New job not a good fit!
Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but here goes...
I recently graduated with my MBA (May 2007) and havebeen working at my new job for 2 months. I already know it is not agood fit on several levels, even though I am constantly told that I amtalented, well liked, and that they have big plans for me. The companyis highly decentralized all across the country and I work in an officeof only 6 people, so transferring to another department is not atoption (ie. relocation is not an option due to my spouse's high salaryand great job). It also doesn't help that I don't like the commonpractices in my employer's industry.
In addition, the positionis very stressful, I have had no training, work very long hours, and Ihave been asked to do things that are not exactly ethical. I reallywant to quit, but I am afraid of walking away from an $85K+ job withoutsomething else in hand. I have never had to leave a position beforefor reasons other than a spouse relocation or going back to school, sothis whole process is new to me.
The question is, how do I goabout looking for a new job? Should I leave my current position off ofmy resume? I have done some interesting things and made a measurableimpact already, but I am afraid that I will passed over since I haveonly been there a short time. My thoughts are that since I am a recentgraduate, it won't look so bad to now have a current job on my resume.
Iwill also have to deal with a slight complication: I have a broadnon-compete agreement that prohibits me from working for any companythat does anything that my employer or any of its affiliates orsubsidiaries do for 6 months. So that pretty much means almostanything in financial services. Good news is that my spouse and I haveenough money saved to do that. Going back to school for anothersemester is an option as well.
Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks.
Define unethical...
As for the uncompete clause, I'm not sure they can enforce it. While it used to be common practice to make workers sign no-compete contracts that extend beyond their tenure, the courts have recognized it is unreasonable to force people to change industries once you are no longer employed by them. You still have to honor the confidentiality agreements, of course, but they can't force you to turn down work. You'd should get a lawyer's opinion just to be safe.
If you are being asked to do something unethical, I trust you know whether it IS truly unethical - and that alone is reason not to stick around. Just my thought. To me, that's reason enough to get out. I don't know what it is, and you certainly do not have to elaborate here if you don't feel comfortable doing so, but to me, that seems to me to be something that could blow up in your face a he** of a lot worse than the 2 month "gap" that would be on your resume, ya know? It's entirley possible to quietly look for something else, and I agree w/the other poster that it seems to me a difficult task for them to truly prevent you from gainful employement elsewhere as long as you don't breach confidentiality.
When I accepted the position, I was told I would be in a training program, so I thought I could get experience and then move on in a couple years. Well, there is no training and no plan, so we are flying completely by the seat of our pants. I am totally willing to learn new skills, but the field is so specialized and constantly changing that I have no idea where to even start looking for resources. My office culture is really wierd too. Its probably because I am the only American other than my boss(who is frequently traveling). The 4 others are really nice, but I just don't fit in, and they are always speaking in their native language, so I feel very isolated. The amount of travel I am having to do is also twice as much as I was told I would be doing during interviews. There is no way I can operate in this environment for another 10 months and keep my sanity.
Thanks for letting me vent. This whole situation is making me really depressed.
If numbers are being padded, I'd say you've crossed over from unethical to illegal. Get out now. You can go to jail. There are several law-abiding citizens who have been in prision for the last couple of decades, even though they could prove that they were just following their managers' orders. Fraud is fraud whether you do it on behalf of someone else.
As far as the no-compete clause, I'm even more sure that they can't enforce it. I'll bet these guys would rather not see the inside of a courthouse.
I have made my decision to leave ASAP. I am sending out some resumes without my current position so it appears that I just graduated in May 2007. Of course I will disclose that I am currently employed if/when I get interviews, since I will have to be honest about the non-compete, etc.
I am also seriously considering giving notice at the end of this week and registering for a full semester of accounting classes to complement my general MBA. I can swing it financially for about 6 months, so that will get me through another semester before I need to start panicking.
So, in spite of all this, why do I feel like a failure right now? I feel like I am going to ruin my chances of having a high-paying, high-responsiblity career, and will have to go back to working in a call center or something. My MBA doesn't seem to have much value without industry work experience.
Again, what you'd been directed to do may be fraud, even if it doesn't involve accounting. I think you can ignore the clause. Again, check with a lawyer.
You're not a failure. These things happen.
A bad company signal... Your constantly told your talented. Sounds like a turnover problem, and/or they're afraid to lose you. Is this position newly created, or an open door spot.
Not sure what you mean by business practices, but this isn't a classroom structure environment. Your in the world of business. Anything goes - nowaday. Ethical - can you say ENRON.
You have an MBA. You must have learn somewhere on along the way you don't leave a gig without another - in hand. Additionally, with your MBA in hand - your training should have come in the line of related MBA projects - right. It should have been the reason you where hired. No wonder your not getting it. It's not related.
This is a no brainer. I only have a B.S. - so I'm probably not qualified to answer your questions. However, without insulting comments - if you read you post again, your answer is in the post.
Hint: Unless your a doctor no more school - just get a better job. Speaking of job - time to go.
I don't plan on leaving without something else lined up unless it get really bad or my health is affected. In my opinion, a job is not worth compromising my integrity or well-being. I am simply venting my frustration with the situation. If I was able to relocate, I would have a really easy time finding a job since I still have headhunters contacting me. However, I can't move, so I am limited to what is available where I live now. There are more accounting types needed that straight finance, so that is why I was thinking about accounting classes.
Also, don't discount your BS degree...I know lots of people without MBAs that are way smarter than my MBA classmates (at a top school, too). I sometimes joke that MBA stand for Master Bullsh*t Artist!
Post
"a job is not worth compromising my integrity or well-being." That sounds nice in a class environment, but like a said your in the real world of cutt-throat, dog-eat-dog, steal business from the competitor environment. If you have Ethics issues with that - then you wasted a lot of money on a piece of paper.
Good luck - new grad.