Regretting changing jobs

by Penelope
(Johannesburg, South Africa )

I am convinced after 4 months with my new employer that i have made a gravely mistake by leaving my old employer. I've moved from a private sector to government and frustrated at the processes and slowness of the pace.

Please advise as I am starting to look for another job which I'm afraid because it will look bad for my resume.

Response from Carl: I'm sorry you're in this situation, Penelope. Typically the time when people often regret changing jobs the most is during the first few weeks after switching jobs. I've faced this myself earlier in my career.

You might find that things straighten themselves out on their own and get better. You might consider approaching your manager and expressing your concerns to see what they say. The third option of course is to find a new job as you're already doing. People do make mistakes in their career and sometimes jobs and companies aren't quite as interesting as we'd thought going in.

If you do start interviewing for jobs you will probably need to be ready to answer the question of why you're looking for a new job so quickly as it will most certainly come up.

Carl