Long notice period
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lcfcfan26
Posts: 3 Newbie
Hi everyone,
I am a graduate analyst at a massive multinational company and I have been here for nearly two years. Unfortunately, I am completely miserable in my current job, and I am looking to leave.
I am on a THREE month notice, whilst my colleagues of my level (at the same company), and other jobseekers at my level in general, are all on one month's notice. This is causing me a huge problem in that many companies and recruiters I am interviewing with are put off by my current notice period.
Should I tell recruiters and interviewers that I am on a three months' notice, but I am prepared to leave early after having done an appropriate handover (i.e. one month- it will definitely not take three months)?
Will this likely mean that my current employer may provide a tainted reference, or indeed refuse to provide one at all? They have a policy to only provide factual references. Are references even contacted anyway?
What other consequences are there for me not fulfilling my full notice period? I am so distraught at this, because it is really hindering my job hunt.
The reason that I agreed to a three month notice in my employment contract at the time was because I was so desperate for a job- and I felt that I cannot start a new job trying to plan how I am going to end it.
Thanks for your advice.
I am a graduate analyst at a massive multinational company and I have been here for nearly two years. Unfortunately, I am completely miserable in my current job, and I am looking to leave.
I am on a THREE month notice, whilst my colleagues of my level (at the same company), and other jobseekers at my level in general, are all on one month's notice. This is causing me a huge problem in that many companies and recruiters I am interviewing with are put off by my current notice period.
Should I tell recruiters and interviewers that I am on a three months' notice, but I am prepared to leave early after having done an appropriate handover (i.e. one month- it will definitely not take three months)?
Will this likely mean that my current employer may provide a tainted reference, or indeed refuse to provide one at all? They have a policy to only provide factual references. Are references even contacted anyway?
What other consequences are there for me not fulfilling my full notice period? I am so distraught at this, because it is really hindering my job hunt.
The reason that I agreed to a three month notice in my employment contract at the time was because I was so desperate for a job- and I felt that I cannot start a new job trying to plan how I am going to end it.
Thanks for your advice.
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Comments
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Should I tell recruiters and interviewers that I am on a three months' notice, but I am prepared to leave early after having done an appropriate handover (i.e. one month- it will definitely not take three months)?
How would you feel if a candidate came along and said blithely that they were on 3 months' notice but weren't planning to honour it? Not a good idea - but by all means say you would be happy to see if your employer would agree to release you sooner once you have carried out an appropriate handover. That makes you look both conscientious and flexible - and there's every chance your employer will be delighted to see an unhappy employee head for the door, however good you are at your job.
If a new employer really wants you, they will put up with the 3 month notice period.0 -
I've been in situations in the past whereby giving 1 months notice is not what the new employer wants to hear. So in that respect sometimes there is little difference between 1 month and 3 months.
I would personally tell the new prospective employer the following:
"I need to give 3 months notice, particularly as I have a lot of stuff to hand over, but I can negotiate with my existing employer if you need me sooner".
That way you:
1. Come across as professional
2. Aren't lying about notice period
3. Don't immediately rule yourself out with any prospective employer who wants you sooner than 3 months. In fact, in some circumstances you can be honest with them and say "look, I want this job but I'm going to have to leave my notice period prematurely and that may affect my reference. Will this be an issue on your end?". Sometimes your existing employer will also accept a shorter notice period informally (this happened a lot in my last place) and maybe even pay you outstanding holidays in that time period.
Sometimes, especially with graduates who have held down a steady job immediately after graduating, the proof is in the pudding so to speak; your work in your field (and future scope) is worth much more than a reference. So they'll either wait 3 months for you or maybe skip the references.
Also bear in mind that a new employer not respecting your notice period/your desire to work out your notice period is a RED FLAG. I wouldn't suggest ruling anything out, but it can sometimes indicate that maybe the grass isn't greener on the other side...0 -
How would you feel if a candidate came along and said blithely that they were on 3 months' notice but weren't planning to honour it? Not a good idea - but by all means say you would be happy to see if your employer would agree to release you sooner once you have carried out an appropriate handover. That makes you look both conscientious and flexible - and there's every chance your employer will be delighted to see an unhappy employee head for the door, however good you are at your job.
If a new employer really wants you, they will put up with the 3 month notice period.
Thanks for your reply Dox- much appreciated. It's just that everyone else at my level is on a one month notice, and I feel that they are more likely to secure the jobs ahead of me. I know that recruiters and prospective employers also agree that my three month notice is excessive, which is why they have been rejecting me. My point is that I want to ensure that I am being fair to both, my current employer (in that I complete a proper handover, and don't leave them in the lurch), and my new employer (in that I can start in the timeframe they want, so they don't have to wait longer than they need to).0 -
I've been in situations in the past whereby giving 1 months notice is not what the new employer wants to hear. So in that respect sometimes there is little difference between 1 month and 3 months.
I would personally tell the new prospective employer the following:
"I need to give 3 months notice, particularly as I have a lot of stuff to hand over, but I can negotiate with my existing employer if you need me sooner".
That way you:
1. Come across as professional
2. Aren't lying about notice period
3. Don't immediately rule yourself out with any prospective employer who wants you sooner than 3 months. In fact, in some circumstances you can be honest with them and say "look, I want this job but I'm going to have to leave my notice period prematurely and that may affect my reference. Will this be an issue on your end?".
Sometimes, especially with graduates who have held down a steady job immediately after graduating, the proof is in the pudding so to speak; your work in your field (and future scope) is worth much more than a reference.
Also bear in mind that a new employer not respecting your notice period/your desire to work out your notice period is a RED FLAG. I wouldn't suggest ruling anything out, but it can sometimes indicate that maybe the grass isn't greener on the other side...
Thanks a lot Les. This is great advice- much appreciated.0 -
I couldn't think of a single employer who would employ a candidate who told them they intended to break their notice period with their current employer. To be honest, true or not, there's as much chance that a potential employer is going to think that you must be very valuable if you have a three months notice period!0
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3. Don't immediately rule yourself out with any prospective employer who wants you sooner than 3 months. In fact, in some circumstances you can be honest with them and say "look, I want this job but I'm going to have to leave my notice period prematurely and that may affect my reference. Will this be an issue on your end?". .
Or just say you're happy to shaft an employer if it suits your book - how many favours is this approach going to do you - quite apart from the fact your prospective employer, if they have any grasp of employment/contractual matters, will know that trying to induce a employee to breach their existing contract of employment could get expensive if the current employer has a mind to turn nasty...doesn't happen often, but when it does, it gets messy.
You have been in your current job for under 2 years and you were 'desperate' to get that. You are now keen to escape but claim your notice period is a major disadvantage. Are you sure it's that, or are your skills perhaps less marketable than you might hope? Graduates with a couple of years of experience are ten a penny; think about what could you do to improve them and put yourself ahead of the crowd. It might make the current situation more bearable.
Good luck!0 -
whilst my colleagues of my level (at the same company), and other jobseekers at my level in general, are all on one month's notice. This is causing me a huge problem in that many companies and recruiters I am interviewing with are put off by my current notice period.
Should I tell recruiters and interviewers that I am on a three months' notice, but I am prepared to leave early after having done an appropriate handover (i.e. one month- it will definitely not take three months)?
Will this likely mean that my current employer may provide a tainted reference, or indeed refuse to provide one at all? They have a policy to only provide factual references. Are references even contacted anyway?
What other consequences are there for me not fulfilling my full notice period? I am so distraught at this, because it is really hindering my job hunt.
.
I used to think it helped to some degree advising I had a month's notice period, it worked to a point - I went for a 2nd job interview some 6 weeks later but only recently to be told if the company now finds someone with experience able to start sooner they may go with them - once they knew there was a lot of notice to be had the interview has turned into 1st interview, 2nd interview and trial day plus whatever else, alongside hammering home that the new job may not be in totally the right environment for me. So I was gutted (or lucky) to learn that all these weeks on, rather then diving in.
I did want to get cheeky when it came to the trial day and say surely you could also contact my previous employment, where my experience (for them comes from) and have them tell you whether I was right for the environment..but as I've long suspected references aren't even tried for anymore or perhaps for me, that will be part 4 Lord knows, so I saved my breath. It is bad enough I am starting to debate if I need to go round with copies of my past contracts to these wretched job interviews to prove a point.
I'm in an FTC until September at very worst case (personally I'd always been ready to work until July as none of the timings of the project made sense whatsoever and was gutted when proved right, however the company aren't in a hurry to tell me what is going on) and still sat in my job which diminished this month and the contract still runs until well after the product has reached the shop floor and I'll have done nothing since 31st July technically if I reach September!!! Going to be fun going to interviews explaining actually as per my great job title I haven't made a sale since June
It turned out that it was best to get holiday in August but no one thought to ever explain that until it was to late. I tried to be proactive, but actually finding it is set up that I am only better off once totally out of any work. Then I can imagine I'll be wanted purely to 'cover Christmas' in any new job after that I might like to go for. Happy days. !!! I am currently being forced to consider resigning from the job to support myself in getting the best job, not the scraps of a job I feel I'll next be forced into. I've also meet a few employers who reckon I should have sat at home for 6 months or a year on the dole whilst the ultimate perfect job come along. So you can never please them! 0 -
How would you feel if a candidate came along and said blithely that they were on 3 months' notice but weren't planning to honour it? Not a good idea - but by all means say you would be happy to see if your employer would agree to release you sooner once you have carried out an appropriate handover. That makes you look both conscientious and flexible - and there's every chance your employer will be delighted to see an unhappy employee head for the door, however good you are at your job.
If a new employer really wants you, they will put up with the 3 month notice period.
^^^^
This
I would be saying if asked "i have a three month notice period however i believe i can work with my current employer to negotiate a shorter handover and exit".0 -
but claim your notice period is a major disadvantage. Are you sure it's that, or are your skills perhaps less marketable than you might hope? Graduates with a couple of years of experience are ten a penny; think about what could you do to improve them and put yourself ahead of the crowd. It might make the current situation more bearable.
+1
I've had three month notice periods in the past and TBH if an employer really wants you, they'll wait or work with you on a shorted date if / when negotiated with your current employers.
Dont make the "3 month notice period" a big thing. Say on paper its three months but you expect to be able to negotiate that well down from there based on an effective handover.
Being frank, theres not a lot an employer will do if you resign and say "I am giving you notice that the date i need to finish on is XX/XXX/XXXX and i am happy to work with you on an effective handover plan to achieve that".0 -
Three months notice periods are becoming more and more common now, it is to protect the company from losing key skills without having adequate time to replace them.
I am surprised you are finding companies put off bu this notice period as I have never had that problem.0
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