to share - what do you think?
This is a nice forum with polite people. But I don't think polite advice is what you really need. To be blunt, if I were your next interviewer and you told me that you were 27 years old and quit a good first job after a year and a half because it was stressful, it's doubtful there is anything you could add that would make me consider you for a position. As it is, the die is cast. Move on. When you find your next job, understand that you're going to have to stick with it long enough to balance out the abbreviated first one which, in my book, means 4 years. It sounds to me like you made a mistake that has had consequences. That's life. Keep it all in perspective. Good luck.
