Would this look bad?

freakyogre

I have been in my new job for 6 weeks now and i'm really not enjoying it. I was led to believe in the interview that it would be a busy role, but I am finding myself bored an hour into the day having done all my work already.

I ask numerous times a day if there is anything they want me to do, but the answer is usually no! I am beginning to wonder why they took me on as to be honest, the job could be done in a couple of hours each day. I am also a bit concerned that they see me doing nothing and think i'm lazy. This is definitely not the case, I just don't have the work to do (or they don't give me anything).

I am considering looking for another job as don't think this one will pick up. I am not the sort of person who likes a quiet job, I love to be busy and the more work the better!

Since leaving school this is my third job. My first lasted 18 months (company went into administration) and I started my second job the following day. I was there for over 4 years when that company also went into administration. I would still be at my previous job now if this hadn't have happened as really did love it.

My worry at the moment is if I start looking for another job now, will it look bad to employers? Will they think that I am unreliable and may 'jump ship'? This really isn't the case as I was in my previous jobs for quite a while, but am concerned they will only focus on my current job.

Between this job and my previous, I was unemployed for 2 months so know how difficult it is to even find work. Please don't tell me i'm lucky to have a job, I know this, but would like something a bit more challenging.

Thanks for any advice.

Patrick20

Perhaps Bringing the issue up with the management before you get worked up about the issue. Search for another job while your in the position your in to avoid being unemployed. I would imagine the management would want all staff to be productive so will sort this out for you.

stingeylass

Could you talk to your manager and tell them that you need more to do? (although maybe not in those exact words!) Perhaps because you haven't been working their long they don't want to overwhelm you with responsibility and are trying to ease you in to things?

But if you really hate it then there's not harm in at least looking for other oportunities, and if you're asked by prospective employers why you are 'jumping ship' you can simply tell the truth, which is that you are looking for a bigger challenge. As long as you get a good reference from your current job I don't think it would look bad at all.

kateab

I don't think it would look bad. It's just harder to find a job when you're out of a job than in one, if that makes sense. You've been in the other jobs reasonably long times and neither job you have left in the past have been of your making.

We sometimes make mistakes when getting jobs. You cannot be expected to know how a job is going to pan out just from an interview. If it's not for you, it's not for you. But I'd try to stick it out and jobhunt whilst working. If work allow job hunting on the internet in work hours, I think I'd do that once you have finished work.

I would also raise it with management and give them the opportunity to change things as well as it cannot harm to keep options open.

kateab

baby_fuzz

1) are they not giving you much to do, as you are still new there, and they don't feel like they can hand anything big to you yet?
2) it will look good if you go into an interview and show that you are a go-getter, and that you aren't being challenged in your current role (that is, if it is a good job - my OH got declined after an interview despite absolutely amazing creds because he had 'too much self motivation', because the job was actually quite menial compared to his skill level)

JoolzS

You may not yet have the "work confidence" to do what I am about to suggest but I'm going to suggest something that I wish I'd had the confidence to do when I was younger.

Take a book, magazine, or craft item (knitting, crochet, etc) to work and if you have nothing to do, and have asked everyone if there is anything you can do then simply start reading or knitting or whatever. I haven't worked for a number of years but I did a couple of temp jobs where I was just bored out of my mind for most of the day because no-one had any work for me to do. Now I would simply put my feet up and read a book!

Look around for another job - if your CV is well written then having moved jobs a few times in a few years won't matter. I had something like eleven jobs in eleven years! A few of them were for more than a year and the others were just for a few months. It is definitely easier to get a job when you already have a job. In the meantime, enjoy knitting, or whatever you choose to fill your time.

I have had at least three jobs where I had no idea how my predecessor filled her day - the job I had been employed to do was pretty much done within an hour or two. My predecessor was either completely incompetent or enjoyed just filling time from 9 to 5. I have unfortunately also had the opposite problem - a job that simply cannot be done in the hours paid for. I quit and then discovered that my job was split and the company now employs two people for the job I was doing!

Julie

Savvy_Sue

Another approach to JoolzS suggestion is to ask your line manager if it is OK to bring your knitting / book / craft item in, because you have asked and not been given enough to do.

There is also the "Am I missing something?" approach where you pre-empt someone realising that you should have been shown how to do something, and as you weren't, it's not been done!

BritRael

freakyogre wrote: »

...I was unemployed for 2 months so know how difficult it is to even find work....

Congratualtions on finding another job so fast. In todays climate, 2 months is only the blink of an eye.

Although I sympathise with your current dilema, I would definately recommend staying put until you get something else fixed up. Looking bad on a CV would be the least of your problems relative to the prospect of long-term unemployment. Good luck

Patrick20

BritRael wrote: »

2 months is only the blink of an eye.

Quite Right, In my area there wasnt much jobs before the reccession, now even the supermarkets arent employing here.

lili2008

Do I remember you from the DWP thread? If so, I think you turned down a JCP job in favour of this one. Could you ring up DWP and re-register interest in that post? You never know, you've got nothing to lose.

LinasPilibaitisisbatman

Was like that when I first started my existing job, took a while, but now its the opposite extreme.

It may be that if you have just started they are still evaluating your skills, ensuring you can cope and dont have the time to train you.

Discuss it with management but it may become better