Glenford Smith | Job out of desperation

QUESTION: I read your articles on career and would like some ­advice on leaving a job after one month. I took the job out of desperation and not wanting to be home. I went through the rigours of interviews by a panel and the chairman. I was awarded the job; only to find out it is a contract. In addition, I later found out that what they say they are about is far from the truth. Could you advise me in this ­troubling situation?

– S.S.

CAREERS: Thank you for your letter. I have only included some of the text of your letter above, due to space constraints.

In addition to the above, you enquired whether leaving the job after one month was too soon. You also wanted to know what your current employer would think of you. You were also troubled by thoughts of how your prospective employer would see you, and what impact, if any, the move would have on you.

One month isn’t too early to resign from the job. You can leave at any time. You are not confirmed in the position as yet, so you can just let the employer know that you are not coming back, and stop. That’s it.

But I would advise you to take a little time and figure out what you would want. Too often, individuals, just out of desperation to get out of the house, take a job, any job – and end up regretting it. While you have a job, though not ideal, sit down and plan out what would be ideal and then go after that.

You said you only found out it was a contract job after you read your job letter. This, in itself, does not say they told you it was not a contract and later you found out it was. At the time of finding out, you could have gone to the employer and discussed it, whether you are for it or not.

In your letter, you said that it is costing you more to go to work than you are getting paid. This state of affairs is unsustainable. It makes no sense for you to find money to go to work and at the end of the month, you are in the red. If this is the case, and you ­contracted for that amount, you obviously made a mistake. This does not in any way speak about this company’s honesty, or lack thereof.

The current employer may be a bit put off by your decision to quit so quickly. But if you decide to leave, that cannot be your concern. You have to think of yourself.

The prospective employer does not have to know about this job. This is a decision that you made for you. It was for a very brief time, so don’t stress over it. I wouldn’t concern myself with the accusation of job-hopping. It was a blip in your career, so, as said before, don’t stress over it. You should go in to the next interview with the confidence of having passed this interview. All the best.

Glenford Smith is president of CareerBiz Coach and is the author of ‘From Problems to Power’ and ‘Profile of Excellence’. He can be contacted at CareerBizCoach@gmail.com.