I joined the wrong company. Now what?

Long story short, I recently left a perfectly good job in order to take another one because I thought it would be a better opportunity. But now that some time has passed, it’s clear that I was dead wrong. Not only was this not the job of my dreams, it wasn’t even close to being as good as the job I had before.

Okay. So now what do I do?

I’ve never found myself in this situation before and I had to improvise the next steps forward. Here’s a bunch of tips I put together for anyone who might ever end up in this situation. I hope it helps!

1. Don’t Panic. I know this is probably the immediate reaction to this sort of situation, especially if you realise you didn’t make the right choice from day one. From the layout of the office to the way things were run, the new role just didn’t feel right for me and I naturally reacted with panic. Panic freezes your brain and doesn’t get you anywhere.

2. Don’t regret. Regret comes after panic, and it makes you want to go back to the previous, positive situation. In this case, make sure you have it clear in your mind the reason why you left your previous job and what made you think that decision was right at the time. This will help you to always look ahead and stay motivated.

3. Give it some time. You might simply need some time to get used to a new system. Give it a month, maybe two. If you don’t see any improvement, then it’s time to change something.

4. Speak to your old colleagues. I thought it would have been a good idea to get in touch with my old boss and explain the situation. Of course, I wasn’t hoping to get my old job back straight away, but I found it extremely helpful to listen to his opinion and suggestions. Also my former colleagues were incredibly supportive: they kept sending me job links and provided great references.

5. Use your connections. If you’ve been a designer for long enough in a place like London, you’ve probably made some good connections and know what’s going on in the market. Chat to recruiters and other designers on LinkedIn, but also make sure you attend design events and conferences, which sometimes are just the best way to meet new people and opportunities. Some good ones are Design Club, Glug and Silicon Milkroundabout, but there are a lot more out there. Check my friend Marco Sousa’s post about Design events in London to find out more.

6. Make sure you’ve got a laptop. I know this is probably an obvious one, but if you decide to start interviewing you need to work on your portfolio and constantly iterate it, depending on what you want to emphasise when you speak with various companies. When I realised I wanted to leave the new role, I didn’t have a personal laptop. I’ve always used company laptops both at work and at home, and for some reason the new company gave me an iMac which I couldn’t really move around. This is why I had to buy a laptop and it turned out to be the best purchase ever.

7. Start interviewing. Start applying for new roles. Do it as much as you can and keep your options open, at least at the beginning of the process. When you’ve gone through the initial chats with HR and you’re moving into the first stage interview, make sure you are able to focus on a couple of companies. Don’t take on too many interviews at the same time, it would just be really confusing. I had five interviews in a day and my brain was literally fried!

8. Don’t think you’re not good enough. When I started interviewing, all the companies I was interested in didn’t want to move forward with me. Even though I received some really good feedback which kept me going, I started to think I wasn’t good enough for the job I wanted. Am I going to be stuck in this job forever? How am I going to get the experience I need to get to where I want to be in a few years? What if I just stayed in my old company? Just ignore those questions and keep going. You took the risk and it will pay off: just be patient and keep doing your thing. Here’s a really good piece of motivational footage.

9. Hang in there. If you’re not immediately getting the job you’re looking for, just hang in there. Remember, you might not like your current job but at least it’s giving you an income, which is essential if you live in a city like London. Just wait until something comes up: it might take 3 weeks or 3 months, just be patient and don’t loose your objective. In the meantime, make the most out of your current role: there’s always something to learn, even when you are in a position you don’t like.

10. Be honest. You might be asked at some point why you want to leave a job you’ve just started: just be honest and don’t make up excuses: interviewers appreciate honesty, especially if you’re able to explain why you want to leave. A good interviewer will always understand. This is also a good way to figure out if a place is aligned to the way you want to work and if you’ld be a good fit with them.

11. Don’t jump at the first offer you get. Sometimes this process might take a while. The longer it takes, the more exhausting it gets. When you get to an offer stage, take all the time you need to decide whether you want it to be your next role. List in your mind what your priorities are and make sure the role ticks all of them.

12. Meet people. Before accepting an offer, try to meet as many people as you can, spend some time with them and ask as many questions as you want. A round-robin with a few different team members would be the best way to get a feeling of who you would be working with. Remember to always trust your gut instinct to make your final decision.

If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch via email nicolo.arena@gmail.com or message me on Twitter @nicoloarena.

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