Should I quit my job without another one lined up
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Background on me: mid-30s, married with 2 young kids, earning around £50k.
I work in Finance and have been in my current job for 2.5years. I have been unhappy in my current job for the last 1.5years. The reason why I am unhappy is that I feel that a lot of what is expected of me is above my current level of knowledge (without sufficient training), there is no one supporting me or checking my work, the environment I work in is toxic (some very nasty individuals) and the work leaves me feeling stressed, anxious and depressed. I have tried making it work, talked to my boss about my concerns, but he is just as unhappy about my performance than I am in the job. He expects me to do what he wants due to me being a manager. I can't make it work and now the only way forward I can see is leaving.
Every weekend I get the Sunday night blues, every day I dread going into work and at night I can't stop thinking about work. I then get stressed out and take it out on my kids and hate myself for doing it. At work I panic every time the phone goes or I get an email, through fear of what may await me on the other end.
I have been looking for a new role for about a year now, but nothing good has come up. Moreover, I think that as the job is having such an effect on me mentally, my confidence is shot and I can't think straight, making it impossible for me to (a) find a job and (b) sell myself to recruiters.
So now I am thinking of quitting without another job lined up.
I have 4 months salary saved up and I have to give 3 months notice, which gives me 7 months to find a job. Once I am out of this role I think that my mental health would pick up an enable me to find something else.
The issue I have is that all my instincts are telling me to quit, but my head is telling me that is a bad idea. Employers like someone who is employed and moreover, if I don't find much I like, I could be tempted to take anything in order to get money coming in.
Then saying that, I fear it is only a matter of time before I get sacked. Surely it is better to resign than be sacked?
Is it ever a good idea to resign without a job to go to?
Your salary etc makes your position sound quite specialized - in that you can't just walk into a job 2 weeks later like a customer service or admin person might.
Similar position to me on my last job hunt then.
I spent a year looking, whilst working at my existing job. I got 2 offers the same day but like I say, it took a year.
Incidentally, it was the same position as you in that the job was toxic and the company fire people for breathing. You just gotta stick it out.0 -
How about the civil service? You can maintain your current salary but get the work life balance you're looking for.
As well as the CS Jobs website they recruit through Manpower. Look at Grade 7 positions, possibly Grade 6 but they'll come with more responsibility.
I wouldn't leave your existing position without somewhere to go to, it's too risky. That's not to say you can't take some time out before you start a new position, just with the assurance that you've got something to go to.
I have an alert that emails me daily with any civil service jobs - there never seems to be any on there. If anything, the civil service seem to be cutting back.
Fair enough re the time out prior to starting a new role - something that I will consider.0 -
Your salary etc makes your position sound quite specialized - in that you can't just walk into a job 2 weeks later like a customer service or admin person might.
Similar position to me on my last job hunt then.
I spent a year looking, whilst working at my existing job. I got 2 offers the same day but like I say, it took a year.
Incidentally, it was the same position as you in that the job was toxic and the company fire people for breathing. You just gotta stick it out.
Understand what you are saying and that is the issue - I have no idea how long it will take me to find a role.
The only thought I had is that I would be able to devote more time to searching and selling myself without the stress of the job. Understand your point though.0 -
I work in finance too. Can you give some specific examples of what you are expected to do that you cannot do?
I understand completely where you are coming from. When I qualified in practice I left for an industry role and hated it. Just resigned at 3 months and moved on. That was in June and took the summer off and went back end of September. I only got that job because I was immediately available and it changed my career for the better. I resigned again 3 years later with no job to go to. Took 2 months off. TBH I don't even get asked about it.
If you want to do it, and only you can decide, then go for it. Resigning with no job is not a bad thing to all employers. Some want accountants immediately and don't consider candidates on 3 months notice. There is also contracting which should be no issue for a Big 4 qualified accountant.0 -
I work in finance too. Can you give some specific examples of what you are expected to do that you cannot do?
I understand completely where you are coming from. When I qualified in practice I left for an industry role and hated it. Just resigned at 3 months and moved on. That was in June and took the summer off and went back end of September. I only got that job because I was immediately available and it changed my career for the better. I resigned again 3 years later with no job to go to. Took 2 months off. TBH I don't even get asked about it.
If you want to do it, and only you can decide, then go for it. Resigning with no job is not a bad thing to all employers. Some want accountants immediately and don't consider candidates on 3 months notice. There is also contracting which should be no issue for a Big 4 qualified accountant.
When you say you changed your career for the better, what did you move to?
When I moved to industry I have had various roles, but this one is too hands on. On top of that, there is a lot of non-finance (what I would term compliance) items which I have to do (being the only one wit a grasp of numbers). I hate being that hands on, I prefer to oversee things and not worry about the details.
If I knew I would never get sacked, I guess I would never leave here until I found something better. It is the fear of having a black mark against my name which makes me want to jump before I am pushed if that makes sense?0 -
I agree, being available for an immediate start can be a huge benefit when job hunting. As long as you haven't been out of work for years I wouldn't expect any employer to be bothered if you've been on a career break of a few months. (A "career break" sounds better than being "unemployed" as it's something you chose to do for positive reasons)
For my current position, I had the telephone interview on the Thursday, I went in to meet the team for lunch on the Friday and I started on the Monday.
I don't know anything about contracting in the finance sector but I know a lot of people who do it in IT and most of them wouldn't want to work any other way.0 -
When you say you changed your career for the better, what did you move to?
When I moved to industry I have had various roles, but this one is too hands on. On top of that, there is a lot of non-finance (what I would term compliance) items which I have to do (being the only one wit a grasp of numbers). I hate being that hands on, I prefer to oversee things and not worry about the details.
If I knew I would never get sacked, I guess I would never leave here until I found something better. It is the fear of having a black mark against my name which makes me want to jump before I am pushed if that makes sense?
I am an ACA and I trained in small practice. I always intended to go to industry but being from small practice makes that hard. That is what happened in my first industry role where it ended up being very junior and there were other issues as well so i quit. I then went back into practice but this time to a consultancy firm that is very large with 100+ offices around the world. That made it very easy for me to then go back into industry after 2.5 years and I got a much more senior position. So for me it helped me out a lot. I personally don't like transactional stuff or going into the detail so stuff like looking at invoices or doing recs of prepayments is boring. I like technical stuff more and the role at the large consultancy meant I could work with large clients and do consolidations etc meaning I went to industry in a Group role so I only work on Group areas and avoid the day to day issues, which I really hate.
To be quite frank, I really feel for you. If you are from the Big 4 then hands on isn't for you. I'm surprised they employed you given that where you trained would jump straight out. Sounds like they are very dis-organised with people that are not very bright and you seem to be the balancing figure in all of this having to be pulled in every direction to make up the difference.
You should take stock and remember all the positive aspects of your situation. You are qualified, have money in the bank to see you out a few months and you have actually been in this role a while. You seem low on confidence but that is not really your fault. That is just a symptom of the environment you are in.
Just my opinion, but if I was in your shoes I would resign now and finish up before Christmas, have a nice break through Jan and begin looking. I would be very surprised if you struggled to get work as an immediately available practice trained accountant with industry experience.0 -
^^^^^That sounds like really good, knowledgeable advice from Walcott and I must say, if I had known you were big 4 qualified, I probably would have spared you my tale of woe as it's pretty unlikely to apply to you!
Good luck with whatever you decide to do - these things have a way of working out.0 -
Frankly, I would NEVER leave a job without finding another, have seen from friends/relatives experience, employers seem more keen to employ someone who is already in employment. I think we all have times when we find our jobs really stressful for different reasons, unfortunately. There is an old saying "if you cant do what you like, you have to like what you do". I would make sure you keep dates etc. of going to your boss stating you feel your job is more than your skill set, you are not getting any assistance, JUST in case they dismiss you. Then start looking, for something else.it might seem like a relief in the short term, to be rid of this job, for your mental health, but 7 months soon flies by, if it is nearing its time, and you havent found another position I think your stress levels will rocket.0
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