Minto Roy - Not Enjoying Permanent Job?
Question:
After several short term contracts and fill-in positions covering maternity leaves and vacations, I have a full time permanent position in my field. The problem is, I don't enjoy it as much as I thought I would and I'm more tired and stressed than I thought I would be. Can I afford to quit a FT gig and have another six month stint on my resume? I have excellent references. Does length of stay really matter that much?
- Zane
Answer:
Well, Zane, I always hate being in the position of suggesting that people make the best of a bad situation but sometimes that’s what we have to do. If you had said that your job is making you sick and you are damaging your health in the long term or that you had an abusive boss or toxic work environment, of course anyone would say that you should damn the resume optics and just take care of yourself. But it sounds more like you are describing a fairly typical case of adjustment and growing pains. A certain amount of stress and overwhelm in your first permanent full time position in many years is to be expected – likely for at least the first year. Research suggests that it takes 12-18 months for new employees to adapt to their new workplace culture and feel confident in their mastery of the full scope of their role. Even adjusting your expectations of how relatively hard or easy the transition should be for you may lessen some of your stress. Constantly thinking “I thought it would be different” and “It should be easier than this” takes a lot of energy and makes things harder. In the Buddhist tradition, a highly instructive principle says that “Pain is necessary but suffering is optional.” We often make ourselves suffer by the judgments we make about life’s pain. Give yourself a break: you have some adjusting to do.
And all this is because, in answer to your closing question, yes, length of stay does matter. A resume full of part time, temporary and short contract placements does not inspire confidence in recruiting employers. They worry you are flighty, unable to commit or, worse, unable to deliver results. And that’s a justifiable fear when you consider how much they have to invest in your training and development before you will be working at full capacity: the same 12-18 months that applies to you also applies to them.
My advice is to do a very honest assessment of where you are: if you are genuinely in an unhealthy situation, get out. But if you are just having a hard time at something which is reasonably going to be hard for awhile, changing jobs will only make things worse. You’ll have to get past the negative impression created by another short stay on your resume and you’ll have to go through yet another stressful orientation and adjustment period in the next place. If you can, stay a few years with one employer and try to get any need for change met with internal advancement which will fill out a sketchy resume and give you more options for the future. Stay strong and good luck.
Minto Roy
President
CareersToday Canada
www.careerstodaycanada.com
www.mintoroy.net