One of the Best Things I Ever Did: Quitting my Job!
So I finished my bachelor degree in 2003. A year before I had my diploma, I had the chance to work for the back office of a bank. I was balancing trades on stock options and futures. It was a great job in term of network and knowledge. You got to know all the traders (as you are taking care of their trades) and you see how everything is done on the market. When I finished in 2003, they already had their offer in place. I did not look around and started the next morning. I was so excited to get a job in the finance industry!
I got one of my friends in as well. He was a great worker and had strong financial aptitudes. We had a lot of fun during the first three months. We were learning new stuff everyday and having lunch together. That was the good time. Unfortunately, it did not last long.
In fact, things got sour for two reasons; I got bored by what I was doing once I learnt all my tasks and people in the department (beside my friend) were not motivated and wasting their time most than anything else. After a while, I started to have a bad work attitude too. I used to go on the internet, sending emails and my lack of concentration results into many mistakes. These issues were all described in my first evaluation. Worst than that, I realized that some of my co-workers used this opportunity to backstab me. My friend received the similar evaluation a few hours later.
This was a shock for me. I took my weekend thinking about what I have done and if was happy where I was working. The answer was obvious: I was not happy. I then decided to quit my job the next Monday. I did not have anywhere to leave but I though it would force me to get going faster. I found another job within two weeks. It was more fun, well paid (23% more than my previous job) and there was room for promotion ahead of me.
The biggest lesson I learnt from this story is the following: Stop everything the minute you are not enjoying working. You spend more time at work than everywhere else. Make sure this environment is healthy and makes you happy. It was a blessing that my ex employer gave me such bad evaluation at the very beginning of my career. I realized fast enough that this job was not made for me.
The other thing I realized was that if you are not happy where you are, there is no point of having a bad work attitude. You are not helping your co-workers and you are definitely not helping yourself either. The world is small and you never know when you could need you ex-employer’s help later on in life. Keep your relations clean, find another job with a better environment and get off internet and personal stuff at work!
One last note before I go, my friend stayed there and decided to change his attitude. He then switch department later on and got a great promotion. To this day, he is still working for the same company. It was the same situation for both of us, different thinking but two positive results at the end.
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September 3rd, 2007 at 9:36 pm
[…] of The Financial Blogger tells us about one of the best things he ever did - quit his job. Mike says sometimes you’re better off unemployed. I wish I could take Mike’s advice […]
September 4th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
Congratulation. I think it’s easier for someone with your age to do this type of thing and I do admire you for doing it. That said, as we grow older and have more responsibilities — e.g., mortgage, family, children, elderly parents, etc. — then it is no longer that easy.
September 4th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
I can’t believe you did that. I don’t really like my job and I don’t think I’m going anywhere with it. But, I’m stuck with a mortgage and all my other payments. I just can’t quit without thinking about my bills and my family. It’s a good thing you could do it. Congrats!
September 4th, 2007 at 7:38 pm
Pinyo, Walter,
I must agree with you. When I quit, I was 22 and I only had a car and a rent to pay. Today, I have a wife, two kids and a mortgage.
If I ever face the same situation, I would do the same thing, but I would still look for another job before I quit mine! I would take longer than a simple weekend to make up my mind!
September 4th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
That took a lot of courage, but I say well done. You knew you weren’t happy, and that is the most important thing of all. Good luck to you!
September 4th, 2007 at 7:47 pm
[…] The Financial Blogger: One of the Best Things I ever Did: Quitting My Job! […]
September 4th, 2007 at 9:51 pm
How did your boss react? Did you tell him the reasons why you were leaving? That it was because of your evaluation?
I also wanted to know if there is a minimum delay required when you are leaving your job.
September 4th, 2007 at 10:52 pm
Good for you! I always tend to try to stick it out (but usually end up leaving like you did once things start going sour).
Life is certainly too short to hate what you’re doing for 40 hours every week.
September 4th, 2007 at 11:59 pm
Susan, I will explain that in another post later on. I believe that you need some ethic when you leave your job even if you felt betrayed or judged.
Mr. Cheap, if it’s ever happen to me again, I would react much faster. I think that there is no point in fighting against a huge company. You will loose. It’s much easier to find a place where you can develop your full potential as a worker, but first of all, as an individual.
September 5th, 2007 at 7:02 am
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September 5th, 2007 at 9:57 am
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September 5th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
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September 5th, 2007 at 1:47 pm
Glad everything worked out for you in the end! There’s an opportunity in every situation and quitting your job means there may be an even greater opportunity ahead of you.
September 5th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
I think that quitting your job is a luxury to some extent. I can’t wait till I am in a financial position to do exactly that. I’d love to focus on other opportunities.
Debt and family can be especially big constraints. But I like the spirit of your post in suggesting that we should make our career decisions according to happiness more than anything else.
September 5th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
DS, I don’t see happiness at work as a luxury. I think that you can not have an interesting life and be happy in your life when you think life sucks most of the time. After all, you spend a the very least 50hrs a week at work (including lunch and transportation).
While I didn’t have much financial responsibilities back then, I still had payments to make and the next Thursday, no pay cheque went in.
Since I had to find money quickly, I duplicate my effort in job researching. After three weeks, I received about 20 job offers. The lack of money is definitely a great motivator!
Cheers,
FB.
September 8th, 2007 at 10:04 pm
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September 22nd, 2007 at 4:59 pm
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February 8th, 2008 at 7:59 am
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