How To Quit A Job You Just Started: 5 Tips For Making A Smooth Exit
It is possible to desire a job so badly but realize it is not at all as you expected after you’ve landed the job. Your concerns are valid, hence your wanting to know how to quit a job you just started.
My first job ever was when I left high school. It was a sales job as a pastry shop and I looked forward to it; above other things I looked forward to getting to learn how to sell, a skill I knew at the time is valuable in the business world. Few weeks down the line and I faced the reality that the job wasn’t at all what I had envisaged. I had to leave. After consulting with some elderly figures around I was able to quit without leaving anger and resentment behind.
There are many reasons why you may want to leave a position you just started; maybe you got a better offer elsewhere, your new boss turned out to be narcissistic and tyrannical, or maybe the company culture is hard for you to put up with.
You don’t want a job you loathe right from the onset, it’s easier to leave this early than to do so much later. Yet, you want to learn how to leave in a way that will not hurt your professional reputation. This is not to say that leaving is easy; it is not, but it’s best to try and move on if you know that the new place is not a good fit for you.
There are a few ways you can make it easier for yourself to leave. We’d get to them, but first let’s have a look at some of the reasons why you may want to leave a job you just started.
Reasons Why You May Want To Leave A Job You Just Started
4.5 million people were voluntarily quitting their jobs every month between November 2021 and April 2022. It’s not out-of-place to leave a job; it’s not just you. Matter of fact, it is as much a part of the professional development process as getting a job is, and it doesn’t matter if you are quitting after just a few weeks.
It’s not unusual, and here are common reasons why employees voluntarily quit a job they just started.
Toxic Work Environment
Toxicity workplaces can increase stress, anxiety, and other mental health conditions. You can’t develop professionally if you have this to worry about in a role you just started. A toxic workplace is hostile, unsupportive, or discriminatory.
Some other time you may experience bullying, harassment, or unfair treatments from coworkers or your superors. These things can result in unhappiness, and nothing stifles your quest to thrive more than unhappiness towards your current position.
You may want to talk to your boss about the issues you’re facing, and if that doesn’t work, then quitting might be a better option than staying and thriving horribly, only to be eventually kicked out because you are not productive.
Mismatched Expectations
It is possible to buy online only for what gets delivered to differ from what you ordered. Something similar can also happen in the workplace: it is possible for the job you started to not match your expectations based on the interview process or the job description.
Some of these expectations may include the responsibilities, the work-life balance, or the company culture may just not align with your expectations. These things can be both frustrating and demotivating. They can start you off on a bad note and you don’t want that.
Better Offer
You may have sent in different applications to a number of potential employers while job hunting. There may be really exciting positions among these potential offers which you unfortunately did not hear back from before. So to settle with something less exciting. There is nothing wrong here, this happens.
But maybe in just a few days or weeks of your starting the less exciting position one of the companies you applied to comes calling with a better offer, and you can’t refuse. It may be worth it for you to consider leaving. This could be an opportunity for you to get a better salary or benefits, and you don’t want those to slip past you.
Health or Family Concerns
Emergencies can happen when we least expect; that’s why they’re called emergencies. An emergency can be personal or about family; it can be a health issue or something else. The truth remains that you will find it hard to give 100% attention to your job when you’re worried about your family, or when a health problem won’t let you.
If you need to take care of your health or that of a family member, it is usually better that you prioritize your family and wellbeing over your job. This is especially so when what you are dealing with is severe or chronic.
Long Commute
The worst thing about traveling long distances to work is that the transportation expenses can end up affecting your monthly salary. You don’t want to spend 50 or more percent of your income on commutes. But that’s not all; long commutes can end up making your job draining and more time-consuming, making it extremely difficult to maintain work-life balance.
Maybe you had thought that this is something you could handle, only to find out that it isn’t after you’ve started working. If there are no transport allowances, and moving close to your workplace is not possible, then that may be a good reason to consider leaving your job.
5 Tips For Quitting A Job You Just Started
Dissatisfaction with a current position is not peculiar to you. Maybe you have good reasons for wanting to leave; the above mentioned reasons plague employees everywhere but some suck it up because they lack the courage to choose what is best for them.
This is not you; you want to leave, but you want to do it right. Here are 5 helpful tips for how to quit a job you just started:
Make Sure That This Is The Right Move For You
That you have valid reasons for wanting to quit a job does not mean it is the best thing to do. For one thing, there are no guarantees that your next workplace will be fulfilling your wildest dreams.
You may want to find out if the reasons for your dissatisfactions can be fixed by your employer rather than quitting right ahead. Your ability to bring your challenges before your employers shows you care about your role in the company, and also shows your willingness to communicate and negotiate. Communication and negotiation are good skills that will benefit you as a professional.
The outcome of your bringing these issues to your employer can end up benefiting the company and your fellow workers, and it will be a plus to you.
Immediately Bring It To The Notice Of Your Employers
An employer will need to get a new worker to fill a position vacated by an old employee. This can lead to a disruption in workflow when not done properly; like when the old employee gives a short notice or did not give any at all before leaving.
Asides from disrupting workflow, doing this is detrimental to your reputation and professionalism. You need to avoid burning bridges. You need to leave on good terms. Doing so can open up networking opportunities for you in the future, and giving your employer enough notice ahead is one way to make sure you leave on good terms.
There is no law on how much notice you need to give before you leave, but two weeks is generally considered the standard practice.
Look For Another Job Before You Quit
This will not apply to you if you are quitting because you got a better offer. For any other reason, you’d have to bear in mind that no matter how satisfied you are with a current position, you should be aware that there are personal and family expenses you can’t run away from, hence the need to strategize on how to move along.
If you don’t have a fall-back fund, or you don’t want to dip your hands into your emergency funds, then you should look for another job before quitting. Moreover, having another job ready will take away the emotional and financial stress that unemployment brings.
Keep Doing Your Best Before You Leave
It is childish to stop giving your best just because you want to leave. Doing so can be damaging to your reputation. The outcome of the work you do before you leave is still your responsibility, and if these outcomes are bad, they will dent your reputation.
Doing your best before you leave keeps things cordial with both your employers and your colleagues, and also makes sure you leave on good terms.
Final Words
Learning how to quit a job you just started is one of those many instances where you will need to make importance decisions in your professional career.
You don’t want to continue in a job position that stifles your professional development, or where continuance will come at the risk of family and your health. So when it comes to your dissatisfaction about a job position, you need to first access your reasons for dissatisfaction and see if anything can be done to put put things right.
Quitting might still be a good option after all else fails, and these tips highlighted will help you do it right.
