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Ask HN: Started job 3 months ago...not going as planned

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Re: Ask HN: Started job 3 months ago...not going as planned

#11

Post by rhizome »

dudul wrote: post #7

I'm gonna play devil's advocate here and point out that apparently this is the kind of place where people can in fact fall asleep during work hours, even during calls. That opens up a lot of possibilities. How about doing the bare minimum and working on bettering your skills on your own? Or even do some side hustle?

A side hustle on company time and equipment? That might not be as good an idea as you portray!

Re: Ask HN: Started job 3 months ago...not going as planned

#12

Post by PopeDotNinja »

I've been there. I had a job where after 3 months... There was a crapton of technical debt, we had a new PM that was useless, no one seemed to know anything, every user story was written for everyone except me, yada yada. I wanted to bash my head in daily. Then one day it got better. The hung on long enough to find a few people who had been around long enough to know a bit about what they were talking about, and then I started learning how they stay sane. A lot of it involved mastering how to tell people they needed to up their game in communication before I was gonna do work they asked me to do.

No magic answer, but in general I find I'd rather work on a fucked up environment where I can make incremental improvement than a good-enough-for-people-who-aren't me environment where everyone is to comfortable to tolerate any changes.

Re: Ask HN: Started job 3 months ago...not going as planned

#13

Post by andygcook »

My anecdata of one: As an employer/founder, I wouldn't hold a short stint on your job history against you. I'd give it an equal chance of being a poor employer vs. you not working out. Would likely just ask you about it in an interview. If it were a few short stints in a row, then that might give me pause. But in my experience, this situation is more common than you'd think and any good employer/recruiter is going to be able to look past it.

Would you want to go back to your previous job? It's possible they might want you back if you left on good terms. Would be easier, cheaper, and faster for them than backfilling your position.

Re: Ask HN: Started job 3 months ago...not going as planned

#15

Post by mkovach »

I ran into a situation about the same as you. I just explain things to places I was interviewing with that the situation didn't match the interview process and despite my best efforts, I just have to move one. Now, I was lucky that I had been laid off and this was the ``rebound job'', so I didn't have a history of changing jobs. Only one potential employer had an issue with them, but I did find a very good job and moved on.

Re: Ask HN: Started job 3 months ago...not going as planned

#16

Post by davidajackson »

dudul wrote: post #7

I'm gonna play devil's advocate here and point out that apparently this is the kind of place where people can in fact fall asleep during work hours, even during calls. That opens up a lot of possibilities. How about doing the bare minimum and working on bettering your skills on your own? Or even do some side hustle?

Best to find another team/job. The thing with jobs like this is it's like when you were in high school and you were the only kid in a group that did anything. Everyone just 'expects' you to do everything, because you're 'smart' and 'good' at your job. You push out everything product. It will make you really angry and depressed in the long term, and you will resent the people around you for being so lazy. And you arguably should resent them, but you also will end up resenting yourself for staying.

Re: Ask HN: Started job 3 months ago...not going as planned

#17

Post by lostdog »

dudul wrote: post #5
justrudd wrote: post #3

I've had this type of job before. Twice actually. One was for 2 weeks (which I left for personal reasons not job related), and the other was a similar situation to yours (which I left after 4 months). I just didn't list them on my resume/application at places I applied to later. When asked about the gaps, "I just needed to take some time off. For N years, I've never really taken a long vacation so decided to do that"…

Some background checks may reveal to your next employer that you had these jobs, even for a very short period of time.

How about "It just took me a while to find the next thing I wanted to do." Then your explanation make sense whether they think you took a break or find out that you left a job quickly.

Re: Ask HN: Started job 3 months ago...not going as planned

#18

Post by veb »

stevewodil wrote: post #8
dudul wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some background checks may reveal to your next employer that you had these jobs, even for a very short period of time.

Yeah, you may as well list it and if asked respond honestly. It wasn't a good fit/the role didn't match the job description, etc.

Yup, this is exactly the right way of going about things. Because when they ask you why it wasn't a good fit, you're able to actually speak up about your experience. Instead of a one sided conversation, you're able to make it your own and interviewers like that. That's my experience anyway.

Re: Ask HN: Started job 3 months ago...not going as planned

#20

Post by 0027 »

I would leave. I had a job last April and I left it in November because it was so boring. I keep jobs where I find I am in a win-win scenario. If I am learning and doing things I find interesting and I feel my contributions are appreciated I continue the work. My interview process at the last company was deceptive as well. I should have left sooner.

edit - expanded info.

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