4 ms·

Twentysomething: Why it's smart to quit a job after just two weeks of work

5 points by twampss 18y ago

omnivore 18y ago
The author of this post is the same person who created the site to get hired by Twitter. (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=510591 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=510591) The timing of this post and the visibility of it, really, really stinks.
chris11 18y ago
This is horrible advice. Sure, you should always deal with boredom and a lack of motivation in your career, but that doesn't mean quitting after two weeks. If the job entailed doing something new, for instance a sales job for me since I haven't done a lot of sales, you should a least stick it out. I'd really doubt that you would have the knowledge and experience to be successful at a totally new task after two weeks. And if the job tasks you hated, weren't new for to you, I question the level of research you did before accepting the job. Basically, quitting before two weeks should only be for huge problems, like if someone with a potentially deadly allergic reaction to peanuts was asked to work in a peanut processing plant. Those issues should all be taken care of before you accept the job. Also the company is making a big investment in hiring you, so I'd consider it almost unethical to quit a job after weeks just because I disliked it. She should have worked with her boss and the company to improve her job satisfaction.
- menloparkbum 18y ago
  It may seem unbelievable on HN, but there are many shockingly stupid and hopeless tech startups in the Bay Area. Sometimes it's hard to tell upfront how bad things really are until you get hired. I signed up for a job last summer that I thought was going to be really cool. Awesome product, super fun "space," cool seeming co-workers and so forth. However, it turned out the boss was a sociopath and psychopath. The company was being sued by multiple customers. The boss was being sued by multiple former employees for harassment and withholding wages. The engineering manager was a pathological liar. The software was largely smoke and mirrors. It looked GREAT but was totally rotten on the inside. I persisted for 4 months but really all I got out of it was poor health and a bad attitude. I also missed a number of opportunities to work with other companies I had previously interviewed with. I really wish I would have quit after 3 weeks.
  - chris11 18y ago
    In your case quitting sooner probably would have been appropriate. I was assuming that the company was basically a good company in her case, and that she hadn't done enough research on the company before joining. I still believe that. Other things like figuring out that your boss is a psychopath and pathological liar can take more time than just one or two meetings. I wouldn't want to work for somebody like that for a few months. But I wouldn't be bragging about it. If I got another job quickly, I wouldn't even think about putting it on my resume.
jleyank 18y ago
Never give hiring managers a reason to take your resume off the "in" pile and put it into the circular file. Switching jobs "too often", which is ill-defined of course, is a red flag.

5 points by twampss 18y ago

The author of this post is the same person who created the site to get hired by Twitter. (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=510591 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=510591) The timing of this post and the visibility of it, really, really stinks.

chris11 18y ago

This is horrible advice. Sure, you should always deal with boredom and a lack of motivation in your career, but that doesn't mean quitting after two weeks. If the job entailed doing something new, for instance a sales job for me since I haven't done a lot of sales, you should a least stick it out. I'd really doubt that you would have the knowledge and experience to be successful at a totally new task after two weeks. And if the job tasks you hated, weren't new for to you, I question the level of research you did before accepting the job. Basically, quitting before two weeks should only be for huge problems, like if someone with a potentially deadly allergic reaction to peanuts was asked to work in a peanut processing plant. Those issues should all be taken care of before you accept the job. Also the company is making a big investment in hiring you, so I'd consider it almost unethical to quit a job after weeks just because I disliked it. She should have worked with her boss and the company to improve her job satisfaction.

menloparkbum 18y ago
It may seem unbelievable on HN, but there are many shockingly stupid and hopeless tech startups in the Bay Area. Sometimes it's hard to tell upfront how bad things really are until you get hired. I signed up for a job last summer that I thought was going to be really cool. Awesome product, super fun "space," cool seeming co-workers and so forth. However, it turned out the boss was a sociopath and psychopath. The company was being sued by multiple customers. The boss was being sued by multiple former employees for harassment and withholding wages. The engineering manager was a pathological liar. The software was largely smoke and mirrors. It looked GREAT but was totally rotten on the inside. I persisted for 4 months but really all I got out of it was poor health and a bad attitude. I also missed a number of opportunities to work with other companies I had previously interviewed with. I really wish I would have quit after 3 weeks.
- chris11 18y ago
  In your case quitting sooner probably would have been appropriate. I was assuming that the company was basically a good company in her case, and that she hadn't done enough research on the company before joining. I still believe that. Other things like figuring out that your boss is a psychopath and pathological liar can take more time than just one or two meetings. I wouldn't want to work for somebody like that for a few months. But I wouldn't be bragging about it. If I got another job quickly, I wouldn't even think about putting it on my resume.

jleyank 18y ago

Never give hiring managers a reason to take your resume off the "in" pile and put it into the circular file. Switching jobs "too often", which is ill-defined of course, is a red flag.