Is It Bad To Leave A Job After Less Than A Year?

By Perminus Wainaina  

What would cause you to leave your dream job?

You have been sending CVs for months without any success. Finally, you get an interview call for your dream job. The salary is great, the company is reputable, and you have an opportunity to grow your career.

The interview process goes on smoothly, you resign from your current job and you’re full of excitement, ready to start your dream job.

What happens, though, when your dream job turns into a nightmare?

Simon, an accounting professional got a job four months ago. He was very excited and he planned on staying with the company for at least five years and advance his career to a managerial level.

During a conversation with a fellow employee, he discovered the company has been falsifying its financial reports to file lesser taxes.

Simon is afraid of what could happen if the news of the company’s fraudulent business got out. While’s he’s been with the company for barely four months, he sees resigning as his best career move. He is, however, afraid that resigning will hurt his career, and future employers might view him as a job hopper.

I interview a lot of senior professionals, and job-hopping is one of the major concerns they have. Some have stuck with jobs they should have left, simply because they didn’t want to be seen as job hoppers. A job hopper is someone who moves from one position to another after a short while. Most employers are cautious about hiring job hoppers as they think the employee won’t stay.

Should Simon leave his job, and are there instances when leaving is the right career move?

Here are the top valid reasons to leave a job.

1. The employer refuses to meet the agreed terms

When you get the job, the employer has key performance indicators (KPIs) that show if you’re productive or not. These KPIs are in most cases what employers look at during the probation period. If you are performing, you are confirmed as a permanent employee.

In some cases, employers agree to review or change the terms once you are confirmed. If they fail to honor the agreement, you are justified to leave.

Some of the common terms include;

Salary – some employers agree to review your salary upwards after you are confirmed. If they refuse to increase your salary as per the agreed terms, you can leave as the employer is in breach of contract.

Benefits – Some of the privileges employees benefit from include medical cover, pension, allowances, etc. If the employer fails to stick to what was agreed upon, you have justification to leave the organization.

Tools of trade – Certain tools help you perform your tasks at work. In sales, for example, you can be provided with transport costs to meet with clients and prospectives. Should the employer fail to provide you with the required tools, you can leave the organization.

Read on for more tips and see Is It Bad To Leave A Job After Less Than A Year?