Dear Evil HR Lady,
I recently accepted a job in an industry I had no interest in. I knew it would give me valuable experience and allow for me to start my career on a good note. I was only hoping to stay with this company for 1-2 years. After 1 month, I have already had enough. I am working from 8 AM to 7 PM and I have no work/life balance. There are days when I come home and cry. My boss gives me nothing but negative feedback and I feel as though I am failing. I am desperately trying to find a job in my dream field (HR or OD) but I am afraid that companies will have no interest in me since I just started this job. Due to this, I have a variety of questions:
1) What is the best approach to my job search given this situation?
2) Do I include this current position on my resume and applications?
3) How do I emphasize to employers out of state that I am willing to relocate? I never seem to get calls from them.
4) Did I screw myself for taking this job?
5) Am I feeling overwhelmed since this is my first full time job?
I Hate My New Job
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11 comments:
Great Advice. I was in a very similar situation a few years ago--straight out of grad school and working in HR. I did resign and everyone thought I had committed career suicide (and voiced those opinions openly). This was after I had relocated a great distance, was told I wouldn't have to relocate again for at least a year and three weeks later I was told to pack my bags and move again because someone had resigned. Since then I have found a job that is not only much better than the first, it has actually provided me with fantastic work experience and not forced me to move to undesirable locations. You really can recover from this; keep your chin up.
I hate my new job:
I had a similar situation, I was laid off and took the first thing offered, I hated it from the first week, but stayed for a year out of desperation. I was miserable! complained daily to my spouse and anyone else who would listen. It made everyone around me just as miserable. I finally left and now have a job I love and it shows in the quality of the work I produce. My advice . . . GET OUT NOW!! count your loss and keep your sanity.
Absolutely, you can recover! I recently left a "great" full time HR Management position at one of America's best hospitals to start my own business. Why? Because I'm insane, of course!
Insanity notwithstanding, I was miserable in the position. I stuck it out with the organization as long as I could, but at the end of the day, I knew it was time for me to move on. If you are really miserable in your current job, do yourself a favor: make the necessary changes before your frustration affects your performance -- and, really derails your career.
Presumably, you're a millenial. Individuals in the millenial generation are known job hoppers. Employers should be used to this trend by now. Don't let fear get in the way of your decision. I am not saying you should quit your job without another firm offer in hand (what you do in this case truly depends on your financial situation), but there is no harm in mounting an extensive search.
Whatever you do, don't trick yourself into believing you'll never find another job in the field you love. Afterall, you impressed someone enough to hire you in your current job, right?
As to your question about mounting an out of state job search, I wish I knew the answer to this one. Conventional wisdom says to use an address -- maybe a PO Box -- in the state you want to relocate. While I have done this in my own searches, I don't know how wise it is. No matter what address is on your resume, the company will eventually figure out that you're an out-of-state applicant. If you're using the PO Box to simply get your resume read, then I suppose there is no harm in that.
There is no golden rule, though. What works for one organization may not work in another. My best advice is to apply to as many positions as you are qualified for in as many states as you like. Use a local address or use your current address. Be creative and see which strategy works best. Life -- and career searches -- are scientific experiments.
Very good suggestions. I used to experienced similar situation a few years ago, quit from my first job after graduate. I did accept the job offer because it was well-paid, but it was not my interest field, and my family and friends thought that I made a wrong decision. Gradually, I realize that how important that interest means to a job, I’d say never try a job you don’t like. Besides, I think you should definitely include this job in your resume, even if you don’t like it, you can also emphasis that what you’ve attained from this one, even if it was not a good ones.
I know how you feel, I've definitely gotten to the point where I feel that any job right now is better then holding out for the possibility of a job in my dream industry. Luckily I've had some experience with a failed internship in college that reminded me, if you're not loving or at least interested/curious about the place you're working at you won't be happy and holding out for a year might (as some have said) drive you and those around you crazy.
@Casey
You're damn right that employers should be accustomed to job hopping - they're the ones that created an environment in which job hopping is needed to begin with!
Your blog shows that you are a pessimist and place very little value on yourself. These two qualities may inadvertently be the root cause of your problems with your current job. Since your present job is not in your field which is HR/OD, you would need to put in a little more to excel and not because you are less on intelligence scale. However, you seem to have lower than average perception about yourself. Brace up. See every comment from your current boss as an input into building yourself to face future challenges.
At times like this when there is global economic meltdown, job search has become more rigorous and you shouldn’t see your inability to secure one so quickly as an indication of personal failure. Keep on searching but maintain a positive frame of mind, so that you can excel at interviews. Employers don’t like ‘neonate’ on the job and your current experience when included in your curriculum-vitae will almost certainly be an added advantage. You have taken a bold step by taking your current job as it would prepare you to face the challenges of the work environment, provided you maintain a positive frame of mind.
Include it in your CV that you are willing to work outside your current station and re-emphasise that at interview when prompted to do so. You will do well to think positive about your current job and see every comment of your boss as a plus to your learning.
Leave now, you do not have to put up with a narcissist. She will deplete your self esteem. I have worked with women like that before, they have no self esteem themselves and want to suck yours out of you. She probably fat or a bossy Italian I'm guessing. There are some awful women in the corporate sector, to the point now I am thinking of re-training myself in Nursing to work around caring people instead.
I would also get in contact with her former employee, find out how many staff have left because of her. These types usually have a bad reputation anyhow. Ask around. Gain your power back.
"Crying" that is not good. Leave now. You can leave it off your Resume considering it has only been 4 weeks.
Sweetheart, please stop crying. God puts us in certain situations for reasons unknown to us. Believe me, it's a reason for you having this awful job with this awful boss. What I suggest you do, before quitting, is scheduling a meeting with your boss to seriously talk with him/her and tell them how you really feel. Everyone should be given the chance to change before they are dismissed. It's a good chance that your boss does not know his/her wrong doing. By you talking with them you can inform them of a characteritic they posses which is blind to them. By you opening their eyes you can possibly change them for the good.
With this being said, just talk to your boss. Express yourself and be sincere. If after that meeting you still get no results then you may want to consider finding another job.
Even though you dislike your job you have probably learned more from this job than any other. That is probably the reason God placed this job in your life, for it to be a learning experience.
I hope the best for you. God Bless!
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