Leaving a brand new job

I presented at the Young IT Professionals conference this week organised by the Australian Computer Society.

It is an annual event and it was great to see how the ACS supports its young members with training and mentoring.

I was asked some great questions that apply to every sector including: “What if I start a job and find it is not for me? Can I leave? What do I say at my next interview?”

Of course you can leave if the job you were sold at interview is not the job you find when you turn up to work. It would be good to have a conversation with your line manager about what is going in case there has been some temporary glitch or some confused communication that can be rectified.

However, if you have been duped into taking a role that is not as advertised then that does not bode well for the future – trust is already an issue.

I’ve had this question in the past. One Ask Kate reader told me how she had been told about the great team she would be joining. Instead she was put at a desk in an isolated part of the building working completely on her own. Another reader told me about how an employer failed to deliver on promised training with the result he found himself being constantly reprimanded about poor performance.

On the flip side, if it is just a vibe or something small then giving the job a few weeks and or trying to proactively seek solutions – better equipment, someone to buddy you – could make all the difference.

You don’t want to waste time if you have been sold a lemon but you won’t want to make a habit of moving on quickly as your resume will soon scream “job jumper”.

When interviewing for the next role keep it simple when explaining what happened and try to add a positive twist. For example, “I was hired for an accounts management role but when I arrived I was told the company had lost budget for that role and that I would be assigned to an accounts administration role. My recent skills and experience are in accounts management and your role sounds like a perfect fit for me.”

Try not to be emotional or accusing even if the employer you are interviewing with is suitably horrified by the fact you were mislead.