Soldato
- Joined
- 12 May 2011
- Posts
- 6,299
- Location
- Southampton
I started a new role at a small consultancy at the end of March and after four months I am now confident that this company is not a good fit for me. I've been at large and small consultancies before but this one seems a particularly ill fit to the extent that it is making me quite miserable. As such I am thinking of moving on now rather than stick it out for a another 18 months so that it looks like a "normal" duration.
I am updating my CV and think I should probably address head-on why I am looking to move role so soon, and in a cover letter - do you agree with this approach? There are a fair few reasons I will be able to go into in an interview. The rest of my CV has relatively long stints 2yr to 4yr at a range of places so this is the outlier.
Secondly, my contract has the following clause in it, along side the more standard 'don't talk to our clients for 6 months, don't talk to our empolyees for 6 months':
"For six months after Termination, be involved in any Capacity with any business concern which is (or intends to be) in competition with any Restricted Business"
Restricted business is defined as: "The business of [the industry I am in] consultants and [adjacent industry] with which you were involved to a material extent in the six months before Termination
I raised this as a concern when reviewing the contract. The MD has always applied reasonableness to this clause in the past, the business has had people leave in the past and get a job immediately on the basis the MD has set out what clients are hands-off. At the time of me joining he had never enforced this.
However, a high-up colleague has left recently after not ideal, mutual circumstances and the MD has applied this clause to the extent that the colleague cannot work at another industry consultancy for 6 months on the basis that "restricted business" is any work within the industry, consultancy side. Rather than the specific projects that the colleague was "involved to a material extent" in. The colleagued had secured a role at another place and handed their notice in a week prior to the MD pointing out this clause and enforced it. I am not sure what the colleague is doing now. I am concerned that my departure might also be taken as "not ideal", leaving after 4 months.
If I was at this company a normal length of time I would be having a chat with the MD to set out that I am leaving and I would fully expect the more reasonable approach to be taken. I am not as high up as the colleague who has left recently.
Do you have any recommendations have to navigate this clause. I would really like to secure a role and hand in my notice as a clean break "sorry it's not worked out" but I feel like I need to talk to the MD about it because of the risk however I fear this will prompt discussions of "we know we need to improve, we're working to be better" etc.
I am updating my CV and think I should probably address head-on why I am looking to move role so soon, and in a cover letter - do you agree with this approach? There are a fair few reasons I will be able to go into in an interview. The rest of my CV has relatively long stints 2yr to 4yr at a range of places so this is the outlier.
Secondly, my contract has the following clause in it, along side the more standard 'don't talk to our clients for 6 months, don't talk to our empolyees for 6 months':
"For six months after Termination, be involved in any Capacity with any business concern which is (or intends to be) in competition with any Restricted Business"
Restricted business is defined as: "The business of [the industry I am in] consultants and [adjacent industry] with which you were involved to a material extent in the six months before Termination
I raised this as a concern when reviewing the contract. The MD has always applied reasonableness to this clause in the past, the business has had people leave in the past and get a job immediately on the basis the MD has set out what clients are hands-off. At the time of me joining he had never enforced this.
However, a high-up colleague has left recently after not ideal, mutual circumstances and the MD has applied this clause to the extent that the colleague cannot work at another industry consultancy for 6 months on the basis that "restricted business" is any work within the industry, consultancy side. Rather than the specific projects that the colleague was "involved to a material extent" in. The colleagued had secured a role at another place and handed their notice in a week prior to the MD pointing out this clause and enforced it. I am not sure what the colleague is doing now. I am concerned that my departure might also be taken as "not ideal", leaving after 4 months.
If I was at this company a normal length of time I would be having a chat with the MD to set out that I am leaving and I would fully expect the more reasonable approach to be taken. I am not as high up as the colleague who has left recently.
Do you have any recommendations have to navigate this clause. I would really like to secure a role and hand in my notice as a clean break "sorry it's not worked out" but I feel like I need to talk to the MD about it because of the risk however I fear this will prompt discussions of "we know we need to improve, we're working to be better" etc.
