Leaving job after only a few months

Crippled Potato

Crippled Potato

Crippled Potato

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Joined
5 Sep 2013
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412
So, I’ve been at this current job for about 2 months now because it was in a convenient location for me and cut down on the commute I was doing for the previous place. However, in that time I've found that I've had very little training and interaction with other people. Overall I've started to dislike it very quickly as my day just consists of me at my desk for most of the day working in solitude.

I ended up messaging one of my colleagues (We'll call him Brian) and found that a couple of people and Brian are leaving for various reasons so they are looking for new employees. I left this place 4 months ago on good terms.
I pondered about it over the weekend and sent a message to my old team leader and he seems positive for me to come back aboard. I'll be moving house to cut down the commute if it all goes to plan.

Now here’s the tricky part. How do I go about handing in my notice at my current job? It’s a smaller company and my notice period is only a week because I'm still on probation. But I can’t imagine it’s going to be a pleasant conversation as it feels like I'll be performing a bit of betrayal when I tell them I'll be going back to my old job. Will I just have to just expect facing a bit of a **** sandwich?
 
Honestly I wouldn't worry about it - especially if you've been mis sold the new role or they've not exactly been welcoming to you as a new employee. Did you know before you started that you'd be working in solitude rather than as part of a team for example?

Either way so long as it isn't a regular thing for you (and it doesn't sound like it is) then it isn't a big deal to have left one job after a very short stint. Frankly I think the fact you're going back to your previous employer can be seen positively, you're obviously valued by them and in future job interviews you can pass off this 2 month stint as simply being a role that turned out to be not what was expected. Maybe wait a year before applying for any new jobs though.

One benefit of being able to signal that the employer you're thinking about moving back to values you is that anyone who wants you in future is perhaps less likely to try and give you a lowball offer - you want to be seen as valued by your employer and you'll be giving off that signal if you've left on good terms and they're happy to have you back.

Lastly re: feeling guilty about leaving because the job isn't great/isn't what you thought it would be... they'd perhaps do pretty much the same thing to you at the 3 or 6 month mark (or sooner if the new employee is really bad).
 
Don't ever feel bad about leaving a company it's just business and they wouldn't give a second thought about ditching you. What happens when you resign will tell you a lot about the manager a good manager will see it as their fault and will look for feed back on where they went wrong a bad manager will just blame you and you can consider it a lucky escape
 
"Sorry, the role isn't what I thought it would be. Please accept my resignation with immediate affect"

If they ask where you're going then you can just reply with "I've found something that I believe is more suited to my experience". In reality, you can tell them to do-one but by keeping it vague they don't have to know that you're going back to the previous employer.
 
Telling an employer that you're resigning is never a nice task, but if you're not happy you gotta do it.

You always should do what's best for you, and if that means going back to your old company, and they're happy for you to return, I say do it!
 
Cheers for the responses. Everything looks positive for the return and I’m expecting the offer to arrive in the post either today or tomorrow. So I’ll be probably putting the notice in on Monday.

I’m committed to doing it, but this is going to catch them by surprise and it’s pretty bad timing that someone else in the office is leaving at the same time. Any tips on how to approach and deliver it?
 
Send e-mail to boss asking for meeting, have an e-mail drafted to him and HR thanking them for hiring you etc.. etc...

Go to meeting room with boss, give him the heads up in person. Then after meeting send your e-mail and/or print and sign equivalent letter.

You might well find your boss asks you to hold off while he phones his boss and then proposes some counter offer etc... so you let that play out first before sending the e-mail.
 
it’s pretty bad timing
Click to expand...

Not your problem. Get over feeling guilty about leaving - you owe them nothing and I bet they wouldn't give it a second thought if they needed to reduce headcount.
 
No harm in leaving at all. But I think, to be fair to them, you should tell them the reasons why the role didn't work for you and how it differed from your expectations, e.g. the lack of training, less human contact than you'd expected etc.
 
You are overthinking it. If the role isn't right for you then just be honest and polite with them and tell them, then move on. They will probably appreciate the feedback and might be able to rectify the problem or improve the situation for future hires.
 
As others have said, you need not feel guilty at leaving a job that isn't suited for you. I've witnessed numerous examples of companies who have have no qualms about firing a probationary staff member for a variety of half-baked reasons; if you don't feel your role is suited to you, you have an equal right to part company on the same terms.

Three years ago I was in a similar situation to you. I'd left a long-term job for something I thought would be an improvement, but knew within an hour of starting I'd made a mistake. As soon as I'd found something else, my notice was in. Personally, I prefer the honest approach - keep it polite and offer your reasons in brief if asked. Any reasonable manager/company should prefer to understand why they are losing staff or areas for improvement.
 
Follow up update:

Handed in the notice which did catch them by surprise but I did my weeks worth of notice and then finished up. Was completely frank and honest with them during the interview why i didn’t enjoy the role and they took it rather well. Started the new/old job today, happy potato. :)
 
glad you managed to get back without having to stick around too long. I have just been in a similar boat as you described. Unfortunately my notice is 3 months but only got 4 weeks left!
 
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