When to leave a job?

[Deleted User] · 12/08/11 - 16:39

Hi all,

My current job is not one I plan to do forever, although for now I am getting reasonably good experience. I can use this experience to my advantage and apply for other things, but I don't know when would be an appropriate time to do so.

My manager is a nice person, but she can be a real nightmare to work with (micromanager doesn't even cover it). She interferes with everything, and yet doesn't know the processes involved in doing anything in our team, she send 100s of emails a day which interrupts my work, and she delegates an awful lot (which is ok), but doesn't allow any authority when it comes to decision making.

My 6 month appraisal is coming up next month, although I had temped there for 6 months prior to getting a permanent job (same role). My question is - as I am planning to leave anyway, would it be best to leave after the appraisal (which will be a year since I started there in total including the temping), or in March 2012 which will be after my 'official' year in post.

I could probably stick it longer if I didn't have such a difficult manager.... Please help! I'm happy to provide more info if necessary.

Thanks,

Bambi

zz9 · 12/08/11 - 16:48

If you think the appraisal will be good then stay. To a prospective employer it will look bad if you left during your six month trial.

Don't quit until you get another job. It is far easier to get another job when you are in work.

Shadow27 · 12/08/11 - 16:53

The best time to leave a job is when you have another one to go to but that's not clear from your post if you have one or not?

Unless you can afford not to work and have the experience to make up the short fall of any period of unemployment on your CV then leave when you like.

As for micromanage, I'd say far better for your manager to keep a close eye on you rather than abandon you completely. Perhaps it's something you can bring up at your appraisal? For example, suggest a daily catch-up and make it clear it would benefit her and save her time as she won't have to email you maybe? Ask if you can have some responsibility (but bear in mind that she's a manager for a reason - to have authority).

In the meantime apply for jobs but be prepared for the query over why you've been there for such a short time, especially when it's a temp job you've obviously accepted as you thought it would lead to something positive.

Dante Ameche · 12/08/11 - 16:59

I'd leave now. Life is too short to spend it in a job that makes you unhappy.

[Deleted User] · 12/08/11 - 17:03

Thanks both of you for the advice.

I've nearly been there a year now (which includes the 6 months temping from last Sept until this March), and I wouldn't dream of quitting until after the appraisal, which I think will be good, so no worries on that front.

Totally agree about managers being there for a reason, and in some ways my manager is really good (understanding and so on), but we've tried various ways to have 'catch-ups' etc, but they've not really worked. It might sound bizarre, but she's a micromanager who's barely available - in other words, she emails till the cows come home, but you're never allowed to interrupt her when she's sitting at the computer with her headphones in. It's slightly ridiculous when she sits two feet away that I have to have email conversations.

I think the main prob is that she doesn't really know what's going on in the team, and yet sets deadlines based on things she doesn't really know about. It sounds a bit horrible of me to say, but I don't actually know what she does in the team because she's very secretive about her own work.

Anyway - like Shadow say, this can be (tactfully) brought up in the appraisal.

It's not that so much that I'm bothered about, it's more the fact that I know I'll want to leave soon. The appraisal date (although it's 6 months after my permanent employment date) is actually just over a year since I've worked there, temping included. I'm wondering if I should start looking for work then, or maybe wait until I've been "officially" there for a year (i.e. from March 2011-March 2012).

As both of you have said - it's daft to leave a job when you don't have one to go to, and I wouldn't do that, especially in this climate.

Iphigenia · 12/08/11 - 17:04

I'd say Start looking for jobs now. Leaving without one to go to would be irresponsible financially, and also from the point of view of your CV - it would look a bit petulant.
I certainly wouldn't leave before the appraisal, as it's coming up so soon. Again, it would be better for your CV but also - maybe in month #7 your manager might back off a bit? Maybe she sees what she's doing not as interfering but as keeping an eye on someone on their 6 month trial?

If it were me I'd begin looking at job options but stay put until after the appraisal (and definitely until I'd got a job to go to).

Dante Ameche · 12/08/11 - 17:16

Hard work is it's own reward

[Deleted User] · 12/08/11 - 17:28

Thanks again - some really good points raised. Dante, that's very true about hard work being its own reward - there are definitely parts of my job I enjoy, and I really take pride in those aspects.

Iphigenia - I never actually thought about it like that - hopefully my manager will back off a bit after the appraisal. (I can only live in hope!)

It's really quite frustrating looking at other jobs when they seem so much more appealing, but then there are the old adages of 'the grass is always greener' and 'better the devil you know'. I can actually get a lot more from this employer in terms of training, particularly in the next 6 months, and if I left now I certainly wouldn't have access to any of that.

Very positive discussion/advice - cheers!

Hey there!

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