Just start applying elsewhere. If it's the kind of place you can take a nap at, it's also the kind of place where you can leave at lunch for an interview and put out applications while you're dialed into a pointless meeting. Just don't get stuck there.
Ask HN: Started job 3 months ago...not going as planned
51–60 of 65 posts
Re: Ask HN: Started job 3 months ago...not going as planned
#52You can do this once without any other company batting an eye. If you keep doing this several times in a row then it could be a red flag to hiring managers. I wouldn't worry about it, just put in your 2 weeks and use it as a learning experience.
It is far easier to get a job when you have one. While I agree, one doesn't have to suck it up for a year in shitty role, better to get interviews lined up asap and lock in a new job BEFORE giving notice.
That said, I had one employee renege on an offer (before starting), which ticked me off royally. We had limited slots and he waited a long time to tell us of his decision to renege. That was not cool in my books.
Re: Ask HN: Started job 3 months ago...not going as planned
#53Lemme tell you a story...
First week on the job, I'm reporting to an executive multiple layers above where I would typically be, because everyone in between had suddenly been moved / left / positions never filled. I have a contractor reporting to me who is interviewing to be my boss. At the end of the first week, several other managers take me aside and tell me I need to get rid of that contractor ASAP. This sets the tone for the next year, where I have at least four different managers that I can recall. A year later when I'm interviewing for an internal promotion, that I "didn't move fast enough" to remove that contractor (who went on to Google...) is held against me, but I otherwise win the interview loop - only to have the position given to someone else out of essentially nepotism (...and that didn't go well for anyone, but we'll leave it at that). BTW - the team I was working on (as a solo developer...) was the only one in the company generating reliable profits, essentially funding the rest of the (public, at the time mid-sized name brand) company.
This isn't even the only story I have like this in my career. Point being - many of us have accidentally walked into jobs or contracts where things aren't what they seem or what was promised. If you like the overall company and think you can get an internal transfer at some point in the near (-ish) future, then stay. If you think that it was just a big mistake all around, then leave and be thankful that the economy is in good shape and that there are jobs in most metro areas for technical people (unlike after the dotCom / 9/11 meltdown, lemme tell you about that...)
Re: Ask HN: Started job 3 months ago...not going as planned
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
A side hustle on company time and equipment? That might not be as good an idea as you portray!
I've worked for a company(or, should I say, corporation) where side hustling was fairly common. Mostly because the employer had enough money to keep a lot of staff and make them do bullshit projects, half of which wouldn't reach production. Only instance when someone got a slap on the wrist was when they, ahem, showed the wrong demo. Hilariously enough the only objection here was the perpetrator used company equipmen…
> Mostly because the employer had enough money to keep a lot of staff and make them do bullshit projects, half of which wouldn't reach production.
This is incredibly common, and not just at big companies. I bet half my time as a developer has been spent building products or features that never went to production. Includes work for startups or small companies where you might expect that in the case of extreme failure, but also for household-name bigcos and everything in between. Throw in products that are scrapped before being the market long enough to make the effort seem worth it, and my experience of this industry has been pretty damn nihilistic. Alienation, I guess you'd say.
Re: Ask HN: Started job 3 months ago...not going as planned
#55I can't think of a job that I have had that was perfectly described in the job posting. Something is always different.
As far as bad jobs, there is always some opportunity. If there is free time, work on something else or take online classes if the company would own anything you work on. If you are stuck doing busy work, automate.
It is also fair to jump ship. Not every opportunity is worth it. I would say, before you go, try to learn what happened to make this environment so bad. It will be useful later.
Good luck.
Re: Ask HN: Started job 3 months ago...not going as planned
#56[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: Started job 3 months ago...not going as planned
#57> How long do I stick it out before looking elsewhere or even returning to my last job as I left on good terms? Eject, as long as this isn't going to add to an existing pattern in your employment history. People in the position to hire have more than likely been in the situation where they were sold a bill of goods, gotten on the job, and had to make the same choice. But if this is going to be, say the third short te…
> "this is a client for whom I'm going to do the best work I can for 12 months."
Yeah, absolutely agree with this. I made the transition from employee to consultant/contractor, and have no regrets about the decision.
If you can do good work no matter what situation you're dropped into, it means your worth at least twice your salary as a consultant. If you can transform an underperforming group, you are worth even more.
Re: Ask HN: Started job 3 months ago...not going as planned
#58I know one thing: It's not going to get better! At least unless you channel your inner Napoleon and start transforming the organization yourself. I don't have that in me, and most people don't, but I hear it can be done.
Im pretty much in the same situation as OP and I REALLY tried to be the Napoleon, but the more you try the bigger resistance you are met with. (You look like the „unfun” and „bad” guy who wants people to actually start doing what they are paid to do) You just get worn out over-time and give up.
This.
Re: Ask HN: Started job 3 months ago...not going as planned
#59I'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…
> 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.
Any pointers?
Re: Ask HN: Started job 3 months ago...not going as planned
#60Earlier 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.
To be fair, I used to list it.
But I found (n=2) that recruiters/hiring managers got hung up on that one 4 month block vs. the 15+ years of other experience I had on there. One asked "Well if you're going to cut bait and run at the hint of small issue, why hire you?" It's hard to explain, without disparaging the employer, that the 4 months you were there had you in therapy 3 days a week just to keep your sanity :) And it is a he said/they said type situation.
Given how some companies I've worked for used me for their benefit, I feel zero guilt over leaving off the ones that were toxic.