New Job - Huge Mistake

Venomish

I started a new job on Monday after working in an IT team lead role for 3 years.
I already feel like I have made a huge mistake as the job is less of an IT role and is more focused on Finance, something I have little knowledge of.
I’m already looking for new jobs but its a small town and the chances are slim of landing a new role in the near future.
It would also look very bad if I were to leave so soon.
Any advice or tips on what I should do??

OMM 0000

Most of us have been in that situation once in our lives.

Can I ask:

Did they misrepresent the job?

Or was it a case of you just needing a job, taking this one, and now you've realised "what have I done?"

Venomish

OMM 0000 wrote: »

Most of us have been in that situation once in our lives.

Can I ask:

Did they misrepresent the job?

Or was it a case of you just needing a job, taking this one, and now you've realised "what have I done?"

A bit of both I guess,
The job was advertised as an IT based role, and while some of it it, the majority is focused on the financial sector. I took it as I was moving to the town and needed something quick, infeel like I made a huge mistake.

razorblunt

Is the work specifically tough or just not something you're interested in doing?
If its the former it might be a case that you're outside your comfort zone but you'll pick it up. If its the latter then you have a decision to make.

Venomish

razorblunt wrote: »

Is the work specifically tough or just not something you're interested in doing?
If its the former it might be a case that you're outside your comfort zone but you'll pick it up. If its the latter then you have a decision to make.

It’s definitely both, I’m sure I could pick most of it up in a few months however it’s not related to my field and would have no interest in following a career in this area.

Berserker

Venomish wrote: »

A bit of both I guess,
The job was advertised as an IT based role, and while some of it it, the majority is focused on the financial sector.

How financial is it? How much of a crossover is there into IT?

OMM 0000

I think you either need to leave immediately, or give it 6 months.

I say 6 months because you can then say 'I gave it my best, but I could see after 6 months that the role was mostly finance related, and that is not what I want to do'.

Venomish

Berserker wrote: »

How financial is it? How much of a crossover is there into IT?

Very. The IT portion is very small and boils down to using a couple of tools to do some support and queries.

OMM 0000 wrote: »

I think you either need to leave immediately, or give it 6 months.

I say 6 months because you can then say 'I gave it my best, but I could see after 6 months that the role was mostly finance related, and that is not what I want to do'.

Sadly I cannot afford to leave immediately. Another guy started with me on Monday and had a chat with him this morning and feels the same, it’s definitely not an IT role.

Thumpette

Sounds pretty straight forward OP.

Firstly, after feeling established at any job then a big change is almost always going to lead to feelings of 'oh ****- what have I done!'

I think it's pretty understandable as well that the part which is different to your old job (the finance part in this case) is going to feel like the bigest portion even if it's ultimately not.

Sounds like you changed jobs for geography and not just because you wanted a job.

Sounds like there arent a lot of other options.

Sounds like they believe and you believe that you are capable of doing the job.

Sounds like financially you dont have a choice to just leave.

Honestly, I think we all spend a bit too much time naval gazing about perfect job matches. Ultimately you are in a role which you can do in a town that suits you. I would stop the panic about whether it's a huge mistake or not and embrace it. Learn what you can learn, give 100% and in 6 months or so decide how you feel. You might grow to love it or 6 months might confirm it's not for you but ultimately any job which isnt going back to your previous one will come with this initial panic.

Relax, and congrats on the new job!

Latro

Give it a bit more time. At least a month or two. The way you feel right now is not unusual after switching a job.

Tomw86

Thumpette wrote: »

Sounds pretty straight forward OP.

Firstly, after feeling established at any job then a big change is almost always going to lead to feelings of 'oh ****- what have I done!'

I think it's pretty understandable as well that the part which is different to your old job (the finance part in this case) is going to feel like the bigest portion even if it's ultimately not.

Sounds like you changed jobs for geography and not just because you wanted a job.

Sounds like there arent a lot of other options.

Sounds like they believe and you believe that you are capable of doing the job.

Sounds like financially you dont have a choice to just leave.

Honestly, I think we all spend a bit too much time naval gazing about perfect job matches. Ultimately you are in a role which you can do in a town that suits you. I would stop the panic about whether it's a huge mistake or not and embrace it. Learn what you can learn, give 100% and in 6 months or so decide how you feel. You might grow to love it or 6 months might confirm it's not for you but ultimately any job which isnt going back to your previous one will come with this initial panic.

Relax, and congrats on the new job!

I largely agree with this. Location is the reason you took the job and thus you would be limited on other options.

I have been in a similar situation, where I thought ''what have I done, this isn't as advertise, this company is stuck in the stone ages and not progressive at all'' - Location was not an issue for me but I did give it 3/4 months before I started looking and left at the 6 month stage.

In any subsequent interviews, I just say that the role was not as complete as advertised and I felt it was a step backwards in the career path I wanted to take - mistakes with roles can happen so it is accepted.

Keep the head up and maybe approach some recruiters now.

Venomish

Thanks for the advice, this current job requires 3 months notice which will also probably hinder any new job search,

i have already put my cv back online and will actively search for new roles after xmas.

Tell me how

Venomish wrote: »

Thanks for the advice, this current job requires 3 months notice which will also probably hinder any new job search,

i have already put my cv back online and will actively search for new roles after xmas.

Can I suggest aiming for the 6 month time frame before leaving as others have said.

If nothing else, you will have given it a fair opportunity and by that time, will have gained 6 months experience in a financial capacity. This is something which could be appealing to other companies even if future role are IT focused.

No one ever was looked down on for knowing more about the financial element of a business.

OldMrBrennan83

Look for a job and keep this one to keep money coming in while you look. Don't worry about notice either, you'll never be on the hook for 3 months at this stage.

Berserker

Venomish wrote: »

Thanks for the advice, this current job requires 3 months notice which will also probably hinder any new job search,

i have already put my cv back online and will actively search for new roles after xmas.

Three months during your probation period?

Tomw86

Venomish wrote: »

Thanks for the advice, this current job requires 3 months notice which will also probably hinder any new job search,

i have already put my cv back online and will actively search for new roles after xmas.

Are you sure? All roles I have been in in the Financial Sector are 3 or 3 months notice but that's only upon completion of a probationary period...perhaps you do not have this tho! Worth checking your contract.

Venomish

Patww79 wrote: »

Look for a job and keep this one to keep money coming in while you look. Don't worry about notice either, you'll never be on the hook for 3 months at this stage.

Thanks,
i casually mentioned this to a guy on my team yesterday and he mentioned that hr take legal action on people who leave before their 3 months period. My first payday will be the 21st so will def hold off til then.

Berserker

Venomish wrote: »

Thanks,
i casually mentioned this to a guy on my team yesterday and he mentioned that hr take legal action on people who leave before their 3 months period. My first payday will be the 21st so will def hold off til then.

I can't see why a company would do that. There's nothing in it for them given you have only been part of the organisation for such a short period.

Tell me how

Berserker wrote: »

I can't see why a company would do that. There's nothing in it for them given you have only been part of the organisation for such a short period.

They may have forked out significant fees to recruitment companies and look to recoup some of that. (Although I understand such fees are usually paid after probation is completed).

Tomw86

Tell me how wrote: »

They may have forked out significant fees to recruitment companies and look to recoup some of that. (Although I understand such fees are usually paid after probation is completed).

Correct, fees are only paid after probation - however the OP may not have a probationary period and thus they may be payable immediately.

I would imagine if the OP is paid, it is in arrears of time worked, so if they left prior to the 3 months the company may withhold wages/holiday pay earned.

Venomish

Venomish wrote: »

Thanks,
i casually mentioned this to a guy on my team yesterday and he mentioned that hr take legal action on people who leave before their 3 months period. My first payday will be the 21st so will def hold off til then.

As far as I'm aware slave labour is illegal. Give them a month and don't worry about it. what exactly do they pursue you for legally? Did you use a recruitment agency? If so then the agency will find them a replacement at no extra cost.

Probation period is a two way thing, they are also on probation.

Plus they lied, so contract is null and void. If anything, you can sue them.

Tomw86

Deleted User wrote: »

As far as I'm aware slave labour is illegal. Give them a month and don't worry about it. what exactly do they pursue you for legally? Did you use a recruitment agency? If so then the agency will find them a replacement at no extra cost.

Probation period is a two way thing, they are also on probation.

Plus they lied, so contract is null and void. If anything, you can sue them.

Probation is only in place if it is in the contract. This is not confirmed.

I would think all they will do is withhold wages so you're right, you could forfeit that and leave after a week or a month if you wanted to.

I have personally seen this happen where someone on 2 months left after 3 weeks and rang in sick the remainder. HR requested doctors notes and withheld payment of holiday pay accrued and whatever he was owed for time worked.

Venomish

The job was through a recruitment agency, had a look at the contract and it only has one line saying 3 months notice must be given. Theres no other info except a fine will given if you leave within 12 months for expenses accrused for exam payments (?)

stabeek

Is it a new role in the company? Well it would require shaping then which you can influence and direct towards your strengths

If you replaced somebody, they probably left some mess at least ... (and if not it's poorly documented) so you can say that it would be easier to start from scratch and mould all that to fit your strengths.

Venomish

stabeek wrote: »

Is it a new role in the company? Well it would require shaping then which you can influence and direct towards your strengths

If you replaced somebody, they probably left some mess at least ... (and if not it's poorly documented) so you can say that it would be easier to start from scratch and mould all that to fit your strengths.

Its not a new role,
Its replacing someone whose leaving in 3 months

stabeek

OK, my answer not relevant, then, sorry.

Tomw86

Venomish wrote: »

The job was through a recruitment agency, had a look at the contract and it only has one line saying 3 months notice must be given. Theres no other info except a fine will given if you leave within 12 months for expenses accrused for exam payments (?)

Yeah that last part is common enough, if they pay to train you through external bodies they will want reimbursing if you leave.

So, there is no mention of a probation period or anything?
Do you have all the extra incentives that come with a permenant role already? eg. Healthcare, Pension, etc

Might be worth casually asking HR about it....

Venomish

Tomw86 wrote: »

Yeah that last part is common enough, if they pay to train you through external bodies they will want reimbursing if you leave.

So, there is no mention of a probation period or anything?
Do you have all the extra incentives that come with a permenant role already? eg. Healthcare, Pension, etc

Might be worth casually asking HR about it....

There is a mention in the contract of 6 months probation, the more ai read the more I notice how vague the contract actually is.
I did sign docs relating to pension and healthcare but whether they get taken out of my forst pay check im not sure yet

JustMe,K

Venomish wrote: »

There is a mention in the contract of 6 months probation, the more ai read the more I notice how vague the contract actually is.
I did sign docs relating to pension and healthcare but whether they get taken out of my forst pay check im not sure yet

there should be a section in your contract that specifically deals with notice in your probationary period? I doubt that they will give you 3 months notice if you are not meeting their expectations. I would also suspect that if you were to give your 3 months notice now they would find a way to terminate quicker.

Just hang in there for now, OP.

Berserker

Venomish wrote: »

The job was through a recruitment agency, had a look at the contract and it only has one line saying 3 months notice must be given. Theres no other info except a fine will given if you leave within 12 months for expenses accrused for exam payments (?)

The expenses part is very common. I'm dodging training in my current role (there isn't much of it anyway) because of that clause. I won't be there after September next year, so I'm not paying for training.

Venomish wrote: »

There is a mention in the contract of 6 months probation, the more ai read the more I notice how vague the contract actually is.
I did sign docs relating to pension and healthcare but whether they get taken out of my forst pay check im not sure yet

Well, first lesson learned is to read your contract. Does it say when your pension kicks in? Pensions kick in after completing probation in some companies. Ditto for health insurance. Good to hear that there is a probation period in your contract. I'd get clarification of what that entails.

Tomw86

Berserker wrote: »

The expenses part is very common. I'm dodging training in my current role (there isn't much of it anyway) because of that clause. I won't be there after September next year, so I'm not paying for training.



Well, first lesson learned is to read your contract. Does it say when your pension kicks in? Pensions kick in after completing probation in some companies. Ditto for health insurance. Good to hear that there is a probation period in your contract. I'd get clarification of what that entails.

Agreed on the probation, if you're on probation the notice period will most certainly not be 3 months. Best to clarify with HR or your line manager.

TrustedApple

It'd still early days.

You are in the job 4 days give it time you might become great in it.

My own role is something I had no clue about in IT and love it and push myself everyday to give 120%. I have learned a lot and won't to learn more.

My dept is a mess at this moment time. I am trying to put control and a clear plan for it in place and have endless disagreements about doing things better and cheaper.

Who knows that could be you in 2 years time

uptothetop

Venomish wrote: »

I started a new job on Monday after working in an IT team lead role for 3 years.
I already feel like I have made a huge mistake as the job is less of an IT role and is more focused on Finance, something I have little knowledge of.
I’m already looking for new jobs but its a small town and the chances are slim of landing a new role in the near future.
It would also look very bad if I were to leave so soon.
Any advice or tips on what I should do??

If you were happy enough in your previous job and you didn't defecated on top of your bosses desk before announcing that you quit, then maybe there is a chance that you will be able to come back. You can also try to turn whole situation other way around and tell them that you've gave up your job due to financial reasons so if they will pay you more this time, then they can be happy to have their best IT lead back