Has anyone ever quit without another job lined up?
 

I've had my new job for about 4 months. I HATE it and want to quit daily. I've had a couple interviews, but nothing has panned out yet. I'm finding that since I'm a newer employee, I don't have much time to take off and it's hard for me to schedule interviews around my work schedule. So that, and the fact that I absolutely cannot stand my job or anyone I work with, is tempting me to just up and quit.

Has anyone quit without another prospect? Please tell me it worked out okay and you got another job rather quickly. I think I'll be okay finacially for a little while, and if I still don't have a job by the fall I can substitute teach (not my career track, but I did it for a bit in college to get some extra money) until I find something I like.

Any horror stories about quitting and being jobless? I'm scared, but I absolutely hate my job and need to get out of here to save my sanity. Thanks!

I don't recommend this line of thought from a professional, economical or emotional standpoint. I quit my surgery residency almost two years after I started because I got a spot in the radiology program. Unfortunately, once I knew I had an out, I could no longer put up with the crap forced on me daily in the surgery department and quit. They had put me on 24 hr call two days in a row at two hospitals 100 miles apart...I know, sounds crazy, but they thought it was completely reasonable! I let my new department know...they seemed fine, but a week later, they called back and said I didn't have a job! Aaaah! I was freaked out that I ruined my career. I had no money and now had to pay my employer's portion of my health insurance, or I'd lose it and have a pre-existing condition clause with any new policy. Even though my husband was still working as a resident, we didn't have enough money to go grocery shopping. I literally rolled our entire change bucket to get $75 to feed us for the week! After two months of sweating it out, weekly meetings that went nowhere, crying uncontrollably at the drop of a hat and agreeing to "probation," I got my job back. Unfortunately, every time I move to a new job, I have to explain my probation in residency, which by the way was promised to be for only 6 months but lasted 18 months because the hospital dean is a surgeon. My new boss had to demand that he take me off probation. I would have been better off sucking it up and putting up with 120 hour work weeks for a couple more months.

Just remember, work is called work for a reason. If it were fun, you'd have to pay them!

Is your job anything like a career you want to have for the rest of your life?

Do you have to provide for anyone/anything (i.e. a child or a pet) other than you?

Are you crying in the morning when you have to go to work?

Have you determined that it's not just one factor that could change (i.e. lousy boss) and make the job suck less?

If you answered these no, no, yes, and yes, then quit.

Agreed.

I quit a job in 2006 with nothing lined up. Yes, it was rough for a while, and I also went back to substitute teaching. But sometimes ANY other job is better than the one you have.

I wrote a thread about it once and most people were supportive. A few people called me disloyal and unprofessional. But nobody has to live with you but YOU, so do what you need to do for your own mental and physical health.

In time, there will not even be a need to mention that job on a resume.

In my field of professional sales, it is suicide to quit before lining up a new job. I worked with a guy who did just that and it took him almost a year to line up a new job. And he was a TOP sales representative!

I think that prospective employers look at you differently if you are unemployed. If someone else has you, then somehow you are more attractive to them. I know this is silly, but perceptions are important in trying to get ahead in your career. This is especially true in competitive fields.

My advice would be to suck it up and keep looking / interviewing. PLUS, down the road it is always difficult (though not impossible) to explain GAPS on your resume. It's better if the gaps don't exist in the first place.

Does your sorority have a career networking group? If so, join and ask for leads. Utilize the career center at your University, get your resume on Monster, careerbuilder, hotjobs, etc. In other words, do everything you can to find something quickly!

Good luck to you!

I quit without another job at the beginning of June and I don't regret it for a moment. I haven't been able to find another job, but that's basically because I live in a horrible job market.

The only real upside I can think of is that I've been able to go off my blood pressure meds and I've lost 10 pounds. Can't beat that!

I once quit without a new job lined up. I was an independent contractor, and my contract stipulated that I would be paid X days in arrears after submitting an invoice. My client pretended that he had "never received" (read: deliberately lost) invoices, he had "never received" reports, his clients hadn't paid him so he wouldn't pay me (!) - any flimsy excuse not to cut me a check. Finally, one day, he demanded that I work for him for free or he wouldn't give me a good reference. I walked out the door. I later found out that I'm in good company - there are a lot of people who won't do business with him.

Quitting a job without having a new job lined up is not something I would suggest lightly, but sometimes it's something you have to do, for your own sanity if nothing else.

Agree. I was in a situation just like this almost to a "t". The owner was doing things and making me do things that went against everything I believe in in business and in general life.

The other question to ask is how long you can support yourself without a paycheck. If you are living paycheck to paycheck and can't cover the next month's rent without that paycheck, think about it.

I wish I could quit mine, but I have way too many financial responsibilities to even think about it.

ME TOO! And I'm not even living paycheck to paycheck.

pray
 

I have been down that road. stay where you are for now because the change you make will require that extra money to make the move. if possible be very quiet as you search and do not let them know you are looking. A new position will come and you owe them nothing, so you are available yesterday. Restructure your budget to fit what you would to do.

I just went through finding a new district because the principal at the school I taught at was a psycho!!! It was very stressful, but I had 4 months salary saved and I work in finance during the summer as well.

Luckily I found a job, but I would not recommend if the job market in your area is not strong. Not to mention enough money 2 live off in the meantime...good luck!!

I had a falling out with my boss and he called me a few choices words that made me react a lil strongly. :mad: He sent me home when that happened, but I didn't regret it. Later, he called me insisting that when he said "Today's your last day, go home," he wasn't firing me at all--would I please come back? MAJOR :rolleyes:. I came back, but when he realized that I had filed a complaint against him prior to returning, he acted a fool and made it his mission to torture me. After two days, I talked to my wonderfully understanding store manager and got the go ahead to make that day my official last day. I looked for another job briefly and had a couple good options, but eventually decided I was happier not working. Mind you, I was a student with substantial savings so I could afford that option.

That was an extreme, though. I had another awful job that made me want to run and hide evertime it was time to clock in. I started looking for a new job after 3 weeks. It took 2 months to find another job and I had to take on extra odd jobs to make ends meet in the meantime (I was paid that little :mad:). That job was a necessary evil or else I wouldn't be able to handle the rent. I would say if you're not two seconds from slitting your wrists, then just stick it out.

I've only worked 3 different jobs since I was old enough to work. I won't count the pretzel place, because I only worked there one day. A six hour shift and I never came back. I worked at the zoo when I was 16. I did that until my 2nd year of undergrad. Then I worked at a vet clinic until graduation. Then I moved here to go to vet school. Now I work at another vet clinic, which I'll do until I am a vet. Fortunately for me, I''ve always gotten along with everyone I work(ed) with, so I haven't had to leave any jobs without something else lined up. Plus, I really enjoyed all of the jobs I've worked.

i got tired of having my first boss always getting mad at me for the dumbest things, she had the biggest power trip. I quit, didn't have a job lined up, sure enough with all the free time I had I found a new job in 4 days

I recommend you use doctor/dentist appointments as excuses to coming in late in the morning or leaving a bit early in the afternoons... if you don't have to submit a note to HR.

Its been a month since the OPs post...what happened?

I'm still here at my horrible job. I just haven't had the guts to quit. Mostly I'm scared that potential employers will look down on the fact that I quit/was unemployed for a period of time. Right now I have a really great resume, and I wouldn't want to mess up my chances in the future with a gap of unemployment.

Unfortunately, it hasn't gotten any easier- every day is worse than the one before. In fact, yesterday I had to leave my office in the middle of the day so I could go scream at the top on my lungs in the car. If I hadn't I probably would have been arrested for hurting one of my coworkers... just kidding (kind of).

The good news is that I have four interviews lined up in the next two weeks, with two of them being second interviews. I am HOPING and PRAYING that something works out with those. Luckily I work for the goverment, so no one really questions any time I take off for interviews. If none of these interviews work out (god forbid), I'm probably going to quit in the beginning of next month. I just don't think this job is healthy for me. I cry every day, I yell at anyone who asks how my job is going, and I shake when I drive to work every morning.

If I do get a new job, do you think it's okay to quit with very little notice? I know it's unprofessional to give less than two weeks notice, but I need to get out of here as soon as possible.

If I don't get any of these upcoming job opportunities, how big of an impact do you think having a period of unemployment would look to a future employer?

Sorry this is so long... you have no idea how nice it is to vent!

Unless you're going to remove this job from your resume altogether, you need to give notice. Otherwise, you'll always get a negative review from the company which will (not may) bite you in the future.

A period of unemployment will significantly impact your job prospects. It's never a good idea to quit without something lined up, particularly right now.

I would always recommend to give a two weeks notice. It's better to end your employment professionally, you just never know what the future may bring.

Good luck on your interviews! Don't settle for anything or you may find yourself in the same position again.

To the OP: There are pros and cons. If you have done this list and the pros are less than the cons, then you should go with your heart.

I left my job last year due to gross harassment by my boss. If I wanted to I can seek a lawyer. After that incident, my husband recommended that I resign, which I did, but I did not line up my unemployment (which I am still pissed about) and I did seek other positions before I left, but I was under duress and could not make effective decisions.

It took me 7 months to find another job and I hate it to no end. However, the gig is for 9 months then I move on. Been at the job for ~3 months and I already dislike it.

The key is to find what you truly would like to do. And if you live alone, you need to find how you are going to fund your excursion. I had enough for 5 months, then gas prices increased... So inflation must be considered.

If you do are fearful, the biggest fear you could consider is the decisions you make now affect your health in the future. And at the end of the day, the only think you've got is your health. If you do not have that, what do you have. Hating your position is stressful, especially if you cry before going.

You need to find a different career

I think you also need to take a look at what is making your job so awful. I cannot imagine letting a job affect me as much as you say this job is affecting you unless someone was seriously harassing me, in which case I'd take it to HR. What is happening at work that is making you shake, cry, etc? I have days where people at work get on my nerves, but I've also found comrades who I can vent to and, ultimately, I'm in control of how I react to people. One co-worker was really getting to me because she's very moody and I was getting sucked into that. I consciously decided one day that this woman was not going to make me crazy because her moodiness is her problem, not mine and I have no control over her, but I do have control over how I let her affect me. Now when she's moody, I just avoid her or interact with her only via email. It's better now.

I am a teacher and in Ohio, if you have a job....consider yourself lucky.

Well.....then there's me.......

I spent 3 years searching for a full time teaching position, got one in a private school, hated it, and quit with nothing lined up. Why did I quit you ask????

I was brought into my contract thinking that I would be part of a 2-person team, however, it seemed as if she didn't know what "teaming" meant. She didn't want to take any of my ideas, was constantly overriding my discipline of the students, and basically made me do all the prep work. This is what I call an "assistant" position..... So the end of February came, I took my Praxis III test on Wednesday and walked into my administrators office on Friday and told her not to renew my contract. I still had 2.5 months to go, but I felt so much better knowing that I didn't have to go back after June 6th. I started teaching the way I wanted to teach and telling her to do things herself.

Now don't get me wrong.....it wasn't just her that made me quit. I felt the school was very unprofessional, I don't think the administration had the right priorities, and honestly.....when several people refer to you by the wrong name numerous times throughout the year....you find out that you just really don't belong there.

So here I am 5 months later......still with no teaching job (I'm doing some marketing stuff part time) but thankful that I didn't have to go back. Sure I miss my kids terribly and would love to see them, but not under those circumstances. I interviewed several times this summer and nothing worked out. Just interviewed the other day and waiting for a phone call......all I can do is hope and pray this one works out. I'd rather go in mid-year than waste a whole year doing nothing.

Oh and why am I not subbing you ask??? Why put one more year on your experience if Ohio districts are looking for teachers with 5 or less years of experience????

To the OP: have you considered getting signed up with a staffing agency or a temp firm?

There is always a possibility to get something short term that will allow yo to keep yor sanity while you find a better job or even the possibility that yo may find a temp position that may possibly become a long term position.


If you like your sanity and you hate coming home stressed, that may be your short term solution for the time being.