What would you do ?

[Shore]

I have been with my current employer since September 2015. I work in merchandising so my day to day routine is visiting supermarkets and making sure they are compliant with current promotions for the company I represent. Furthermore, I'm tasked with encouraging stores to order more stock and looking out for opportunities to increase our product presence. Most of the day is spent driving.

In November 2016 there was a threat of being made redundant however I was able to secure another vacancy within the company on a temporary basis until April 2017. They have now moved me into a new account which is also a 6 month temporary contract.

Our company cars are fitted with tracking devices which monitor your speed and driver performance. Back in January I was pulled up for my performance. The tracker on the car is faulty and I maintained this throughout. They didn't take much notice of this and tried to start discipline proceedings against me. I was livid and it really changed my opinion of the company. Ever since I have been so demotivated and I hate the job. The cherry on the cake was when my boss asked them to investigate it which they claimed to have done however a few weeks later when someone more senior got involved they realised that it was indeed faulty. I caught them out lying to me and this really annoyed me.

Fast forward to now, I am one month into my new job with them and I absolutely hate it. I find it so boring and I feel that I am wasted here. I am frustrated with the company for other reasons as well and I just cannot motivate myself. The company I work for are so unorganised and this affects staff morale. The type of job I do has a super high staff turnover rate.

Over the last few weeks I have been considering handing in my notice. I have been looking at other jobs however I don't seem to have any direction on what I want to do. I feel that my current role is getting too much and I'm so unhappy here. I feel like the best thing for me to do is to leave the company and put it behind me.

I am confident that I will be able to get a new job soon. I am 26 years old and I live at home so have no outgoings. I have quite a bit of savings so I wouldn't be struggling money wise. I work with people who tell me they feel trapped in their jobs and I don't want to end up like them.

I have mixed thoughts in my head about what to do and I feel so unsure. I cannot decide which is the best option for me. Part of me says yes just leave and get another job asap which I'm confident I'll be able to do and the other part of me says stay with the company I am with until I get something else comes up.

What would you do ?

[romeogolf]

I would not hand in my notice or give any reason for the current employer to suspect I am leaving until I have found new employment.

You have no overheads, but blank space on a CV is never ideal and you'll find it easier to move to a new role if you're employed currently.

[Monkeylegend]

There is no better incentive to find a job than not to have one. If you leave you can devote 100% of your time and effort in finding something else.

I personally would leave under your circumstances but I suspect most will advise you to stay until you have another job to go to.

[fat80b]

PBDirector said:

Besides, it's easier to get a job when you already have one.

This, 100%

You can now focus on getting the "right job" knowing that you have mentally checked out - It can be quite liberating knowing that you are going to leave as the little things don't matter as much - soon, they won't be your problem any more.

A search for the right job may take some time and it is the right job that you are looking for, not any job. Do this without having the added pressure of *needing to pay the bills as this can cloud your judgement.

Bob

[TheAngryDog]

PBDirector said:

Get a job before you quit.

I've done the "F U I'm out" before. As satisfying as that moment is, It is not worth it.

Besides, it's easier to get a job when you already have one.

This.

[Monkeylegend]

PBDirector said:

Get a job before you quit.

I've done the "F U I'm out" before. As satisfying as that moment is, It is not worth it.

Besides, it's easier to get a job when you already have one.

I did it three times and not once regretted it, something always turns up if you have a positive outlook.

You don't need to find a job with anybody else, you can create your own employment if you want it enough.

[Shore]

Thanks for the replies. I am still considering what to do. It's a hard one so what I've done is put in for one week holiday next week. I'll spend that time searching through the job market to see what is about. Hoping to secure a few positive leads too so that's all good. I get paid my bonus at the end of this month too which is what I was waiting on before making any moves

[VEX]

Be ballsy and talk to the people you work with not for.

Talk to the managers and staff at the stores you visit to merchandise. Ask them who is good, who is happy, who they like having in the store and working with.

Savy managers will pick up on this and may then hear of other opertunities in other companies and put you forward.

If you don't ask and push a little, you wouldn't normally find them.

I have been very fortunate in never having to apply or look for a job, I have aways been either approached or done the initial approach to the new co. myself.

You must be worth something with your current co. otherwise you would be gone. Instead they I finding things for you to do because they want to keep you.

V.

[anonymous-user]

Shore said:

Thanks for the replies. I am still considering what to do. It's a hard one so what I've done is put in for one week holiday next week. I'll spend that time searching through the job market to see what is about. Hoping to secure a few positive leads too so that's all good. I get paid my bonus at the end of this month too which is what I was waiting on before making any moves

Sounds like good timing, bank your bonus, polish your Cv ensure your linkedin is up to date and start applying.

[MitchT]

Find another job. If you don't know what you want long term or where your true passion lies right now, then get anything that gets you into a better environment so you're in a happier place while you work out what you want for your future.

[Shore]

Two months later and I'm still here but it is getting worse. They had me out doing a 14 hour shift so that we would hit a kpi. I have too many calls on my file hence why I missed stores and had to play catch up. I brought this many times to my manager and even his but they don't seem to want to do anything about it.

I now have my bosses boss starting to come out with me and I just cannot be bothered with that at all. He's a nice enough person but not the sort of person I want around when I feel so demotivated and hate the job.

The final nail in the coffin for me was when someone who has just started with the company doing the same job asked me what I earned. I told him and he informed me that he was on more than me.

So yeah hung in there for the last 2 months but I've reached the end of my patience with the company so now have plans to drop my notice in. I'm eager to make something positive of this so will update when I do so.

[Monkeylegend]

Good luck, any idea what you would like to do?

[Shore]

Monkeylegend said:

Good luck, any idea what you would like to do?

Thanks I have no idea at the minute which is a big part of the problem. I have a feeling that I will fall into something I like and then work my way up with the company. I want to have a structured career plan in place when I find the right company. I have looked at the bank which is still a possibility and then hopefully within the next few years i could do my banking exams. I've also looked at insurance but have decided I don't want to work in a call centre environment.

I'm going to try explore all avenues and hopefully by the end of doing that I will have a plan in place.

[Du1point8]

Shore said:

Monkeylegend said:

Good luck, any idea what you would like to do?

Thanks I have no idea at the minute which is a big part of the problem. I have a feeling that I will fall into something I like and then work my way up with the company. I want to have a structured career plan in place when I find the right company. I have looked at the bank which is still a possibility and then hopefully within the next few years i could do my banking exams. I've also looked at insurance but have decided I don't want to work in a call centre environment.

I'm going to try explore all avenues and hopefully by the end of doing that I will have a plan in place.

Not that it will really matter at all, but keep that you have been discussing wages to yourself... I know for one in my company it's a disciplinary offence to discuss certain things like that.

[Shore]

Du1point8 said:

Not that it will really matter at all, but keep that you have been discussing wages to yourself... I know for one in my company it's a disciplinary offence to discuss certain things like that.

Thanks for the advice. Yes I will be keeping that to myself and I won't be naming anyone. I don't want to get the other person into trouble.

[Shore]

In 3 weeks time my contract expires. I've managed to hang on and my main motivator has been the money. I've been applying to other jobs but only had one interview for a job I didn't get.

It feels really good only having 3 weeks left with this company. I'm miserable here and capable of so much more. Rather than seeing it as a problem I am looking at it as an opportunity to sort myself out and hopefully land a much better job. Feels a bit daunting for me at the moment because I'll not have a job but I'll be making sure it is only a temporary problem.

[MorganP104]

Shore said:

In 3 weeks time my contract expires. I've managed to hang on and my main motivator has been the money. I've been applying to other jobs but only had one interview for a job I didn't get.

It feels really good only having 3 weeks left with this company. I'm miserable here and capable of so much more. Rather than seeing it as a problem I am looking at it as an opportunity to sort myself out and hopefully land a much better job. Feels a bit daunting for me at the moment because I'll not have a job but I'll be making sure it is only a temporary problem.

You sound like you have the right attitude. Despite feeling low in your current job, you've got an upbeat outlook on the future.

My best advice, from personal experience, is to treat looking for a new job as a full-time job in itself. Once your current contract expires, spend 8 hours a day, every day, looking for a new job, right up until you get a new role.

Good luck!

[Shore]

A small update.

I haven't been having much luck on searching for a new job. My contract was extended until Christmas last month which i was a little miffed about but at the same time relieved not to be unemployed.

I have my performance review coming up and I know it's not going to be good. I've been struggling with hitting targets and I think my boss is now getting put under pressure by his boss about it. Nothing much has changed still miserable but I can actually now see the light at the end of the tunnel.

It's just a classic case of being in the wrong job and a situation I hope to never be in again. To motivate myself to stay I bought my own car (one which I wanted for ages) and I often treat myself to new things. I still have really poor motivation for this job.

I'm financially stable and have no outgoings at all. If they do dismiss me before the contract ends it wouldn't be the end of the world. It's the being unemployed part I dread the most.

[Steve Campbell]

You won't be unemployed. Your new job will be to find a new job :-)

It will definitely be more interesting than your current job, you can decide how many hrs you put in......and it should be exciting ;-)

The only downside is that it doesn't pay very well :-)

[Langweilig]

Use your present job as a stepping stone into another job. It's much easier to find a job if you're already in employment.