You’re excited to start your new job. You’ve done all your homework, asked all the right questions during interviews. Then the honeymoon period starts to wane as you get to grips with what the role actually entails. You start to realise the job just isn’t what you were expecting.
There are a number of reasons this might happen. It could be the job itself – the type of work it involves day to day, maybe the commute is far worse than you imagined, or it might be a key relationship that just isn’t working.
You could be struggling with the working hours, a huge restructure is announced weeks after your arrival, you discovered working from home just doesn’t suit you, or maybe the culture of the organisation just doesn’t fit with your values. There are lots of reasons that could make you think you made the wrong decision.
The pandemic has put a focus on quality of life for many. It’s made people rethink what they want out of their work.
So how do you handle the situation when your new job isn’t quite right? Here are my tips for navigating your exit plan.
Give it time
Make sure you’ve given it a good enough shot. Sometimes people do know quite quickly the role or company isn’t right for them. But many of us can also be too quick to jump to that conclusion.
Ask yourself whether you need more time to settle in, adjust and if given time, could it improve? Is it just a learning curve? This is especially important if you have made a big move for the first time in a long time; it can be easy to compare to your old role and only see the negatives. Remember that change is often hard at first and some things are worth sticking with for a bit longer.
Explore your thoughts and feelings
If your new job isn’t working out it can cause a lot of stress and upset. Take time to think about your thoughts and feelings about what isn’t quite right. Remember, rarely does a flawless role exist which gives 100% fulfilment – in a previous blog I explored whether it is worth embracing an imperfect role, so take a look at that for some food for thought.
Take some time to explore your thoughts and feelings about the new job and share this with a trusted friend or coach/mentor. Think through objectively whether the pros outweigh the cons as a counter to the gut feeling it’s not going to work out. What does that tell you? Whilst the role isn’t quite what you were expecting, could it be a stepping-stone to another opportunity? The best career path isn’t always a straight line.
Talk to your manager if your new job isn’t working out
In this situation I’d always advocate talking to your manager. Don’t pretend everything is OK. Let them know things aren’t quite what you had anticipated. There may have been a miscommunication about the roles and responsibilities and expectations, for example.
Before you do this think about what some solutions might be. Referring back to the job advert and job description when talking to your manager might help you give examples of how the reality of the role differs, giving you a good basis for the conversation.
Your manager may be able to give some reassurances or may be willing to negotiate some changes. They must have seen something in you and the contribution you could bring to the team when they hired you. It could be the role was sold to you in its future state – it’s not quite what you’re expecting now, but with a few things put in place there may be a transitional period before becoming a role that’s more suited to you. If not, you may need to think about whether it’s time to resign.
Picking yourself up from a new job setback
Personally, it can be hard if you find yourself not liking your new job. You can start to question your judgement. But it’s important not to be too hard on yourself.
Sometimes you just can’t anticipate the people or culture. Your personal values are just that. If there’s a clash, no amount of time really would help work through that. It’s easy to underestimate just how important personal values are when it comes to choosing your employer.
Deal with it professionally. Don’t be negative about the company or the people, and maintain relationships until you leave. Reflect on what happened and learn from the situation – there may be things you didn’t ask at interview and things they didn’t tell you. What can you do differently going forward? Think about the positive steps you need to take now.
Reactivate your job search
You may have had some other irons in the fire before accepting this role that you may be able to reignite.
Talk to your support network. People often want to help. Let them know things haven’t worked out. Don’t feel embarrassed. The reality is it’s just not right – you’re taking control of the situation and doing something about it.
Let your network know the type of role you’re looking for as they may have some suggestions for your next move. Then brainstorm new job ideas. Maybe this is a sign to reassess your career goals, amend or adjust your job search for a slightly different role. You may even consider going back to your old role if this is an option.
How to tackle interviews
When applying for new roles the hiring manager may question why you were in your last position for such a short amount of time. Honesty is the best policy. Being open and honest about why the job wasn’t a good fit prevents any speculation at their end. You don’t want them jumping to the conclusion that you left due to underperformance. Take control of the conversation by being upfront and letting the interviewer know the role wasn’t what you were expecting and so decided your best option was to leave.
Don’t tackle this in your cover letter unless the application specifically asks why you left your previous role. Applying for a new role is all about saying why you’re right for the job. You can have that trickier conversation in person if it gets to interview stage.
Updating your CV and LinkedIn profile
There are lots of advantages to saying goodbye and hello to new roles using LinkedIn. Although some people wait a while before making any big LinkedIn announcement in case the role doesn’t work out. If you did make an announcement, make sure you post new content when applying for a new job so your last announcement doesn’t appear at the top of your feed as the hiring manager may look at your profile. View your activity on LinkedIn to see what this looks like.
When it comes to updating your role on your CV and LinkedIn profile, keep it brief. Even if you were only there a short time you may be able to add some skills or experience.
You could also decide to use the LinkedIn ‘Open to Work’ feature to promote that you’re looking for work, some people do this successfully and used – in the right way it can open up opportunities, although some people prefer to keep things more under the radar until they have found their next role. It all depends on what you feel comfortable with. From my experience, LinkedIn is a very supportive community and through the pandemic I witnessed so many connections willing to help and support one another in difficult circumstances.
When a new job doesn’t work out, there is no doubt it can be really tough. Remember to be calm and professional, positive and constructive with your employer and manager. Also be kind to yourself; sometimes things just don’t work out. If you end up out of work for a short period while you look for your next role, think about what learning and development you can do in the meantime to keep you motivated and explain what you have been doing in the gap.
For a free and informal chat about leaving your role or preparing for your next job opportunity if your new job hasn’t worked out, give me a call on 07765 894040.