How long should you stay at a new job before deciding it's not for you?

[Denim&Venöm 14,344]

Inspired by my own change in job, how long should one stick with a new job position before deciding 'Hey, this isn't for me'? 

If you already don't like the work or the environment day one, should you back out ASAP? Should you give it a week first? Give it two or three to get feel for things? A month to get used to them? As long as three months to get fully adjusted? Maybe even a year so as not to leave a bad impression? 

What is the right amount of time to give a new job a chance?

[Fluttershutter 1,652]

If you need the money just swear and bare it.

[SparklingSwirls 21,120]

I guess until you're able to find a better job. Personally if I really didn't like a place I'd probably give it at least a few weeks unless it was really bad (like harassment/assault bad) and it warranted quitting on the spot. 

[Clawdeen 6,112]

For me personally I don't care much for my job at all(mostly people issues as I've always complained about.). However there's currently not much out there for me to post out for and due to how unstable the company is I'm kind of afraid to make that risk.

Not only that but two of the people I have issues with have posted out so I have a glimmer of hope of a positive change coming if these two leave. If this falls through then I'll probably end up taking the chance and posting out first opportunity I get.

[Tom Gallagher 33,408]

At least give it a go and if it doesn’t improve after a week or so, then you could consider leaving and finding another.

[Dreambiscuit 6,879]

The usual rule of thumb for me is to wait two weeks. Usually if the job is going to work out you’ll know it by then. Conversely, if it’s not going to work out the writing will be on the wall. Two weeks gives you a chance to get past the misery of being the ‘new guy,’ become familiar and reasonably proficient, and see if the job is something you can be comfortable with. But if the job is so terrible that you know right away you could never stick with it, by all means, bail. I’ve had so many jobs I’ve quit within a few days of starting and I don’t regret any of them really. Having another means of supporting yourself may also play into your decision. If you need the money, dig in until you have something better, and then bail.

[HedonismBot 208]

There isn't a one-size-fits-all time frame. It's all a matter of getting to know the company and the other people in it well enough to know whether there is any realistic hope of things getting better (say, opportunities for promotion). Of course, any signs of an outright toxic environment (harassment, discrimination, Washouts-level disdain for workplace safety, that kind of thing) are grounds to get out as soon as you feasibly can.

[Astral Soul 19,144]

From life experience I know that in the beginning and they can get better if you give it a little time. I say at least two months. If a job is completely depressing you, you can should leave earlier. On the other hand if you really need money, that is maybe not an option.

[Kujamih 10,593]

6 hours ago, Astral Soul said:

From life experience I know that in the beginning and they can get better if you give it a little time. I say at least two months. If a job is completely depressing you, you can should leave earlier. On the other hand if you really need money, that is maybe not an option.

Smart.

[TBD 16,736]

I think all the jobs I had worked for has been shit, I can't decided which is worst, office job or retails, but at the end it comes down to who pays me better.  I just bare it for the money. 

[Sunset Rose 237]

I was actually thinking about something relating to this topic not that long ago. This person and I were having a conversation in a thread on Reddit about something similar. They know me in real life and are under the (not entirely inaccurate) impression that I hate my job because I've been at it for a very long time and feel taken advantage of on a daily basis. But I've always stuck it out, and try not to complain because I feel like it would set a dangerous precedent for the company to have to deal with. It's employees demanding they compensate them more fairly is not something it can financially do. And they ask a lot of me at all hours of the day forgetting I'm on the other side of the world now. The problem comes when the employer knows that you know that, and that you're loyal anyway. Because I've been with the company for 15 years and I personally am really proud of how far the company has come from a tiny upstart to what it is now, with my help. They know they can do what they want with me and I'm not going to complain because I feel awful for complaining about anything. Like I'm 'the problem' if I do. But that in itself is the problem.

The person I was talking to still lives in America where the company is based, and they have long moved on. But they keep making comments like companies should basically bow to their employees and overcompensate them for everything they do. That if you in any way don't like your job or the career you're in, you should immediately drop it. Not only does that feels very privileged and ignorant to me, it feels like an opinion gaining traction in the Western world. I don't have the financial or emotional capability to just quit like that, and I don't think many other people do either. Small companies are a plate spinning act, and any personnel shakeup above seasonal help feels like an earthquake. The notion that people should quit because it isn't the perfect wonderland for them is frankly ridiculous to me. I put up with a lot of stuff I don't like at my job- I mean a lot- but that's just part of being an adult. Most people in my life do things I don't like. Invariably all of them, in fact. I just love some more than others so they get a pass, haha.

I know that's not necessarily on-topic for this, but I felt like it was relevant enough to vent somewhere other than Reddit or in person. In terms of the topic itself, I personally believe you should only consider moving on if the job is not capable of supporting you financially enough, in which case you find one that pays better. Or it's too physically or emotionally damaging to your personal health. With perspective, of course. Because many will say every job is too emotionally damaging with no frame of reference of what real emotional trauma is.

[CheeryFox 23,753]

I did the month thing. You can grin and bear it if you want - but I think a month is enough time to assess things. 

[Fluttershyfan94 5,719]

Well I am an entrepreneur and an investor as such I pretty much think of work more as what I want to do at that particular moment in time. I don't have to work as I'm considered to be wealthy but that doesn't mean I don't have the aspiration to work. Yet what it does mean is I personally wouldn't spend much time in a job that I don't like to be fair. Would for specific reasons but otherwise no, however in regards to your resume you want to at least stay for a year or so I mean it may sound like a long time working a job you don't like but it is not. Since essentially you should apply for another job while working that current job and a little advice to you folks that want to increase your wage is to say you had that new job offering and let's just say you exaggerate slightly the pay they're willing to offer you. If the company you work for sees you as a key employee they will be willing to pay as much as they have to for keeping you. Yet if not even so you have another job offer that you could take or you could make a deal for higher wages to stay there. Never forget the fact that you as the employee have a bargaining power as in the fact that for the company to advertise and find a new employee will cost them a lot more then to just raise your wages within of course reason.

[Splashee 28,471]

Give your new job a chance. Anything takes time to get used to. You will always run into that person you love to hate, no matter where you are. You will always find complaints if you look hard enough. Of course, always have backup plans (more job opportunities available if needed)

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,785]

For me, I know there are jobs that I certainly wouldn't succeed at. One of those are call centers. No way am I compatible with that...from irate customers to just the generally stressful environment. When I was applying for a job at a call center, everyone else was totally antisocial and I knew right there that things wouldn't work. Other times, it's the bosses that can mess up your opinion of jobs, like the time I was a camp counselor for my city's therapeutic recreation program. 

[Steve Piranha 25,986]

On 2021-05-19 at 10:11 AM, Fluttershutter said:

If you need the money just swear and bare it.

Pretty much what happened to two crappy jobs I had before, about half a year each. I’m currently at a much better paying one, for two years in a few days