I want to quit my job

[ColdFusion718]

It's gotten to the point where I don't want to come in. Waiting for my time to get out is like pulling teeth.

I do have one dilemma though: I don't have another job lined up yet. However, it's so bad here that I don't mind being unemployed for a few weeks.

My sister says it's career suicide to quit a job before securing another one. Those of you who have been out in the real world for quite some time, what do you recommend?

Yes, it's that bad that I want out. Not only that, everyone on my team wants out but they can't because they all have families to support whereas I don't--I'm the youngest amongst us.

Thanks in advance for the advice.

EDIT: Questions answered

1). Industry I'm in -- claims services (technical support + business admin)
2). I have about 2 weeks of vacation saved up
3). A project started about a month ago, in another month it will be so insanely crazy here, especially if I am gone.
4). Let's just say I have enough money saved up to be unemployed for about 3 years.

UPDATE: I quit on Nov 8th and I couldn't be happier

 

[sash1]

Give your two weeks. Use those two weeks to find a new job. As you said, if you don't mind being unemployed for a while, well, that gives you a month.

 

[Stuxnet]

Yes, it's bad. It creates a gap on your resume. Even if you can swing it financially, it's not wise. You've done it this long, what's a couple more weeks?

 

[Kelemvor]

I'd just start getting automated emails from job places (monster, hotjobs, careerbuilder, etc) and find something. Personally I wouldn't quit until I had something for sure lined up. Most companies are fine if you say you can start in 2 weeks.

Depending on your industry, itd suck to leave the job and end up not finding one for a few months....

 

[D1gger]

I'm not sure I would agree that it is career suicide to quit without a new job, but it certainly is risky.

What is the job market like where you live? Are you confident you could find another position in a "few weeks"?

Do you have any vacation time you could take to look for new position?

As an employer, I do always question why someone is currently unemployed. It is a very good job market where I am and if someone is unemployed there may be a good reason no one else has hired him.

 

[Vegitto]

Keep sitting there until you've found a new job. After that, give in your 1-day-notice, or as short of a period as you could professionally do. TELLING your boss to go fsck himself is not a good idea. Letting him know you want him to go fsck himself by ditching him when he needs you the most (if he's really such an ass) is widely accepted, though .

 

[ColdFusion718]

I answered the questions you guy asked. Check the OP.

 

[Injury]

I recommend you sit down and keep working as long as you are getting a paycheck, and if you want a new job you should find one first.

What the hell kind of field are you in that you can be so confident that you'll only be unemployed for a couple of weeks. It took me MONTHS to get a job in my field after college.

Granted, experience will help, but what do you say to an employer on an interview about your job situation? There is NO way to sidestep or safely explain quitting because you didn't like a job. No matter where you work, there will always be something you hate about your job, and if you are desperate for a job because you already quit, you are more likely to settle on a job you don't like just to pay the bills.

Get a job first. Don't be dumb.

 

[Stuxnet]

Originally posted by: Vegitto
Keep sitting there until you've found a new job. After that, give in your 1-day-notice, or as short of a period as you could professionally do. TELLING your boss to go fsck himself is not a good idea. Letting him know you want him to go fsck himself by ditching him when he needs you the most (if he's really such an ass) is widely accepted, though .

One of the few questions HR will answer when someone does your background check is how much notice you gave when you left.

1 day's notice is pretty much the same as telling your boss to go fsck himself.

 

[dmw16]

i wouldnt quit until i had another job lined up. take your vacation time and try to find another job, but dont cut your nose of to spite your face.

 

[yowolabi]

Originally posted by: ColdFusion718
It's gotten to the point where I don't want to come in. Waiting for my time to get out is like pulling teeth.

I do have one dilemma though: I don't have another job lined up yet. However, it's so bad here that I don't mind being unemployed for a few weeks.

My sister says it's career suicide to quit a job before securing another one. Those of you who have been out in the real world for quite some time, what do you recommend?

Yes, it's that bad that I want out. Not only that, everyone on my team wants out but they can't because they all have families to support whereas I don't--I'm the youngest amongst us.

Thanks in advance for the advice.

EDIT: Questions answered

1). Industry I'm in -- claims services (technical support + business admin)
2). I have about 2 weeks of vacation saved up
3). A project started about a month ago, in another month it will be so insanely crazy here, especially if I am gone.

I just walked out once under the same circumstances. It was the first job i could find after i got back from college, at a not-for-profit company that had done a bunch of layoffs. I pretty much got the duties of 3 people for less than any of them were making.

I was severely over-worked and underpaid, and things just kept getting worse and worse. They fired my manager who was making 4x as much as me and gave me all her duties with no raise. They made the former Executive admin my new boss, so I had no one to go to anymore. Finally, I just had enough and just quit. I knew without a doubt that I could do much better and there was no way I could do worse.

I started a job making 50% more within 2 months, where I actually enjoyed the work. 3-4 years later i'm making 2.5 times what I was making there and really enjoy my job. Quitting with no backup plan is usually a bad idea, but there are no absolutes in this world. I had two months of rent/bills saved up and I knew that I had options, whether it was doing short contract jobs or working retail for about the same that i had been making. Only you know if you're prepared for this and if it's essential to quit immediately. If you think you are, go for it.

 

[Pastore]

About getting a job secured before quitting. What do you guys do to go to all of these interviews? Vacation days/sick days? My employer would be awful wary if I took a sick day or vacation day, seeing as I hardly ever take my time off. What if you have 3 interviews in a single week? Won't that look ridiculous taking that time off for an interview?

 

[Vegitto]

Originally posted by: jbourne77

Originally posted by: Vegitto
Keep sitting there until you've found a new job. After that, give in your 1-day-notice, or as short of a period as you could professionally do. TELLING your boss to go fsck himself is not a good idea. Letting him know you want him to go fsck himself by ditching him when he needs you the most (if he's really such an ass) is widely accepted, though .

One of the few questions HR will answer when someone does your background check is how much notice you gave when you left.

1 day's notice is pretty much the same as telling your boss to go fsck himself.

Oops.. Two-weeks notice, then. Come on, OP, life ain't so bad. At least you've got a job.

 

[Vegitto]

Originally posted by: Pastore
About getting a job secured before quitting. What do you guys do to go to all of these interviews? Vacation days/sick days? My employer would be awful wary if I took a sick day or vacation day, seeing as I hardly ever take my time off. What if you have 3 interviews in a single week? Won't that look ridiculous taking that time off for an interview?

Why? They're YOUR days off, for all they know you've got a sick puppy you want to visit.

 

[Rumpltzer]

I gave like 4 days notice before I left my last job. I looked it up in the company policy and they said that I could be fired at any moment without notice, but I could also quit without notice. I forget what they called it.

It's not like the company could have found another doctorate in II-VI molecular beam epitaxy in two weeks, so it's not like I was really screwing them.


I don't think that a few weeks gap in your resume is career suicide at all. All the same, though, I wouldn't risk walking out of one paycheck without knowing where the next one would be coming from.

 

[Pastore]

Originally posted by: Vegitto

Originally posted by: Pastore
About getting a job secured before quitting. What do you guys do to go to all of these interviews? Vacation days/sick days? My employer would be awful wary if I took a sick day or vacation day, seeing as I hardly ever take my time off. What if you have 3 interviews in a single week? Won't that look ridiculous taking that time off for an interview?

Why? They're YOUR days off, for all they know you've got a sick puppy you want to visit.

Ok, what if said company is very small and everyone knows you very well?

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: Pastore
About getting a job secured before quitting. What do you guys do to go to all of these interviews? Vacation days/sick days? My employer would be awful wary if I took a sick day or vacation day, seeing as I hardly ever take my time off. What if you have 3 interviews in a single week? Won't that look ridiculous taking that time off for an interview?

i've been wondering about that too.
i rarely take off also, and when i do, its because i have something to do, like take the car to the mechanic or something like that. of course, i only got 5 days when i started here and 7 days on my 1st anniversary. i'll be starting my 2nd year soon and will have 9 days unless they upped the vacation time like they were talking about.

 

[yowolabi]

Originally posted by: Pastore
About getting a job secured before quitting. What do you guys do to go to all of these interviews? Vacation days/sick days? My employer would be awful wary if I took a sick day or vacation day, seeing as I hardly ever take my time off. What if you have 3 interviews in a single week? Won't that look ridiculous taking that time off for an interview?

You try to schedule multiple interviews for the same day. Also schedule the interview for really early or late so you can take only part of the day off. If you can't schedule for the same day, then do back to back days.

And really, it's none of your employer's business why you're taking vacation days.... and most people don't have the problem that a day or two of vacation/sick will arouse suspicions. Also if your employer suspects you're looking for a new job, it's not the end of the world. Maybe it'll cause them to ask you why you're unhappy, and try to do something about it.

 

[Syringer]

Originally posted by: Rumpltzer
I gave like 4 days notice before I left my last job. I looked it up in the company policy and they said that I could be fired at any moment without notice, but I could also quit without notice. I forget what they called it.

It's not like the company could have found another doctorate in II-VI molecular beam epitaxy in two weeks, so it's not like I was really screwing them.


I don't think that a few weeks gap in your resume is career suicide at all. All the same, though, I wouldn't risk walking out of one paycheck without knowing where the next one would be coming from.

At-will employment.

 

[Stuxnet]

Originally posted by: Rumpltzer
I don't think that a few weeks gap in your resume is career suicide at all. All the same, though, I wouldn't risk walking out of one paycheck without knowing where the next one would be coming from.

Employers view gaps - of virtually any length - as a red flag. As a result, they're likely to drill you on it in an interview. Even if you can combat the drilling, it's still a distraction from what you should really be talking about in an interview: all the reasons you should be hired.

It puts you in a defensive position in an interview, and that's NOT where you want to be.

 

[ColdFusion718]

Originally posted by: jbourne77

Originally posted by: Vegitto
Keep sitting there until you've found a new job. After that, give in your 1-day-notice, or as short of a period as you could professionally do. TELLING your boss to go fsck himself is not a good idea. Letting him know you want him to go fsck himself by ditching him when he needs you the most (if he's really such an ass) is widely accepted, though .

One of the few questions HR will answer when someone does your background check is how much notice you gave when you left.

1 day's notice is pretty much the same as telling your boss to go fsck himself.

I'm not saying this would be justified, but do you ever notice how when they fire you, they do it right then and there? They don't give you 2 weeks' notice.

 

[Stuxnet]

Originally posted by: ColdFusion718

Originally posted by: jbourne77

Originally posted by: Vegitto
Keep sitting there until you've found a new job. After that, give in your 1-day-notice, or as short of a period as you could professionally do. TELLING your boss to go fsck himself is not a good idea. Letting him know you want him to go fsck himself by ditching him when he needs you the most (if he's really such an ass) is widely accepted, though .

One of the few questions HR will answer when someone does your background check is how much notice you gave when you left.

1 day's notice is pretty much the same as telling your boss to go fsck himself.

I'm not saying this would be justified, but do you ever notice how when they fire you, they do it right then and there? They don't give you 2 weeks' notice.

Yep, and I agree it's ******; however, they don't have to give you notice. They don't need you as a reference down the road. You do, however, need them as one.

They hold the cards, you don't. It sucks, but it is what it is .

 

[FiddleDD]

why don't you take a couple of days vacation attached to some weekend time...take a day to go do something for yourself and get over the burnout...and the next 2 days search hard for a new job...really hitting the pavement...and then wait for offers, and interviews...so you at least have something under your belt...and at least you can test the job market without being unemployed for a long time.

 

[ColdFusion718]

Well I did line up this consulting job but they won't bring me aboard until they've found a project for me. Once the first project is underway, then I will be employed by the firm even when there are no projects for me to work on.

I won't be hurting much financially if I were unemployed but I was just concerned about the "career suicide" comment my sister made.

I guess the general consensus would be to stick with it until I find something new, give them 2 weeks' notice, and leave on a good note.

I'll take that under advisement, although I do feel like hanging myself every morning I am here. See where I'm coming from?

 

[Scarpozzi]

Start searching, but don't quit yet....and certainly don't burn bridges.

It can take up to 6 months to find a good job these days....sometimes even longer. At least in this area, crappy sales jobs are easy enough to find, but nothing seems to pay. Good luck on finding something that suits you better, but don't leave when you can be bringing in the paycheck unless you live with your parents. It's not worth the financial insecurity to do it.