![]() ![]() Let your boss know when the work gets to be too much. If you take the job, grow your career slowly and carefully, and base your success on the new skills you build – not on how much work you’re willing to take on to prove something. Ask to meet other team members and inquire about the boss’s management style when there’s a crunch. Be honest with the interviewer, and focus on what you can do for the business. My advice to you: find a job you want to do and that you can do well. Don’t create more problems by ignoring it till it’s too late. If a job is too much for someone, stop and face the problem. The truth is, the job is not for them, and burning themselves out trying to do it hurts everyone. This is what happens when someone takes on more than they can honestly handle. She couldn’t face him, her co-workers, or herself. Late on a Friday she slipped a one-line resignation letter under her boss’s door and disappeared. But she was afraid to turn any work away. Bosses are guilty of making this situation worse, because they often take advantage of this kind of worker. The harder she worked, the more responsibility the boss gave her. But she failed to recognize that the work became more than she could handle. Sara was a very smart and dedicated worker who enjoyed great success at her company for three years. I’ve known a number of talented people who have dug themselves into a hole they could not escape, except the way you did. Problems arise when we don’t know the difference, and when we can’t say stop before a disaster occurs. There are jobs we can do, and others we can’t. I take that to mean you either weren’t skilled to do the job, or it was just too much work for you even if you could do it. You say you didn’t feel capable in the position you were in. I’ve seen this burn-out syndrome before and it concerns me. (See Stand Out: How to be the profitable hire.) Lack of skills or too much work? Be ready talk about what you can do for the new employer. “I’m looking for a good job with a good company, but I never disparage anyone I’ve ever worked with… I came to you because your company seems to be one of the shining lights in this industry, and I’d like to show you how I will be a profitable hire…”įocus on the company you’re meeting with, not on your past or your old company. ![]() If they ask you what the problem was with your recent employer, be honest: “I love my work, and I want to work in a better company where I am free to do my job effectively.” Even if not speaking up was your error, your employer is at least as much to blame. You have to be able to explain, very briefly, why that’s so. Whether or not your boss was being reasonable in piling on all that work, the bottom line is that the job and the company were not for you. Second, face up to what happened when you interview with another employer. Fessing up is the only way I know to try and salvage the relationship and your self-respect. Quit without notice: Fess upįirst, you should go back to your employer, apologize, and offer to cover the job while he finds a replacement. You will never know whether he might have adjusted your work load. You’re right, you shouldn’t have quit without notice - or without first discussing your problems candidly with your boss. Sometimes stress pushes us to our limits. I know it was poor judgment to not give notice. How do I explain my sudden departure to future employers? I do not just leave jobs, but I just didn’t feel capable any more. My husband and kids just learned to live without me for a while. Some tasks really required someone higher-level than me, but I managed to get them done, working till after midnight at home and on weekends. He’s a great guy, but he just kept piling on the work and I got to the point where I couldn’t keep my head above water. ![]() I was just burned out and didn’t know where to turn. I left my boss in the lurch - I quit without notice. The last three months have been very stressful and two days ago I quit. I’ve learned a lot, but I think I blew it. I’ve been working for a very dynamic manager who gives me lots of opportunities for advancement. ![]()
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