Damn, that sounded rough. Thanks for the advice.

Thanks!

HBCanine08 said:

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Damn, that sounded rough. Thanks for the advice.

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Not really rough, just disappointing in how things worked out. It happens, I learned from it and moved on. I still use some of my contacts there to this day, and some of the up front stuff on the design end that I had never been exposed to has been very beneficial to me since then.

The big thing is, to me, read the writing on the wall and make a decision sooner rather than later. In today's world, most folks aren't going to ding you for a short stint at a company. 30 years ago? Sure things were different, but today's market is significantly more mobile and short stints are not uncommon at all in any capacity (at least in my industry). If anybody asks, be honest and tell them that the culture and environment were billed as something different in the interview process and you weren't going to waste your time there any longer than necessary. If somebody wont' hire you because of that, you didn't want to work there anyway because they probably have a similar culture.

You spend a lot of time at work - more time than with your family. There is absolutely no reason to be miserable at work because of that, it's not worth it in the long run and a shty job will translate to the home life no matter how hard you try to separate the two. The job market is an employees market right now, take advantage of it and find something that makes you happy.

We are probably in the complete opposite ends of the spectrum as it pertains to our fields of work, but I do go through some similar things you described.

I was out of work for a few months and went through a staffing service to get a job because I needed to go back to work. I got a job in sales with utility vehicles and heavy equipment. When I interviewed I was told I was going to be off every Monday but work on every Saturday. Since I started this job (2 years in) I've yet to get that day off. It actually took over a year working here to get 1 Saturday off a month. We constantly had people turn over here at our store because my boss rides people into the ground.

It's a family owned company so there isn't much room for growth, even though they constantly say "we have big plans for you." Just recently I started making more money as far as commissions go to make my time here worth it, but to say I am burnt out here is an understatement. I hate job hopping as well but I'm about ready to make my own move as well and my resume is completely updated too.

HBCanine08 said:

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HollywoodBQ said:

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If you were in Houston, why in the H E double hockey sticks would you move to Dallas?

Anyway, I relocated from Austin to Denver in January 2000. I was promised all sorts of stuff that didn't come to pass. The biggest lie was that there would be plenty of work in Denver/Boulder/Springs and that I wouldn't have to travel out of town that often. Even after factoring out the parts that weren't true, the net was still positive.

With the turnover in your situation, it sounds like there's some bad corporate culture in play. Possibly bad leadership. The question is, can it be fixed?

As far as the relocation, a year isn't really that long to wait out. In my situation in Denver, they had two Sales Managers who they also relocated from Texas to Denver. On Day 366, they were both gone back to Texas. I stayed for 2 1/2 years until the company went out of business.

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My former employer was not doing well. I could see the writing on the wall and wanted to get out. I interviewed for a few jobs in Houston, and came close to getting an offer in Houston, but it never worked out. When this opportunity came up, I took it. On paper, it was a lot better than where I was working.

I honestly do not think it can be fixed. We had a dept. meeting with the head of our dept. last week and he asked what our thoughts were on the turnover rate. Everyone knew why (leadership not listening, below market salaries, lack of flexibility to work from home), but not many were open/honest about it.

I'll suck it up as much as I can and try to stick it out for a year, but if a better opportunity presents itself then I will take it.

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You need to just go all Peter Gibbons (office space) at this job and tell them what is wrong with the company and that you aren't challenged. Maybe you'll get promoted to replace your boss.

Sounds like you don't have much to lose. Just start being an aggressive and proactive boss and see what happens.

Has your situation changed from when you first posted at all?

I have a 2nd interview setup with a company. What questions might you ask them to avoid what you are going through?

I am in the same situation as the OP.

My advice to professionals not looking for their first opportunity:
1.) Setup a follow up interview with your future employees and your future boss' superior
Have all of these separate 1-on-1 + an HR rep
2.) Find out the commitment of the company to your specific position- Get specific with your ideas
You can tell if your ideas will not be taken seriously
3.) Talk to your future employees about your boss and how he operates
4.) Ask for some examples of improvement opportunities that have been implemented in the past 2 years
5.) Make sure you have the support and access to your future boss' superior

Just some things I have learned in the past two months of a new job. This was my first jump to a new job so I was only looking for that pay bump and nothing more. Continual Improvement is a major part of my job so when my new company doesn't want to spend money on efficiency efforts, it makes me feel useless.
I left my last job in great standing so if needed I could jump back in 2019 once O&G gets cranked up at a better rate.

I was in a similar situation. Literally on day 1 I was like oh **** this isn't what I thought. I plowed through for 13 months and got out of there. Luckily didn't have relo to pay back.

I think job durations of about a year on a resume are more commonplace than you'd think but I did have to explain it to my future employer during the interview. They seemed empathetic and I tried to spin it into a character building kind of situation that would only help me going forward.

I got hired by a global tech company to be a client facing consultant.

The first day I showed up for work, I was told that I had been "inter-department loaned" to a team that made sure the compliance activities were completed for the client facing projects.

So I was hired as a fairly high level consultant and was put to work as a fresh out of school project support peon and was told that I had to stay there for the next 2 years at least.

When a layoff came around, I jumped on it and volunteered.

I am glad I did it but it was hard, damned hard to explain why I left after 13 months.

So the point is, quit but make damn sure you have some place to go first.

FWIW - I am currently unemployed and had the same experience as some of the posters.
I worked 5 years at a midstream company in Houston. Good company in retrospect but I wanted to move to Colorado and start fresh with my wife. Ended up getting a job at a midstream company in Denver. Great interviews, people seemed great, but completely different culture when I started working for them. Was never docked for my work performance in my 5 yrs in Houston but was put on PIP plan in my last 6 months at this company. People quitting left and right, micromanaging to the T, etc. I was absolutely miserable and like a poster mentioned (you can't separate work/life attitude) when it's that bad. I stayed strong for my wife but knew my time was coming to an end. I did get fired (I did apply to a few companies during that time and got offers) but knew I needed some time off as I was mentally spent. I know some would say I'm dumb for turning down a few jobs when I knew I was going to be fired, but family is more important to me and needing a fresh mentality was huge for me. Its been 2 months of unemployment but I'm taking advantage of the time to do things I haven't been able to do the last 7 years. Self reflection and positivity is my focus and I'm ok with that.

Day 1 after I arrived I knew I had made a mistake when I had relocated. Honestly the dumbest professional choice I ever made. Everything they said was completely wrong. I also had a bunch of incentive to stay (payback relocation/bonus, etc.)

I decided to stick it out for the two year commitment, and even stayed an extra year. I learned a lot about myself, and on a personal level it was the best decision I had ever made. My family grew stronger, I realized my career/job didn't factor into my happiness (meaning - I didn't need recognition to feel good about the work i was doing), and I've made lifelong friends that we still visit annually.

Not saying that will happen in your situation, but maybe use this time to go on interviews, work on profession, and in 6 months when your commitment is up (i read that right, correct?) you can leave a stronger individual.

aggies12thman said:

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I am in the same situation as the OP.

My advice to professionals not looking for their first opportunity:
1.) Setup a follow up interview with your future employees and your future boss' superior
Have all of these separate 1-on-1 + an HR rep
2.) Find out the commitment of the company to your specific position- Get specific with your ideas
You can tell if your ideas will not be taken seriously
3.) Talk to your future employees about your boss and how he operates
4.) Ask for some examples of improvement opportunities that have been implemented in the past 2 years
5.) Make sure you have the support and access to your future boss' superior

Just some things I have learned in the past two months of a new job. This was my first jump to a new job so I was only looking for that pay bump and nothing more. Continual Improvement is a major part of my job so when my new company doesn't want to spend money on efficiency efforts, it makes me feel useless.
I left my last job in great standing so if needed I could jump back in 2019 once O&G gets cranked up at a better rate.

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Same thing happened to me. Got a masters and was promised all these things with that new degree. Got stuck with a boss that didn't care and impacted morale.

This time around, I setup additional meetings with staff and my boss's boss so we are on the same page. I put in my notice later today once paperwork clears and couldn't be happier.