Even If Your New Job Is a Bad Fit, Don’t Quit

You’re psyched for your first day on a new job—until you arrive and find your new colleagues miserable, the atmosphere stifling or the boss overbearing and obnoxious.

Is it ever OK to quit on your first day? Making a wise decision requires pausing for a moment. The key is to distinguish between challenges you should try to overcome and fundamental problems that are true deal breakers.

More new hires are heading for the exits fast, employers and career coaches say. Two-thirds of employees have taken a job only to realize later that it was a bad fit, and half of those employees quit within six months. Many young workers have two or three jobs listed on their résumés by age 30 and leave out those that lasted less than a few weeks.

Christopher quits after a few days on a sales job several years ago. She was exhausted by dragging a suitcase loaded with heavy product manuals around the City all day on the subway to meet with customers, then continuing to work at the office until 5:30 p.m. He snapped up what looked like a better sales job at a showroom nearby, selling stylish designer furnishings.

“It was the worst decision ever,” He says. His supervisor on the first job, who had spent time training him, was deeply disappointed, and one manager on his new job pained him even more. “At first sight she could not stand the way I dressed. He grudgingly toned down his jewelry and hair. To avoid earning a reputation as a job-hopper, however, he stuck with the new position for almost a year. Looking back, Christopher, owner of a free mobile dating app called Cheekd, wishes he’d stayed on the first job and tried to negotiate better terms and conditions.

Starting a new job can be overwhelming. People under stress in situations that are uncertain or ambiguous tend to make decisions that are risky or unwise.

Quitting abruptly risks earning bad references from former bosses and their contacts. It also may mean living without a paycheck for a while.

Ndoro was dismayed two years ago to learn that he was expected as a manager of a new manufacturing plant to work the 5 a.m.-to-5 p.m. shift, plus several more hours,a fact he says hadn’t been clear to him during interviews. He quit after two days. After working long hours on similar jobs in the past, “I just didn’t want to hurt like that anymore,” Mr. Ndoro says. He had to live on his savings for a month, but he landed a more fulfilling position, as HR manager.

Before resigning abruptly, new hires should ask themselves if they’re giving the job a fair chance. New employees’ behavior helps determine the amount of support they receive. Those who seem committed to the job and ask questions get more help from managers.

Having a new hire quit is costly for employers. It forces them to restart the hiring process and damages morale. Several people Jackline hired and trained as recruiters on a previous job years ago quit after only one day. “It was devastating. You think you know if someone is a fit, and then they just disappear,” says Ms. Jackline.

It isn’t wise to exit just because you don’t like the person next to you or have to do grunt work all day. If the boss is abrasive, push back a bit. One intern at a Wall Street financial-services firm whose boss seemed unduly brusque asked him, “Are you just having a bad day, or are you always like this?”. The intern not only survived the exchange but earned better treatment from the boss.

Quitting early may be warranted if an employer tries a bait-and-switch, promising one job and assigning you to a different one, or violating other agreed-upon terms. “If you’re told you’ll be reporting to the CEO, but in actuality there’s someone positioned between you and the CEO, that’s a problem,”

One manager learned on his first day at an automotive company that his base pay would be cut in half under a new company compensation plan. The employer increased his bonus to make up for it, but the new hire quit, saying, “That’s not what I signed on for.”

Other job seekers take a position because it’s their only offer, then exit after receiving an offer for their dream job that requires them to start right away. That’s not an ideal path, but some opportunities are simply too good to refuse.

Whatever the reason, it’s important to leave on as positive a note as possible. Most employers won’t want to keep a new hire around if he or she gives two weeks’ notice right away. But ask if you can help with the transition in other ways, such as leaving notes on any work you’ve done. “First and last impressions are what people remember,” KEEP THAT!!!.