Having been a lurker for a while, your advice has always been sound and comical at the same time. Want to pick the brain of you good folk.

In a new job since April as I was made redundant Sept last year. I’ve taken a massive drop in salary of £9k, the hours are longer, have to use the train, holidays are shite and there are no perks.

Human Remains bloke said salary was not negotiable. Then he set to on taking the piss out of me as i cycled to work – “So your a lycra clad thug on a bike” I think those were his words. I don’t drive as I have a medical condition which i then pointed out to him. I do not take bullies lightly which another reason to leave.

As you can see hardly a great career move but musts needs and all that.

Does it look back to be job hunting again having just started one
Thanks

L

Does it look bad? Possibly, to some employers. But that doesn’t matter, because the worst case scenario is you don’t get that particular job, whereas if you don’t apply for anything, the only scenario is you don’t get a new job at all. And there’s probably a pretty good correlation between a) employees that make that sort of knee jerk judgement and b) shit employees

Most good employers will understand that someone, after redundancy, took a position to get back to work and now wants to move on. And what is there to lose?

Surprised you’ve left it this long to be honest. If you’re not a serial job-swapper on your CV and have sound reasons to move quickly, I don’t see a problem.

Nothing to lose from applying/getting your name out there.

I promised my current boss 12 months, the role was miss sold to me, I’m at month 9 now and have just started looking. Wish I hadn’t have promised as I’d have started looking at month 1!

I wouldn’t get upset over the HR guy’s lycra lout comments. You should have taken the piss back, or just shrugged it off. It all depends on how he said it but wouldn’t call what he said bullying (unless it was said in a threatening manner).

Trying to negotiate an increase in salary when you’ve just started a job is a bit cheeky if you’ve signed a contract agreeing to a particular sum. Can you not wait until your appraisal and then raise the issue then?

If you’re really unhappy with the company and the conditions then I’d start jobhunting now. If you’ve got the skills and qualifications / experience then I wouldn’t think that the length of time in this role would count against you. If someone raises it in an interview just tell them the reasons you have given above (travel to work, drop in salary etc).

Depends on your field but I take the line, if another company will offer a job then why not take it? Just be careful to vet the next company well.

You will always get bullies but the important thing is a job with enough positives to outweigh the negatives. It sounds like you don’t have that.

I took a job on in December which due to a variety of good reasons I knew it would not last. I contacted another company directly that I’d researched and they offered me a position. I did get grilled on why I was moving on after less than a year but that was mostly a test to see how I described the situation. I looked up the three people who held my interview and all of them had recent job stints of less than a year on their CV.

Ta for the advice.

The lack of salary discussed or not during the interview. There was no chance of it changing. His comments though not said in anger about folk wearing lycra, I just do not expect someone fronting the company to make comments like that. Not big or clever.

Sadly there are not many good points though lots of bad ones! I am hunting and i am aware of how it looks on a CV. Never job hopped before, too much stress and hard work.

Human Remains bloke said salary was not negotiable. Then he set to on taking the piss out of me as i cycled to work – “So your a lycra clad thug on a bike” I think those were his words. I don’t drive as I have a medical condition which i then pointed out to him.

Formal complaint, watch them sweat

New job how soon to move on

I’m struggling to see a reasomn why you’d want to stay, start looking. I guarantee you’ll feel better as soon as you begin!

Move before you let yourself slide and are removed. Better for your motivation and soul too if you are in the driving seat. Life’s too short. I spent over a decade at a place which imploded. I stayed 6yrs too long.

It’s perfectly natural to jump into a job after redundancy as a temporary measure. In fact IMO it shows a degree of adaptability and drive. Start looking – if something good comes up, go for it!

If you’re being interviewed for another job and asked why you’re moving on so quick, you could say you were misled about the role – it’s not stretching you enough or something – and the job you’re now going for looks more appealing.

Tell them it was a short term contract and you got some great experience etc.

8 days is the best I’ve heard of. From start date to handing notice in.

Hadn’t even done their staff orientation.

When I left university and started work, I think I ended up on my third job within about 15 months —
1st job lasted 5 weeks, company folded
2nd job – stop-gap, lot of commuting, but quite a good position
3rd job after a year at the 2nd – tapped by folk I knew from summer placements – stayed for 19 years – balanced out the average a bit!

Depends on your industry, level of work, and future employer. In interviewing I’m more interested in what examples of skills folks can offer and what they’re interested in doing for us. Sure, I’ll ask why you’re moving on. No need to make excuses, it’s clear you’d leave them if you’re applying for a job.

‘salary was not negotiable’. I like that. I had that once. I then uncovered the person who made decisions. They offered a little more. But they would not shift on the job title or benefits so I stayed put – a luxury you did not have.

The piss-taking I could take as ‘workplace banter’ from folks who you have known for a while. From HR it’s unacceptable behaviour.

Certainly doesn’t hurt to look around. How long were you in previous job before being made redundant?

I’m wary of serial job movers but currently I’d say that you didn’t move last time you were forced so that doesn’t count so unless you’ve moved a lot leaving this job shouldn’t be held against you.

I would say though that if you do move again be very careful before you jump as leaving the next job after a short while might start to look like a bit of a pattern. But I’ve been with the same company for 16 years since graduation which is getting more and more unusual so my views are perhaps a bit dated. 😀

Could you get someone to give you a reference that covers the time you’ve worked there?

I’ve recently had 3 jobs in 6 weeks, 3 weeks in the first, then got an offer and decided to take it but it was awful, and then settled in the third.

I had a reference from a mate and told the first and third I worked for them on a self-employed basis.

That HR person sounds like a right dick. Personally, I’d start looking for something else immediately. Explain your reasons for leaving at your subsequent interviews, but always put a positive spin on it.

When you leave, and the company asks why, mention the remarks of the HR guy (amongst your main reasons, of course): he deserves to be taken to task; even if it’s just a reprimand.

I was at my last job which was great by the way for 6.5 years & previous job before that I was at the same company for 20 years. Never job hopped before which is why I am concerned it would reflect badly on my cv. I have started to look at other roles though no responses yet. I could get a reference from my previous employer without a problem and they would give a better information on my actual skills.

Its amazing when works sucks it messes with your head so much.