Majority of professionals in this post say they quit their last job because of their manager.
"You don't quit the company, you quit your manager."
- FB employee
"Bad manager - didn't believe one manager could make your life miserable until it happened"
- AMZN employee
"Bad manager. Bad manager. Bad manager.
With every job change, there is always a significant increase. However, I have never started looking for a job, because of money. It is always a bad manager."
- AMZN employee
What made the folks on WSO quit your last job?
I'm currently in the same dilemma.
My Manager isn't too bad but I don't know if should take up a new job for more money. Don't you think money is a big aspect too?
If I had a bad manager, I'd move teams, not quit. Unless I have a much better offer elsewhere. I read thru the comments on that post, but I also see people on Blind moving jobs for 2X, 3X salaries.
Its a legitimate strategy on tech. You get a job then after a year or two apply for a new one to increase your TC. It works well atm with companies begging for experienced and good software engineers. I done it, went from FB to Uber then to banking. Most people only stay a few years on the company. There is a reason people say sillicon valley or Tech is becoming the new wall street, its all about the $$
The new job just paid more and required less hours. I don't really care about who I work with as long as they are not too dumb.
I wasn't being challenged enough. I left a F500 company to work in the middle market and I am much happier. I'd much rather have too much work to do than not enough work in my opinion. Although it was nice to never have to work a single weekend.
I also only received a 2% raise and no bonus. No chance of moving up in the company for a very long time. The company itself was actually a really great place to work, but my position sucked.
I quit because I’d rather be broke than work in a job that wasn’t prestige
I enjoy everything I've learned and am surrounded by amazing people at my current role. However, now I'm looking for a new challenge where I can learn new aspects and grow professionally.
Wait this isn't a job interview.
My manager is abusive towards my coworkers and I. I also have the most mind-numbing work, why did I take this job?
Ive never loathed anyone as badly as I did my last boss. Absolute worst human being I have personally met.
I've quit a few jobs, but if I'm honest, I'm pretty lazy. I don't rely on working hard to get ahead. I rely on convincing my bosses that I'm cleverer than just about everyone else, that my advice is worth something, and that I can keep a secret. I can't overstate the last point. If you rely on a patronage relationship to advance your career (and at some point, we all need a patron), you must be able to keep a secret. As a result of that ability, I could never be fired from any job, but I've never had to work as hard as most of the people on this site.
That said, when I have quit jobs in the past, it's mostly because I'm just tired of doing whatever nonsense I was doing at the time. Most people in finance are B and C intellects. Even if they're 'A' students at good schools, they're not generally capable of real scholarship. Of course, that's not necessary in finance. Mostly, you have to be clever enough, hard-working enough, irreverent and sycophantic enough to work your way through the corporate ladder while not pissing too many people off while simulataneously being taken seriously to reach a level of sufficient seniority where you get to call at least some of the shots. I respect the endurance and nuance of the people who can do so, but I'm not one of those guys.
I'm too irreverent and not quite sycophantic enough to survive in such a structure. As a result, I've quit jobs when I've grown tired of the place even though I've almost always worked directly for the C-suite at every large firm where I ever worked. Every time, I was told it was a career-ending mistake, and every time the C-suite executive I left was proved wrong. I ultimately lateraled up every single time.
So why leave? I left because I get bored easily. I suspect I'll never stay anywhere long. In the event that you find yourself in the same mindset, let me save you some time--become a consultant. It allows you to move around a lot throughout your career. You're always on different assignments. Even if the assignments become a bit repetitive, it's better than the alternative for someone like me.
brotherbear are you me? You sure sound like me; working hard really is either for suckers or for madmen. Keep on hustling bro!
have you looked through his comment history? epic
Brotherbear’s response was great. I wish I could throw multiple SBs.
I concur, I get bored very easily. I like intellectually challenging work but not physically challenging work. I challenge myself at the gym, try to beat my swim time and endure a longer boxing workout- I don’t need to push myself at work for the sake of it. I don’t need to see how little sleep I can get and how long I can work for the sake of it. For those who have the endurance, I respect that completely. It’s just not me. I hate status games also. I’m not very good in very corporate, buttoned up environments. I really enjoy being thrown into the deep end and learning how to swim. I hate red tape everywhere. I understand the necessity of it, but when someone thinks it’s Christmas and uses red tape like they’re decorating the set of The Grinch, I immediately get turned off and want to leave. Anytime I hear, “But that’s the way we’ve always done it.” From executives, it pains me to my core and I want out. I hate stifling innovation. My first job was at Starbucks and I found a better way to do pour over coffees (for all you blonde roast snobs). If you wet the paper with hot water first, then did the pour over, it was a full 20 seconds faster (basically a year in Starbucks drive thru time) and tasted a lot more crisp (for anyone who pretends they can taste the difference). It was actually implemented in that region. I was written up for that change because it’s not how they do it. I put my two weeks notice in the next day. It’s such an innocuous, small thing but I wanted them to at least hear why I did that and taught it. My previous job was fun (real estate broker, selling homes) but I looked around. I was 22 and in college and realized I don’t want to do this forever. I am an introvert by nature and wanted something challenging my mind, not challenging how many people I could meet. My current job I brought in a potential deal through contacts I had made while selling homes. I was the only employee lower than Executive (basically MD equivalent) to source a deal. I got a thumbs up, and I suspect the recognition went to the Executive I brought in with it. I was reassigned to a location and have a 2 to 2.5 hour drive each way, so I’m not sure if anything happened at the main office. He was promoted to Partner, but I’m not sure if that has anything to do with it. I mentally quit, I have my date in mind. I still execute my work and my latest performance review was great, but I’m already out.
Amen
what's next for you?
I’m actually learning JavaScript (front end and back end Node) to get into tech. Eventually I’d like to learn other hardcore data languages (C++, R, and even Python) and work with AI
A friend of mine once said that people who work in BigLaw are the types who treat work like it's a competitive sport (and who probably never played competitive sports themselves). I think that's true for many client service jobs; it's also an attitude that I don't share at all, your ability to perform good work falls off a cliff after 8 or so hours a day, and it's insane to see so many people grinding away with little to show for it. These jobs are often just intrinsically demanding but the type-A, wildly insecure folks who fill up their ranks make it far worse than need be.
I completely agree. There’s several studies indicating the importance of sleep. We are biologically created as hunters, not grazers. We have bursts of energy to take down the deer, not mull about all day collecting plants. It’s an industrial era idea that you work longer hours to produce more. This is not always the case. I bet I could get my job done in 50% of my actual working hours if there wasn’t so much red tape, everyone gave me the information I need promptly, and I got (and everyone else got) adequate sleep. I had a coworker who would show up at 6:00A and work until 8P or 9P consistently. I always wondered why. He was recently promoted and got his own project to run with.
Typical Boomer psychology. It's no surprise that the USA is falling behind across all institutional surveys covering quality of life, education, health, etc... due to this same management principle.
I quit my last job because of meaningless work. I was too often asked to do some work that could not align well with my main responsibility and what I'd like to do 2 or 3 yrs down the road. It was going to cost me opportunities to learn. My previous manager was actually quite nice :)
Terrible manager who would do the absolute bare minimum for deals, yet expect the world from me (keep in mind i was fresh out of undergrad and on the green side). Ended up quitting for a higher paying job and a place where I could actually learn.
Looking back, I don't think the higher pay made me happier. I think it was the fact that I wouldn't get berated on a daily basis for something that was completely out of my control.
I quit to focus on my true passion - World of Warcraft.
I have a very hard time motivating myself to do anything unless I find it interesting and intellectually stimulating. I also need to be able to see a future for myself at whatever job or path that I'm on. If I go too long without either of those things, I find it impossible to stay focused and I end up dreading waking up on Sunday mornings. That's when it's time to leave.
I can be autistically obsessed with something and monomanically focused when I'm really into something at work, and the polar opposite when I'm not. That's why I'm more focused on doing stuff I find interesting than anything else.
Completely agree here.
I noticed how it was the tech employees working for some of the highest paying companies who commented that pay wasn't a reason for leaving... you don't say..
Even at FAANG, there are higher paying jobs to exit into. Working at a FAANG, get headhunters reaching out with better paid jobs frequently, but with less prestige and/or less interesting projects.
Money, Industry, Challenge.
I think bosses become more of a problem the more you move up, because your growth eventually gets in the way of someone else's promotion. Boss wants you to be good but not too good. Obvi I'm generalizing, a good boss would be killing it himself and want you to succeed with him.
We're about to lose a mid-level guy because his boss is stifling him. Mid-level guy is smarter than his boss and if I could hire only one, I'd hire the mid-level. But his boss has been here 5+ years and mid-level only joined a year ago, so nobody is going to push the boss out of the way to accommodate he mid-level.
I think situations like this are typical. A lot more senior people protecting their turf against better qualified folks. Or at least, folks with more potential who aren't getting the chance to become more qualified because their bosses are protecting themselves.
I haven't had a job in a long time but I have sold equity stakes in companies before because I really didn't like the team(s) there. I enjoy what I do and prefer to keep it that way.
I quit my last job because of micromanagement combined with unfair compensation relative to peers in the company and my contributions to the group. I was in investment sales but had more holistic real estate knowledge than the MD due to a diversified background even though he had a prestigious MBA. I think he ultimately resented me for this and would eviscerate my writing by changing adjectives, making petty revisions, and altering direct language to passive language. He would obsess over every minute detail in packages and pitches, demanding 30 page pitches for recurring BOV assignments and
To answer the question I actually quit my last job not so much because of my manager but because of how the company had changed. We were acquired by an industry heavyweight with a notorious reputation (i.e. Think Big Blue and O&G).
Since that acquisition and switching to another role within the same company I noticed the culture was completely gutted and people showed up to work miserable and waiting until they could quit and move onto something else.
The year I did quit I had a lot of stress that I'm not going to detail out but basically I came to a breaking point and finally put in my 2 Weeks. It was weird because I felt regret and felt like I was in a bad relationship but didn't want to leave. The last week was glorious however and I have never felt so much happiness in a long time.
Even in my current job where I am paid well I'm starting to lose interest. Being stuck doing the same thing week in and week out combined with management reluctance to get with the times (i.e. Still working in spreadsheets when we have a sophisticated ERP system to do the same work faster).
The fact that the C-Suite balks at paying $X for business tools and systems that would make our lives easier but has no problem having a fleet of jets and taking flights to go see Cramer on CNBC...SMH.
I hope the activist fund coming after my employer wins out...
I quit my last job because I got a 40%hike in salary. For me, with a growing family, that is important.
Crappy managers are everywhere and my first crappier one actually recently just passed away. I hated him, but still sorry he passed. Life happens. We all love on.
I see you too benefit from good work karma: you continue to move ahead and life takes care of the people who made you miserable. Keep rocking on
I quit my last job because the company I was working for was "exploring strategic alternatives." I could see the writing on the wall that my department probably wouldn't survive post-merger and GTFO.
Manager was an absolute piece of shit, made my life a living hell for the better part of two years. Went and got my exec MBA, got a job with a base far higher than my all-in comp, and now work for a guy who actually has my back.
Manager being a piece of shit.
You and I, brother
10s of basis points from being stopped out
As in your performance wasn’t very good? Just trying to understand what your saying here
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