Should I quit my job or stay and risk getting fired?
Hey guys, I need some guidance on what to do in my situation. I am currently in corporate finance at a Fortune 100 Company. Joined the company 5 years ago and my current team about 1.5 year ago. At first, it sounded like a great opportunity and for the most part, I like the people I work with. But I quickly realized that the team had no processes in place and was severely understaffed. I have been constantly overworked and stressed (~60 hour weeks) and it's been taking a bit of a toll on me. Recently, I was late on a few (major) deadlines and got put on the dreaded PIP (Performance Improvement Plan). It's a 30 day plan and my manager on the team both claim that it's really to make sure I get back on track and it's not a formality to give me the boot. I've been offered a decent MSA (basically a severance package), which equates to around 3 months pay (2 months pay + my vacation time). Obviously, in the meantime, I've been following my PIP to the T and getting back on track with deadlines.
My question:
-Should I just take the package and cut loose? I would get 3 months paid and I could focus on my job hunt this way, but then I would be job searching while unemployed, which kind of freaks me out.
-Should I stick it out and job search on the side? In the grand scheme of things, it's really just 2 months pay (1 month of it is vacation time I would get regardless if I quit or get fired). I'm worried that I'm just missing the signals that this is basically just writing on the wall before I get fired and I'm just an idiot.
Other factors to consider - I've been wanting to leave this job for a few months as I am completely miserable and stressed all the time. I am asked to work full days on weekends and take meetings during my time off. There are some other factors at play, including a raise that I was promised but never materialized and an awkward relationship with my senior manager. I've already started job hunting on the side, but haven't had the time to really focus on it. I'm just not sure of the trade-off between stress/sanity vs. being employed for the next few months.
I want to think this is a blessing in disguise telling me to get the fuck out with some cash, but my low risk self is saying to just suck it up and stick it out so there's no gap in my employment.
TL;DR: Should I quit my job, which is awful, and get a 3 month severance package or should I job search while still at my current job, but possibly risk getting fired?
Would love to hear anyone's two cents on the matter.
Removed
Any thoughts on the PIP itself? Do you think it's just the writing on the wall?
fired/resign (Originally Posted: 03/14/2013)
I've got a good feeling I'm going to get fired/terminated. Is it better to get resign before I'm officially terminated.
Will it impact me looking for my next job weather I'm resign or get sacked?
Are you sure you didn't already get laid off......
That's one of my major concerns. I have a month to decide to take this MSA or not.
generally they let you "resign," but your call.
Read this: http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/resigning-1
[quote=SirTradesaLot]Read this: http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/resigning-1[/quote]
How come this thread got locked? Looks like something was said that was deleted.
One of OP co-workers essentially called him out in the response. It was pretty epic.
Now the question of whether it was actually OPs co-worker or not remains up for debate.
Wow. Yet another justification for not posting anything remotely identifiable on here.
It depends what you want to do next. If you're just trying to find a 40 hr./week job and coast, I'd take the money and run. Say that you were overworked/stressed at your old job, and you felt like quitting was the right thing to do for your personal health, blah, blah, etc. Getting paid for 3 months while not working would be amazing.
However, if you're looking to land a job that requires drive, ambition, and longer hours, I'd tough it out. If I were interviewing you and you were to tell me that story (which I'm sure you could make sound more appealing in an interview, but still...), I'd question your work ethic/ability to work with people. There's no reason to miss a deadline. If a deadline is not reasonable or shit happens like sickness, death in the family, etc., communicate that to your boss and work it out. Unless your boss is an unreasonable dick, he's going to cut you some slack on the deadline or help you out with the work on his own time if it's essential the work get done.
Quit or wait to be fired- advice needed (Originally Posted: 09/13/2013)
I'm currently employed in a non-finance firm and have a job lined up at a MM IB. They have a verbal offer that I accepted, and HR is putting together the paperwork, to be followed by the standard screening process.
In the mean time there are budget cuts going on at my firm (the reason I started applying in the first place) and a number of the new hires are likely to be cut. My "performance evaluation period" is ending soon, and from what my manager has been saying I'm likely to be let go as I'm not a great fit with the team.
So the question is--should I quit before I'm let go, or let the period run out?
My company uses an external service for employment verification, and does not reveal the reason for leaving nor eligibility for rehire, so it's unlikely that the new employer will find the reason for leaving. I'm just thinking it's preferable to quit rather than being fired/laid off. I'll collect severance if I'm laid off, but it's not really a meaningful amount , I'm just worried about long term career implications.
I was planning to leave my job either way, I just don't know if it would look bad to quit my job before the new one extends an official offer.
Any thoughts/advice?
I'd keep collecting those checks as long as you can. It's a RIF right? (Reduction in force) That's not a black mark on you for future jobs imo.
Yes, but they're doing it under the guise of poor performance(lower severance for poor performance v layoffs). They haven't officially announced layoffs, but they are culling the herd.
I just don't want the new company getting any ideas or thinking that being let go is an indication that I wouldn't be a good fit with them.
They do ask you if you've ever been released from employment or fired for the majority of online applications I've done. Personally, I'd just give my 2 weeks notice just to avoid checking this box off...
I think you should quit.
In this event you quit. Especially since you're so close to the finish line
Gotta get that written offer from new employer first. As Yogi Berra once said, "it ain't over till it's over"...
This.
Quit
Get the written offer. Then I would say resign. You can mention finding another opportunity in the future.
Thanks for the input guys.
I'm leaning towards quitting right before I would be fired. The only risk is if the new offer falls apart for whatever reason(not expecting it, but shit happens), and then I'm stuck looking for a new job and having to explain why I left voluntarily in this economy, and I don't know if that's easier to explain than being laid off. But at least this way my new firm won't see that I was let go.
This is a worst case scenario but just trying to have all my bases covered-if you had to choose between looking for a job and having to explain being laid off v leaving voluntarily, what you would you prefer?
Quitting is better than being fired. You can spin a story around how 'the firm wasn't a great fit' or how 'growth opportunities were stagnant'. You still have an upper hand.
If you are fired, well then there is a stigma associated with that.
In this case, quitting. But only after you've signed the written offer/contract with the new shop.
Repeat after me "You can't fire me because I just quit"
Also looking down the road, it might be better to quit. If you ever plan on leaving the MM IB (assuming you get the official offer pack), it'll be easier to say you quit than were let go when you are interviewing for your next position.
Definitely seek other opinions on this, but... at my shop (bank, not a Fortune 500 corporate), PIP is something HR forces us to do once we tell them we want to fire someone. It helps them protect us against future "unfair dismissal" litigation.
Serious question, Is it better to be fired or quit? (Originally Posted: 05/01/2012)
I cannot stand my job and its starting to bleed into my overall performance. Its not like I am just not doing anything but instead of exceeding expectations I now simply meet those expectations. Should I stick around continuing to collect a pay check before they decide to fire me or should I just quit?
UPDATE: Thanks for your responses, I'll simply put the happy face on while I have the job and vigorously up the ante on my job search. Really appreciate it.
You absolutely want to resign as opposed to being fired.
You're more likely to be hired if you're currently employed. Start your search.
^ This. You need to put on a happy face and really do well enough so that they know you're not slacking or looking for other work and on the side, contact other firms.
Can't qualify for unemployment if you quit. So I would take getting fired (w/o cause of course)
^ Be careful about that advice.
Do you have a noncompete?
No, I do not have a noncompete.
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