6 months too soon to leave job?

I've been at my current job for 6 months now and am considering looking elsewhere. It's a good market and the job isn't as described to me and I'm not happy with my boss. I was at my last job for a year and a half and left mainly because I moved. Do you all think it's bad to start looking with these two positions being so short lived? Or could it be seen as the 6 month job was just not a good fit?

Also, how do you all feel about contacting recruiters on LinkedIn prior to applying for a job? I don't have me resume ready to apply but was considering asking a job poster some more details about a job on LinkedIn, what do you think?

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DatabaseHead

Answering your heading, no it's not to early. Of course ideally it would be nice to have 1 - 2 years on there, but sometimes you have to go.....

Without going into to much detail, because only you know your situation well enough to make the call. But the boss being a problem is a BIG one for a lot of people.

Don't make a decision based on fear, if it's not a good fit then move on..... That's all I got for you.

One last piece....

I read a good article about time frames. 6 months or less viewed as not good. 18 months is good, not great. You've shown you can make it through a review. 3 years tops is the best, anything past that doesn't help and once you get beyond that greatly it can start to hurt.

It's just what I read.....

networker050184

I wouldn't make it a habit, but a short stint or two isn't going to kill you. I've left in similar time frames for similar reasons in the past.

JoJoCal19

Agreed with others, one short term job on the resume wont hurt. It would be preferable to have 1 year on there though.

volfkhat

matai wrote: »

...the job isn't as described to me

That's all you need to say.
Why feel obligated to their lie/misrepresentation of the truth ?

I'd give them 90 days to address this; if not, then i'm gone.

Queue

It will matter some places and some places it won't. It's because whoever is reviewing your resume has experiences and bias they can't openly acknowledge, but that exist.

If your well paid and highly experienced, then it probably hurts the company to train someone for 6 months for them to leave. I'm sure you know this, and it's why you concerned. In IT you could potentially have just learned the environment, and really only put in a short time of actually work.

However, if you're unhappy and you don't see a future then leave as soon as possible. You can just explain to potential employers that in 6 months you learned the environment, and realized it wasn't a good fit. Then explain what it is your looking for, try to interview the company more.

Good luck!

NetworkNewb

I'd say you better spend a lot longer at your next position. I've been averaging 1-2 years at my last 4 jobs. And earlier this year I applied to another position and when HR first called me about the position they kept asking about the short time spans. They didn't even bring me in because of them. Literally she kept badgering about that fact... I've been moving up in each position as well. (the last one was kinda a side step in to security though)

sillymcnasty

Never too soon to get fired. They should expect the same.

Bjcheung77

OP, you don't have to worry. Somethings happen and you gotta go, you gotta go do your thing and leave. From your signature, you've got a few certs already that will be helpful in finding another gig really soon. You may want to find one first before leaving the current job. Further to your question, contacting anyone on LinkedIn is fine even before applying for the job. You need to get your answers first and see if that job or company matches what you're looking for. BTW, you're in Washington DC or State?

matai

Bjcheung77 wrote: »

OP, you don't have to worry. Somethings happen and you gotta go, you gotta go do your thing and leave. From your signature, you've got a few certs already that will be helpful in finding another gig really soon. You may want to find one first before leaving the current job. Further to your question, contacting anyone on LinkedIn is fine even before applying for the job. You need to get your answers first and see if that job or company matches what you're looking for. BTW, you're in Washington DC or State?

Washington State, currently working in Bellevue.

MitM

I agree with the others.

As far as contacting recruiters on LinkedIn, it should be fine, but I wouldn't do it if your resume isn't ready. They may want you to send it

boxerboy1168

My philosophy is do they care as much about you as you do about them?

Something I've learned is I need to put my happiness and self worth first because if I don't I will never be happy.

ITSec14

As long as you're leaving for a legit reason, then it's not a huge deal. Just be ready to explain it during interviews. People are usually understanding if it's because of a job that ended up not being a good fit.

LonerVamp

You have really good reasons for moving onward, particularly saying the job isn't quite what you were told it would be. But make sure you can back that up with not only reasonable examples, but ones that can't be explained away by you not being diligent enough in the initial interview process. Any friction with your boss should likely not be brought up ever again until you're well into your next job. A good market is an ok reason to give a recruiter, but I'm not sure I'd offer it up too quickly to HR or a hiring manager. Your happiness is paramount in your life. There's no reason you need to suffer for x years or months just to prove something to others. If you're unhappy, you have a duty to yourself to find something happier. I hadn't seen that mentioned yet, but keep it in mind if someone really wants to pin you down on job hopping. It's just like dating, you don't always stick with the first one who invites you over. You look for compatibility and happiness and sometimes it takes a while. Also, absolutely don't sweat the 1.5 year followed by a .5 year job. Some HR will look for any reason to whittle down the resumes in front of them, but there's nothing you can do about that. This isn't to suggest your age, but millenials today are not expecting to sit down for an IT job with 1 company for 20 years or until retirement anymore. I think it's a natural kneejerk to assume short stints mean an unhappy or unruly employee, but personally I feel that is a bullshit approach (even if I often think it when I see a resume like that). That said, be cognizant that not everyone can get past that kneejerk, and be sure to be extra nice, pleasant, and knowledgeable during your interviews so they see that maybe you truly are just one of those good employees who just happened to have a short stint. One tactic you could make is you picked up this job to get back into the area, and are now looking for your more permanent position. You currently have a job, and just looking for the next step in your career. That's a position many can empathize with. You moved, you needed a job. But now you don't *need* a new one, but you want the next best one to live in for a while, ya know? It might not be entirely truthful, but no one but your SO/friends can begin to call you out on it. If you want to, contact recruiters. You're helping make their job easier by contacting them. Just make sure they check with you before presenting you elsewhere. Don't let them jerk you around or make you feel uncomfortable. They can even help you with your resume if you need it. If you sit down in person over lunch with them, bring up the same stuff you've brought up here in this thread. They may have good insight.

thomas_

I would say anything over a year and you’re golden. I don’t think six months is that big of an issue unless you’ve had a string of six month or less roles. Three years seems like way too long to stay at a job unless you are getting regular promotions. By staying at a job for a long time you can really be limiting your total earnings over the course of your career.

volfkhat

LonerVamp wrote: »

...One tactic you could make is you picked up this job to get back into the area, and are now looking for your more permanent position.

That's pretty dam brilliant. i'm definitely going to add that to my repertoire.
lol

Another trick is to.... leave the job OFF your resume.
Just say you were unemployed.

boom

LordQarlyn

As I see all the time on my LinkedIn feed, people don't leave bad companies, they leave bad bosses/managers. Both stats and my own anecdotal experience shows that cliche to largely be true.

volfkhat wrote: »

That's pretty dam brilliant. i'm definitely going to add that to my repertoire.
lol

Another trick is to.... leave the job OFF your resume.
Just say you were unemployed.

boom

That can seriously backfire if a standard background investigation reveals that you were actually employed at the time. It could end up even being a deal breaker. Knew one guy who did that, he was a help desk guy who got laid off, being young, worked as a barista at some coffee house (not Starbucks, just some small local shop) for 7 months, left it off, told us he was unemployed. When a simple basic background check showed otherwise, he almost lost the job offer. If he had said honestly he took a barista job we would have been okay, but being he was not forthcoming about one item, it naturally made us wonder what else he was hiding. Had he been forthright with us we would completely understand, he needed income and he wanted to get back in IT.
I wouldn't omit that, just be straight with potential employers.

thomas_

I think there is a difference between leaving a job off a RESUME and leaving a job off of an application that specifically requests your entire employment history and/or you are directly asked about an employment on your resume and then lying and saying that you were unemployed.

mbarrett

.......

EANx

matai wrote: »

I've been at my current job for 6 months now and am considering looking elsewhere. It's a good market and the job isn't as described to me and I'm not happy with my boss.

LordQarlyn wrote: »

As I see all the time on my LinkedIn feed, people don't leave bad companies, they leave bad bosses/managers. Both stats and my own anecdotal experience shows that cliche to largely be true.

JoJoCal19 wrote: »

Agreed with others, one short term job on the resume wont hurt. It would be preferable to have 1 year on there though.

boxerboy1168 wrote: »

My philosophy is do they care as much about you as you do about them?

NetworkNewb wrote: »

I'd say you better spend a lot longer at your next position. I've been averaging 1-2 years at my last 4 jobs. And earlier this year I applied to another position and when HR first called me about the position they kept asking about the short time spans. They didn't even bring me in because of them. Literally she kept badgering about that fact... I've been moving up in each position as well. (the last one was kinda a side step in to security though)

Some good stuff I felt it was worth quoting together. As stated, people tend to leave bad bosses most of all and that's what the OPs problem is. Bad management has been my roughest problem as well. I've gotten into disagreements with my boss in the lunch room, quit because the comany was laying off techs and adding accountants (I was later told by a VP I was right and left at the prime time) and even last night was thinking about moving on based on discussions I was having with management.

The one thing that sticks out though is the importance of longevity as you move up. No one cares if your average tenure is a year in a help-desk role but as you move up, the tenure needs to increase as well. I've had that exact experience NetworkNewb is having for the same reason. As you become more senior, two-years isn't enough and to prepare for becoming more senior, you need to get better at reading the potential environment and asking the right questions. If they ask you "do you have any questions for us" and you answer "no" in some fashion, you aren't prepared. The odds of them answering every question a prepared person has is almost zero.

volfkhat

thomas_ wrote: »

I think there is a difference between leaving a job off a RESUME and leaving a job off of an application that specifically requests your entire employment history and/or you are directly asked about an employment on your resume and then lying and saying that you were unemployed.

I would still lie.
lol

I'd just say i was doing some "side" work :]

Most people lie the "other" way; fabricating jobs that they never had,
So if they want to withdraw an offer because i didn't include that 90-day gig that didn't work out.... whatever.

My resume contains the "highlights" of what i've done.
My resume will always work for me; not against.

With that being said, filling out applications (especially state/federal) is completely different.
Omitting information can /may be considered "providing false information". It can potentially be a 'criminal/civil' offense.
So Always be truthful there :]

Imo, your manager will only see your resume.
He/she saw it online, brought you in for the interview, decided to extend you an offer.

HR will handle the application/background process (assuming they do a thorough job).