Congratulations. After weeks, or months, of job hunting, not only did you locate your “dream job” but they liked you and hired you. You’re excited to start contributing to this organization, especially as they appear ready to let you implement your brilliant ideas at a paygrade you couldn’t even dream of complaining about. And don’t you even get started about their great “organizational culture”.
Flash-forward three months: the honeymoon is over. Your desire to find a job quickly blinded you to the fact that your role wasn’t a good fit, your work wasn’t challenging enough or meaningful enough, and all of your colleagues are way too old for you to build deeper friendships. You liked your manager during the interview process, and maybe you even like your them as a person, but you can’t stand him or her as a boss.
Especially for new graduates, the transition from college to full-time work is often bumpy. Some of the smartest and most talented classmates I met during my undergraduate and masters’ programs left their first post-graduation job within less than six months and many others are looking to leave within the first year.
So how are you to manage a situation like this? Here are three viable paths to take that will help you maintain your personal brand when the job doesn’t appear to be right.
- Converse honestly with your manager about the mismanaged expectations.Most employees are fearful of having tough conversations about their workplace experience with supervisors, yet their manager typically has no idea something is wrong. In many cases, managers will look to slightly alter your role after a conversation like this, potentially offering you more stimulating or meaningful side projects to augment your regular role, or offer solutions to issues that may have come up so far. Your personal brand will be damaged if you leave roles unhappy without looking to fix the role first, so make an effort to have this challenging conversation. If your boss will have nothing of it, it may be time to start looking elsewhere.
- Attempt to fix the problem yourself. Sometimes you’ll talk to your supervisor and he or she may not know what to do to fix the problem. But, hey, you’re smart. If you’re unhappy because work isn’t challenging, go find people in the organization with jobs you like and see if you can aide their work, shadow them, or even just chat about what they do and how you can get there. If your issue is how your boss treats you, and after talking with them it hasn’t improved, take time to speak with their manager (in a politically savvy way).
- Quit, but leave on good terms. It’s okay to quit. Not every job is perfect for a long-term relationship. But if you quit, leave on good terms. Have the conversations with the higher-ups that lets them know you respect them as people, and you have no desire to leave them in a bind. In interviews, explain the mismatched experience and how you now know your workplace preferences. Never, ever bad-mouth old employers. And take some extra time to find a good role the next time as you don’t want short-term work stints to become a trend.
Hopefully you’ll never need this advice, and you’ll stick in your role for the next 30 years, rising from entry-level analyst to senior leader. But, like most in the work-force, likely that won’t be the case. Ensure you maintain your personal brand amid the transition and you’ll be set for the long-haul.
