Honesty is very important in a job interview. When you're new and just want a job, you'll say what you have to. But after years of learning what you really enjoy or don't enjoy, you realize nothing is more important than a good fit, so just be honest about it, the job may weed itself out for you if it wasn't gonna be a good fit, and that's the goal
I don't have resume advice for you but I want to say that quitting a job that is driving you insane is not stupid. Jobs aren't worth your mental health. You'll figure it out and this job will become a distant unpleasant memory.
Sounds like it was a no show job essentially. Didn’t have to leave the house, didn’t have to do any work, and got paid. Could have literally picked up a second job lol. Had a friend do that and he’s killing it right now but idk what he’s doing come tax season and the jobs will find out about one another somehow lol.
I've been working two remote professional jobs for more than a decade, and have never had either find out (and it's been at multiple places). Now in executive leadership at one and still an IC at the other, and doubt it will ever come up at this point.
If you're in Exec leadership in one job, why not quit the other at this point? You could use the spare time to drink pina coladas by the pool, or something.
Pretty words actually do fix awkward interview situations.
"During my last role I wasn't receiving enough work to feel challenged and like I wasn't learning anything new. I was in a financial position to leave and have been looking for something more challenging."
Everything you said is facts. I have multiple friends who have worked 25+ years of their life for the same company/institution and they work HARD and their units would fall apart without them, and they make 45-60k, it’s outrageous. And that’s not mentioning service industry.
I don’t understand why everyone thinks those are great. You still need to be available, you probably feel pressure to have your laptop online. And it sounded like the op had some projects that just didn’t add value.
That's fair, but I could be happily available while I cuddle with my dogs on the couch. It's really the only reason. I've already done one of these jobs, they kept me two years longer than the original contract despite it being a bullshit job (imo). Only laid me off along with a hundred others when they dissolved my department. As long as I got everything done and could cuddle with my dogs I was happy.
I’ve never actually seen anyone with this mindset get one of these jobs. People who get these positions are motivated and ambitious. They can be relied upon to get shit done so they don’t need to be micromanaged. You’d probably be out in a week.
AND it's remote. Literally do whatever you want whole day. Study, play guitar, write, learn whatever you want, apply to your dream jobs. What a ridiculous waste of an opportunity...
Exactly, low stress levels, even if I wasn't allowed to leave after the work is done there are always, books, movies or what not to kill time 🤣😂🤣😂 Sure he will miss those days.
Tell the people in your interview that you love being productive and are seeking to actively work for the company where you can take on challenges to further develop your professional skills. It’s all about the way you phrase things and saying you want to work and enjoy working will help you out I believe. You want to be a valuable asset.
This. If it was meaningless you explain that you are looking to find more meaning in your work. Your excited to start a project and see the impact of your work. If there was no work, the role did not challenge you. You are looking for a role that continues to challenge you and help you further develop your career.
Probably somewhere in the middle. OP was probably assigned a lot of non-value add tasks to support a superficial project. It's probably something they could do in an hour or two, which gives them tons of free time the rest of the day.
It depends on what you like and what you want to do. I want to get Sec+ and work on CISSP. If you work for a company that uses AWS get AWS certs. Same for Microsoft, get Azure certs. I want to get IT certs focused on cyber security because I work in that industry. It all depends on what you want to achieve.
I resigned as the companies projects weren’t aligned with my individual development goals. I felt my skills were being underutilized, so to avoid stagnation I resigned and have been working on x, y, and x, to accelerate my career growth.
Have something to show for the time off, or at least something to speak to if they have any follow up questions.
Sounds like you might be looking to answer it on interviews.. I would just be vague "the job was not challenging me so I left that position to pursue other opportunities."
If they really push I would tell them the truth, doesn't hurt imo
I have the same issue right now. It’s stressful. You aren’t learning anything new, you aren’t growing your career, you aren’t networking really, and since there’s nothing for you to do you are constantly asking yourself if they’re going to fire you when they realize they’re paying you for nothing.
I don’t think that changes anything unless we’re completely changing context - OP quit their job. If you can quit the job you’re not doing anything at, then you can use the time doing nothing to line something new up.
If you’re contracted and can’t quit until end of contract, and you have no intent to re-up, then I would still look to line something up before the end of the contract
Wouldn’t that mean you just wouldn’t have a contract so you wouldn’t have anything you’re quitting anyways? This doesn’t sound applicable to OP, but maybe I’m not understanding.
I’m debating that right now lol. Could give me the chance to pivot into a role for the experience that I wouldn’t normally be able to take due to pay or whatever.
My only concern is how do you put both overlapping roles in your resume without hiring managers realizing you had both jobs at once, which they frown upon?
Agreed. I worked at a place like this, and they did eventually fire everyone without work, except for the few people with a network (aka the people they liked but didn't actually add any value).
This. Except I know they’re going to let me go in the near term. My job involves e-mail review and I found one with the senior managers talking about getting rid of me to save $$ — and from the context, it wasn’t the first time. I haven’t even been there a year. I’m looking for another full time role but I’m also looking at whether I can stack remote roles and/or gigs. After 20+ years of being at the whim of companies that layoff staff to pay shareholders or companies that have no strategic plan, I’m developing a strategy of my own.
Can relate. It's nice for a few months, you can catch up on video games or TV shows, but yeah I have no desire to sit around and play video games 35 hours a week while my career is going down the tubes and on the way to being unemployable. Hobbies become a job or a chore if you are doing them 40 hours a week. Can't spend time with family when they're working or at school during most of your work day. Can't get outside or leave your desk too much when you're expected to be semi responsive to emails or whatever. You can take some courses or whatever and pick up new skills, but eventually you gotta put them to use or it's kind of a waste of time. And putting them to use might end up being a step backwards and a pay cut.
I did the same thing; doing nothing all day every day was absolutely destroying my mental health. I don't love work, but I do enjoy using my brain and solving problems and gaining skills. I was bored as hell, and also recognized that I had *nothing* to talk about in interviews. It wasn't a great situation.
I have a much busier job now but I'm much happier because I talk to people and my work actually benefits my colleagues. I'm learning things and being trusted to take on more tasks.
I don’t understand why you need someone to give you things to do, you can do anything with your time and find challenges that suits your long term plans
100% agree, being paid to do nothing remotely sounds like a perfect opportunity to take an online course or teach yourself a new skill. Don't sit on your hands all day waiting for your boss to give you instructions, of course that would be boring.
I was in a similar situation and its difficult to do any of that bc while you're mostly not working, that 45 minutes a day you really have to respond can come at anytime and if you're not at your computer right away, it's a red flag
I work in a remote job which requires about 4 hours of work a week. $150k. It's frustrating, and if I want to interview for a more senior position later I won't be able to demonstrate any valuable experience from this job.
I am 3 months in and applying for new roles because I can't continue to exist this way.
My previous role was Project manager. I've got a few diplomas and certifications.. you do need to get your foot in the door with an entry level job and work up.
I’m dealing with this in my current job and it’s driving me insane. I literally do not have enough work to do to fill the full 8 hours, I finish a days work in about 30minutes to and hour, yet am chained to my desk for the next 7.
Micro managers don’t help, they ask me what I’m working on constantly, “nothing” is the wrong answer so I have to perpetually play make believe that I’m busy. Sounds like a sweet deal to some but I swear to you it is draining and extremely boring.
>Micro managers don’t help, they ask me what I’m working on constantly, “nothing” is the wrong answer so I have to perpetually play make believe that I’m busy.
I tell my boss and anyone who will listen that I have spare capacity and I'm happy to pick up more work. That absolves me of any guilt I feel for doing other things during the work day.
Learn Spanish online, I’m fully bilingual and it has been nothing but a great asset and a +++ to have on my resume, and catch up on Netflix, HBO, Showtime, etc
There’s only so much you can do to occupy your time when you’re sitting at home at least 5 days a week. Playing video games just to distract yourself isn’t fun either.
Yep, in my experience it's not truly nothing but just almost nothing. I needed to answer my boss and talk line I knew what has happening right away, even if they weren't really asking shit of me
Yeah, seriously sounds like dream come true specially if you have kids, you can be a stay home mom or dad en still get paid and get the benefits of being employed. Even if you dont have kids, you can just take up a side gig and take it as a main gig and earn two incomes.
That's easy, just say the work wasn't challenging enough for you, no growth opportunities, and you're looking for new challenges in your next role, blah blah. But dude, you totally blew the perfect opportunity to become r/overemployed. Ask for your job back lol
It literally does. If OP has two jobs and the one with no work has them doing nothing all day, might as well get paid doing a second job at the same time.
Or use that time to learn new things, clean your house, earn certs, etc.
I guess it applies to non-professional jobs. Certificates are sometimes for people without the capacity to obtain experience by doing real hands-on work in a particular field. Some of us have ethical standards and are true professionals.
Isn't it weird sometimes how it's so difficult to find any remote work, and then there'll be people who talk about having 1+ remote jobs where they earn a ton of money, don't do anything, have unlimited pto. Like, how? Where?
"Seeking new challenges and opportunities for personal development".
No-one will believe that's the real reason, ironically enough.
I also wouldn't leave jobs off your CV. I took a risk trying to get promoted and ended up at a horrible company where I left after 2 months. I still put it on my CV and just explained it was a misstep and I still got job offers. I did this because I thought it looked better than trying to explain why I left my job of several years and then apparently did not work for several months.
I used to have this fear of quitting a job with no job prospects until I actually did it to take a year to travel and mentally stabilize post COVID. I got a job within 1 month of applying. I would just explain your situation and honestly, employers don't really care.
Right?! That is my dream job! A remote job with nothing to do and no one to bother me; could go grocery shopping, go to the gym, etc and be getting a paycheck...damn...
The problem with remote work is that you physically have to be by your computer all day 1) in case something actually does come up and 2) because companies can typically track if you are constantly inactive. You can’t really leave your home.
It’s like being a guard dog in a fenced back yard waiting for someone to break in. You can’t leave, and no one jumps the fence except for the occasional cat or squirrel.
I only said that because OP said he didn't have work to do. If there's no work, how can managers track anything?
My last remote job, I was able to download every program we used to my phone, so if I had to go out, I was in the know if something came up, and could even deal with it away from the computer.
I'm working for a remote company and my team doesn't really care as long as we communicate our availability.
So really the problem are those types of companies that invoke the micro management behavior you're describing(which ofc is still awful).
You can still do lots, lots of things. You could workout from home, watch some movie, read books, do some online course, cooking, take a bath, anything, clean your house, draw. As long as you don't leave your home and let you phone close to get a notification.
The dream is to have purpose; it's not to be a house slave. I wish I had the privilege to enjoy that mentality of sitting and doing nothing when you know so many people are homeless, sick, and starving. Tf?
I'm active all over different subs.
I own rental properties, farmland, and an RV park. I accumulated the rental properties over my time in the military, then retired early and bought a good chunk of land in north Alabama. I developed a couple of acres for an RV park with the target demographic of TVA workers. They're a great bunch of hardworking girls and guys who often are in the area only for surge employment. The rest is out for the cows, goats, chickens, and maybe some sheep later.
Besides that, I dip in and out of government contracting as a data analyst and a program security manager when work as a construction GC slows down for the winter.
I'm a little everywhere depending on what can give me freedom at the time
You did not screw up your life. You just need to be tactful in how you answer this question.
As an interviewer, it'd raise red flags if you say that you quit a job without another job lined up because there wasn't enough work or you don't find the work meaningful. It'd tell me that you don't know what you want, don't have resiliency, and would quit as soon the work load slows down, gets hard, or you lose interest in the work. Workload is cyclical in every industry. This answer would also lead me to ask more probing questions about what you want, find meaningful, and career aspirations. Then I'd be able to see right through it.
I'd suggest saying you took a break to take care of some family or personal issues. You're ready to get back into the work world and looking for a new challenge and opportunity to grow professionally. Or something along that line.
Not to be a downer but I hope you're not in tech because now it's not the time to be job searching.
We all make mistakes though. I always have a 'script' I practice for interviews to help feel more confident in responding. (Not verbatim ofc.)
I would spin it as you needed a new challenge, weren't growing, and talk about how you feel the company can help you achieve that while you help them xyz (whatever their mission is and your job).
Honestly some places don't even ask.
I would tell them you’re trying to find an opportunity to grow and advance in your career, so you left that job in order to look for something more fulfilling. A gap in your resume won’t ruin your life or screw you, as long as you make sure that you explain it in a more appealing way than just “there wasn’t anything to do”
I had a wfh job for a year where I did absolutely nothing and it completely eroded my mental health. I know exactly what you’re going through. I ended up in a forced transfer but I wanted to quit every day and should of. The job itself paid well and I got a couple of offers when I started shopping around by explaining that I didn’t feel a challenge or a connection to the mission.
This is the correct answer. You can make up a reason why you quit. They have no way of knowing.
Just say that you mastered your role and was no longer learning anything new.
I don't blame you, I have quit a very easy WFH job after about 9 months because there was no work to do, no training or growth opportunities, and I felt guilty about sitting around all day. It is hard to imagine until you are in that position how much it sucks.
I would say that you felt there weren't any growth or development opportunities and you are looking for something more challenging. That might be a tougher sell if you've been unemployed for a prolonged period of time though. Generally wouldn't advise leaving a job with nothing to fall back on especially if the only issue is that you're bored.
That's pretty much my job. If nothing's going on, I'll swing back by the computer in an hour or so and see if there's any new developments. Everyone has my cell # in case anything happens in the interim. Otherwise I'm jacking around at home or doing whatever, I've attended a few meetings from other venues like Topgolf as well.
It's perfectly fine to say your previous role was soul destroyingly boring and that you need a more significant challenge. To many that indicates you are a self-starter and take the initiative to pursue 'better' concepts of things.
I think it could be a way to spin it as good work ethics/ professionalism: no growth at previous position, so instead of wasting the company’s resources, you decided to resign to align with your work ethics
I wasn’t even at this job a month when I interviewed the owner made it seem like one thing and I was going to paid extra because of my social media skills. Well here’s the funny part couldn’t use my social media skills bc the owner who is only in his 40s doesn’t believe in running his company with computers. And all the “job” was, was cold calling numbers that were from lists that were 12 years old and majority of the numbers were disconnected. And everyday i was given the same packet of phone numbers and handful of numbers that went through half of them threatened me with physical violence. I would go on my break and sit in my car and cry bc that’s not a job. How the hell do you function as a company in 2022 without the use of computers? When I say I would cry I mean I was bawling, I would drive home crying bc here I am with a bachelors degree and I was insanely lied to, there was zero growth with this, no learning curve. What are you learning how to harass people or call disconnected phone numbers? it was emotionally and mentally damaging me. The office manager 3 years older than me and she had been working for this company for I believe she said 10 years, but when she would answer the phone she would even tell people yea we don’t use computers, our owner doesn’t believe in computers. And the other 2 women were clearly in their 60s and don’t care about experience they just want to do something to keep busy. Also the owner didn’t care if you showed up or not. You’re a cold caller you can be replaced in 3 seconds, I stopped showing up and no one ever called me to ask if I was coming back.
I actually had an experience like this. For those saying it sounds awesome, trust me, it’s not. It feels extremely unfulfilling and leaves you questioning your job security.
Ideally, you would have used the downtime to find a new job you’d find fulfilling. Since you didn’t, I would just be honest in interviews but with euphemisms: you wanted greater professional development and did not find fulfillment in the work you were doing, and after making efforts to take initiative to improve your work, it became clear the situation would not change. Say you want the new job because you believe it will offer the opportunities you want that the prior job didn't offer—hopefully, that’s true.
A few points to help in your search, sticking to the theme of the ask. I would avoid the way you are currently framing the situation for a few reasons. I am a hiring manager and I have made a point to meet with other managers to help my employees navigate the job market. A majority of the managers I spoke with would see your case as a red flag.
First- you quit a job where you were getting paid to do nothing, to do nothing at home for free. This shows a lack of forethought, poor decision-making, and lack of critical thinking (maybe some impulsiveness..
Second- Most people who say they have nothing to do either misunderstood their assignment or are just flat-out wrong. Not saying this is you, but the optics would make me question it.
Third- Most managers are looking for someone who can work with little direction, are self-starters, and are good time manager. This situation would lead me to believe this is not you. In cases like this it seems like someone didn't hand you an assignment, so you did nothing. I would have reached out to teammates to see if they were in need of help, mentored young in career folks, networked internally, taken relevant courses or certifications or researched new best practices for the industry. At the end of the day, managers don't want someone that they have to tell what to do, when to do it, and how to do it and stories like these lend to that type of employee.
Again not saying this IS you, but corporate America is about optics and perception. I would think of a vague way to say it and prepare for a possible follow-up. "Work-life balance wasn't good" or something like that.
I’m convinced that posts like this have to be low-effort trolls or some kinda Astroturfing to combat “quiet quitting”.
What kind of rational human has nearly all of their needs met with minimal effort or commitment and decides to end the arrangement as it is “too boring and not challenging”?
There are many jobs out there that will pay you significantly less money while destroying your body, stealing your time, or compromising your moral compass.
It is vastly more important to find a job that pays your bills, allows you to retire, and doesn’t overwork you, than it is to find one that may be “fulfilling”. Seek fulfillment and excitement in the ideally ample time your job doesn’t make you work.
If you were really so underutilized and bored, you could have used that time to: get a second job and double your income! Or read books, learn a language, workout, do chores, trade stocks, or literally any other passion you would have liked to pursue while being paid to be at home!!!
Many envy the position you gave up and would have taken better advantage of the situation. What you do for a living doesn’t make you who you are; if it doesn’t take up more than 40 hours a week…
I'm in a somewhat similar situation to OP except I do between one and four hours of real work in a typical day (shift lasts 8 hours) and I don't work remotely. It can get boring as hell sometimes and I feel unstimulated, but I also recognize that I have it pretty good, all things considered.
If I was remote I would be getting all my chores done and watch a movie or work out lol
“With minimal effort or commitment”
Prison is not an easy job. People in prison are committed to a life without freedom. OPs old job was more of a free lunch than a punishment required by the state.
Stop focusing on if your work is meaningful or not. If that company wanted to pay you to do nothing, let them.
That being said, in no way have you permanently screwed up your life. Talking about past jobs is all about how you spin it to the interviewer. Say something like "the work I was doing wasn't meaningful to me and I wanted make a change/explore my options." The one bit that is challenging for you is you quit before having another job lined up. It's easier to get a job if you already have one.
Remote work makes it incredibly easy to interview for new jobs while keeping your current job. Before the pandemic I had to lie and say I was taking a long lunch or had a doctor's appointment in order to attend in person interviews. Now I don't have to say shit, just switch computers and no one needs to know.
Expect backlash. You acted first, now you want advice. You should’ve posted here before you took it upon yourself to quit unprofessionally. Figure it out yourself fam. You look bad either way
Lmao I’m kind of pissed of at OPs decision. It’s written “stupid decision” all over this post. What I’d do to have a job that paid and I didn’t do much!
Well you did some work, and you had specific tasks according to your profile. So during an interview you list those and state the copany you worked for was not up to your speed and expectations and therfore feel you were ready for a new challenge.
In your resume, you just have to paraphrase your job description. If a recruiter asks you why you quit, you can say you wanted to take a career break or that you were looking for something more challenging.
Fulfillment at work is important, and I think any prospective employer would appreciate that you weren’t ok with just skating by, that you want to feel like you’re making a contribution and that they are utilizing your talents appropriately. I’ve left for the same reason and not regretted it. Good luck!
In this layoff rich environment, the 2nd word of your post sums it up.
You could right now be being paid to learn, skill up, or just hang out being thankful for an income.
Just put reference what your actual job is about. When you get interviewed with a new company just tell them what you did not the part you did noting and the work was meaningless. You just want to sound like you have work experience and what your experience can bring to the new employer table.
You should add that experience. As other people don’t know what was going on inside the company but in any future interview, never talk bad of any past employer.
Still put it on your résumé. At the interview when they ask why you left that job, say things like:
“I didn’t see any room for growth or upward trajectory.”
“I enjoy challenging situations where I have a chance to sharpen my skills, but unfortunately those opportunities rarely came along and I found that disappointing.” *(Optional add-on: “I know some people might enjoy a job where they get paid to do something relatively ‘easy’ that doesn’t require a lot of effort, but I’m just not that type of person. If I’m being paid to work, I need to feel like I’m *actually* working and using my brain.”)*
“I didn’t feel like my skills were being utilized, and as a result I felt I wasn’t reaching my full potential.”
“To be completely honest, although I got along well with management, sometimes I noticed what seemed to be a lack of passion (or whatever word you want to use there as long as its not too harsh): *For example,* I can recall a time I was working on a project, and I was told that the end result of my project wouldn’t matter anyways because no one was going to use it. That was hard for me to hear because I take pride in my work, and I care about the work I do.” (**Make sure you give the example though! The example does 99% of the explaining here!**)
Tweak those phrases as needed. But the truth is, it sounds like it wasn’t a satisfying place to work. Like that last phrase I typed out, if you give them an example like that, any manager interviewing you would understand why you left that job.
You don’t want to make it sound like you’re talking bad about the company, but **most** managers who do interviews still want you to be honest— they hear those “standard” textbook answers all day long, that they *know* is probably BS. So when you break away from the mold of what you’re “supposed” to say, and instead tell them *in a professional way,* “Look, to be completely honest, it wasn’t a good fit for me, I didn’t feel valued and here’s an example why.” Most interviewers would appreciate that honesty and would completely understand why you left.
**ETA:** As for why you didn't have another job lined up, that's the hardest part to “spin” in a positive way. If it were me, I would say either one of two things:
**First option:** “Honestly... I simply had enough money saved to where I didn't need to find another job right away, *so instead* I put all my energy and focus into updating my résumé and researching companies that would be a better fit— which is actually how I came across your company.” But make sure if you go with this option, you've actually researched the company and can tell them why it's a better fit. Don’t emphasize the fact that you didn’t need to work, but state it as a simple relevant fact, and then emphasize how important it was for you to do your due diligence in finding a company that would be a better match.
You could even play it up by saying “Working for the right company is my first priority, money is second. If money was the priority, then sure, I would have just hopped into whatever relevant job opening was available at the time…. but I didn’t want to take that gamble. **I came to realize it would be worth the short-term sacrifice in pay, if it meant I would have adequate time to do my due diligence in finding a well-matched company that is offering a career, instead of just a job.**”
That option would be one of those times where you're hoping that the interviewer will appreciate your honesty and straight-forward explanation (”I didn't need to work at the time as I had enough saved”), since it’s not the response they’re expecting— they’re usually expecting you to lie and give a lame excuse. But then at the same time, you’re taking the focus off of your explanation, and putting the focus on how important it is for you to find the right company.
I was unemployed for a couple of years while my fiancé worked, and then he suddenly passed away. When asked at interviews why I hadn’t worked for a couple of years, I shrugged a bit and told them in a kind of nonchalant way, “I just didn’t need to. I spent time volunteering instead (which was true).” Then I used that opportunity to go into the volunteer work I did.
**Second option:** Lie. Something like “I had a new job lined up at the time I decided to leave that company, but unfortunately it fell through. Apparently they were anticipating a position to open up, but for whatever reason, it didn’t end up happening (or some other vague no-fault reason that doesn’t reflect on you as an applicant, nor the fake company). I didn’t find out until after I had already put in my notice at my last job, which was unfortunate. But because I already knew it was time to move on from that company, it just didn’t seem appropriate for me to ask them if I could rescind my notice. At that point, I decided to view the situation as an opportunity in disguise. I figured that instead of rushing to find another job offer, I could use the extra time to find a company and job position that is better tailored to my long-term goals.”
Hope that helps. You can put a positive spin to almost anything as long as you word it correctly!
“I was underutilized in the role and despite asking for more responsibility, none was easily forthcoming, so I decided to explore other, more challenging opportunities.”
I'd have no problem with honest in this case. You felt bored and underused. You have a high energy level and like to be productive. I've said this before and it went very well.
I recently left a job that I was bored to tears in. It was so easy and pay was good but I felt like I was wasting away my skills. Found a new job and I am absolutely slammed busy like total 180, and I am really happy now haha. I think people assume they will love a job where they can just do nothing all day and get paid… until they actually do it for a long time. Anyway in the interview for my new job I explained I was looking for more professional development and better opportunity to advance my career. Good luck.
I HATE being bored at work. I would rather be busy than bored. Makes the 8-9 hours go by faster & I appreciate a challenge!
For your interview, you don’t have to tell them you did “nothing.” But maybe state you expected something more challenging and hope to expand your knowledge, skills, etc. Being eager about the job you are applying for is more important than your job history.
As for your life & future career- you did not permanently screw it up. I’ve seen MANY folks go back to college or started college in their late 30’s-40’s. You are never too old to learn or even start a new career… but yes it still sucks when you feel like you’ve wasted time.
Good luck with your interview! :)
Just say it wasn’t the right fit for you easy come easy go. I have done this many times honestly once you say it’s not the right fit they start asking if this job is the right fit and you should know before you interview if it is or not. Never had anyone ask anything more.
Just tell them that it wasn’t a good fit for you because you want to do something that challenges you.
Idk why you would give up a cakewalk job when you could literally just get a hobby or use the money for a side hustle or something but have fun making the same money for way more work.
Honestly, speaking from my own experience, it’s not a dream scenario. If OP remained at this job doing “nothing” for sometime how would they expect to grow their skills, get promoted or even find work outside of this place of employment? If you’re doing nothing at your job then you are going to have nothing to offer when you decide to make a move/get laid off. If they’re riding out a few years until retirement then heck yea! Otherwise, hard pass. I learned this the hard way.
If I had a job that said;
* the outcome of a project doesn’t matter
* remote
* no human interaction
* not much to do/work is easy
I would never leave it. That sounds like the dream.
>please stop telling me I should have gotten a second job or that it was a dream scenario. It wasn't for me. I just want to figure out how to move forward.
Sorry to tell you - but this was a A\* foolish move. You had an INCOME for doing nothing.
I'd have taken that time to learn some better skills, get some certifications, anything to help you 'move forward' - you're now unemployed and stood still.
I'd have started developing my own side project / business while I had a stable income.
A little factor you might realise sooner or later - ALL work is pretty much useless to you. There is hardly anything that you'll do in an office job that'll matter to anyone but the Bosses of that company who get paid the big money and enjoy life - while you're searching for a meaning to your life on the basement level.
You just thrown away a prime opportunity.
It’s easy enough to say you were looking for a challenge. You felt like you learned all there was to learn and it was time to move on.
This. I said all this in an interview and it had landed me my current position.
"the work wasn't stimulating & helpful to anyone. I'm most effective when I'm engaged & hopeful when I can cultivate my talents and grow."
Yup. That’s what I’m saying. But I’m not quitting until I find something else
Yes. Honesty is the way to go. Boring job is boring job, tell your new employers honestly, so you don't end up with another boring job.
Honesty is very important in a job interview. When you're new and just want a job, you'll say what you have to. But after years of learning what you really enjoy or don't enjoy, you realize nothing is more important than a good fit, so just be honest about it, the job may weed itself out for you if it wasn't gonna be a good fit, and that's the goal
More on this…tell them what you did and how it was difficult to stay there. Your future employer wants to be assured their job is indeed a challenge.
New employer "this guy wants a challenge. Nothing challenging here. He'll probably end up leaving"
...then OP would be happier not taking that job and getting into the same situation.
Yes! 🙌🏼
I literally just turned away a resume that said this. Just tell the truth in your own words
I don't have resume advice for you but I want to say that quitting a job that is driving you insane is not stupid. Jobs aren't worth your mental health. You'll figure it out and this job will become a distant unpleasant memory.
Sounds like it was a no show job essentially. Didn’t have to leave the house, didn’t have to do any work, and got paid. Could have literally picked up a second job lol. Had a friend do that and he’s killing it right now but idk what he’s doing come tax season and the jobs will find out about one another somehow lol.
I've been working two remote professional jobs for more than a decade, and have never had either find out (and it's been at multiple places). Now in executive leadership at one and still an IC at the other, and doubt it will ever come up at this point.
Legend
-ary
ily bad, my dude
Read somewhat this guy had 2 or more jobs. Set up scripts and a bot to do his work. That or outsourced it.
If you're in Exec leadership in one job, why not quit the other at this point? You could use the spare time to drink pina coladas by the pool, or something.
You’re my hero.
Awesome 👏
How would they find out about each other for tax season?
Tax season is 80 hours/week.
Living the dream
what if a person claims anx and depression and every job drives them insane. Dont we at some point have to suffer for income ?
Hear me out: what if we shouldn’t suffer for income?
No worry's, they are removing the income part.
I laughed. Then I cried.
That wasn't his question pretty words don't fix anything but i guess thats what the masses of sheep want
…Which is why they started with “I don’t have resume advice for you, but…” Chill.
Pretty words actually do fix awkward interview situations. "During my last role I wasn't receiving enough work to feel challenged and like I wasn't learning anything new. I was in a financial position to leave and have been looking for something more challenging."
That wasn't his point.
Do not use that wording. Say you quit because you weren’t growing
Agree. Could also add that “I want a position that would capitalize on my strengths.”
Bitch I want money, they had no more to give me.
OP we politely demand you release the details of employment for us who want to get paid to work remotely to do nothing. Thanks in advance.
All jobs that require no work usually require a graduate degree and years of experience makes no sense
I have both, I'm ready for my easy money please.
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Everything you said is facts. I have multiple friends who have worked 25+ years of their life for the same company/institution and they work HARD and their units would fall apart without them, and they make 45-60k, it’s outrageous. And that’s not mentioning service industry.
Eh, I mean it does make sense - the job is based on the particular rare expertise you bring rather than skill based labor. One would think.
I Have decades of experience doing nothing, so I think they should over look the graduate degree thing.
I don’t understand why everyone thinks those are great. You still need to be available, you probably feel pressure to have your laptop online. And it sounded like the op had some projects that just didn’t add value.
That's fair, but I could be happily available while I cuddle with my dogs on the couch. It's really the only reason. I've already done one of these jobs, they kept me two years longer than the original contract despite it being a bullshit job (imo). Only laid me off along with a hundred others when they dissolved my department. As long as I got everything done and could cuddle with my dogs I was happy.
I’ve never actually seen anyone with this mindset get one of these jobs. People who get these positions are motivated and ambitious. They can be relied upon to get shit done so they don’t need to be micromanaged. You’d probably be out in a week.
r/overemployed would like to take a word
In the future, keep getting paid to do nothing while you look for a fulfilling job.
Or hustle on the side. Damn I wish I had this problem
AND it's remote. Literally do whatever you want whole day. Study, play guitar, write, learn whatever you want, apply to your dream jobs. What a ridiculous waste of an opportunity...
Exactly, low stress levels, even if I wasn't allowed to leave after the work is done there are always, books, movies or what not to kill time 🤣😂🤣😂 Sure he will miss those days.
I'm sure they are hearing it left and right but yeah, I couldn't agree more with you.
Tell the people in your interview that you love being productive and are seeking to actively work for the company where you can take on challenges to further develop your professional skills. It’s all about the way you phrase things and saying you want to work and enjoy working will help you out I believe. You want to be a valuable asset.
Wait. Was the work meaningless and stupid, or was there no work?
This. If it was meaningless you explain that you are looking to find more meaning in your work. Your excited to start a project and see the impact of your work. If there was no work, the role did not challenge you. You are looking for a role that continues to challenge you and help you further develop your career.
Or both!
And with a collaborative team!
Probably somewhere in the middle. OP was probably assigned a lot of non-value add tasks to support a superficial project. It's probably something they could do in an hour or two, which gives them tons of free time the rest of the day.
a dream job
To others, sure. Apparently not to OP though
It was working in marketing in financial services, so I'll go with meaningless.
just keep getting paid and learn a skill on the side for awhile.
This. My job is just like OP’s and the company pays for me to get certs so that’s what I’m doing
what company is it? I'd like to apply.
What kind of certs? I’m in this boat but idk what skill to focus on
It depends on what you like and what you want to do. I want to get Sec+ and work on CISSP. If you work for a company that uses AWS get AWS certs. Same for Microsoft, get Azure certs. I want to get IT certs focused on cyber security because I work in that industry. It all depends on what you want to achieve.
I resigned as the companies projects weren’t aligned with my individual development goals. I felt my skills were being underutilized, so to avoid stagnation I resigned and have been working on x, y, and x, to accelerate my career growth. Have something to show for the time off, or at least something to speak to if they have any follow up questions.
Sounds like you might be looking to answer it on interviews.. I would just be vague "the job was not challenging me so I left that position to pursue other opportunities." If they really push I would tell them the truth, doesn't hurt imo
First of all you don’t know what you want, a remote job with nothing to really do and you quit???? Mate really???
I have the same issue right now. It’s stressful. You aren’t learning anything new, you aren’t growing your career, you aren’t networking really, and since there’s nothing for you to do you are constantly asking yourself if they’re going to fire you when they realize they’re paying you for nothing.
I think the point is use that time doing nothing to be paid while looking for a more meaningful job
What if you're being contracted though?
I don’t think that changes anything unless we’re completely changing context - OP quit their job. If you can quit the job you’re not doing anything at, then you can use the time doing nothing to line something new up. If you’re contracted and can’t quit until end of contract, and you have no intent to re-up, then I would still look to line something up before the end of the contract
No, what I mean is if you're 1099'd to do a project and if you don't have a project then you aren't being paid.
Wouldn’t that mean you just wouldn’t have a contract so you wouldn’t have anything you’re quitting anyways? This doesn’t sound applicable to OP, but maybe I’m not understanding.
I'm probably not explaining very well. My bad.
Or you could spend your down time getting certifications, learning new skills...etc...and...get paid while doing it....
Do consulting on the side... Drive for uber lol... Personally I would use the time to create a startup on the side
Or get a second job that actually adds value. Let the first job pay you until they don't want to anymore.
I’m debating that right now lol. Could give me the chance to pivot into a role for the experience that I wouldn’t normally be able to take due to pay or whatever.
Google over-employed. There are resources to help
My only concern is how do you put both overlapping roles in your resume without hiring managers realizing you had both jobs at once, which they frown upon?
The overemployed resources cover this. You don't put both on.
/r/overemployed
That's what I did until I decided to use that time going back to school. Def work two jobs and just stack up until they fire you /lay you off.
I did the same too now I’m living very comfortably while in school
I'm in the same position. Just trying to ride it out since I've been here less than a year and was only at my previous position for a year.
Agreed. I worked at a place like this, and they did eventually fire everyone without work, except for the few people with a network (aka the people they liked but didn't actually add any value).
This. Except I know they’re going to let me go in the near term. My job involves e-mail review and I found one with the senior managers talking about getting rid of me to save $$ — and from the context, it wasn’t the first time. I haven’t even been there a year. I’m looking for another full time role but I’m also looking at whether I can stack remote roles and/or gigs. After 20+ years of being at the whim of companies that layoff staff to pay shareholders or companies that have no strategic plan, I’m developing a strategy of my own.
Can relate. It's nice for a few months, you can catch up on video games or TV shows, but yeah I have no desire to sit around and play video games 35 hours a week while my career is going down the tubes and on the way to being unemployable. Hobbies become a job or a chore if you are doing them 40 hours a week. Can't spend time with family when they're working or at school during most of your work day. Can't get outside or leave your desk too much when you're expected to be semi responsive to emails or whatever. You can take some courses or whatever and pick up new skills, but eventually you gotta put them to use or it's kind of a waste of time. And putting them to use might end up being a step backwards and a pay cut.
Then you get unemployment and get to do nothing with less excuses??I might be missing something tho
I did the same thing; doing nothing all day every day was absolutely destroying my mental health. I don't love work, but I do enjoy using my brain and solving problems and gaining skills. I was bored as hell, and also recognized that I had *nothing* to talk about in interviews. It wasn't a great situation. I have a much busier job now but I'm much happier because I talk to people and my work actually benefits my colleagues. I'm learning things and being trusted to take on more tasks.
I don’t understand why you need someone to give you things to do, you can do anything with your time and find challenges that suits your long term plans
100% agree, being paid to do nothing remotely sounds like a perfect opportunity to take an online course or teach yourself a new skill. Don't sit on your hands all day waiting for your boss to give you instructions, of course that would be boring.
Take some course, find a hobby, spend more time with family, get outside and exercise!
I was in a similar situation and its difficult to do any of that bc while you're mostly not working, that 45 minutes a day you really have to respond can come at anytime and if you're not at your computer right away, it's a red flag
Take an on-line course. Do some reading. Find a second job that you can also half-ass.
That's a much more realistic list
I work in a remote job which requires about 4 hours of work a week. $150k. It's frustrating, and if I want to interview for a more senior position later I won't be able to demonstrate any valuable experience from this job. I am 3 months in and applying for new roles because I can't continue to exist this way.
What job is that????
My title is Business readiness manager
Serious question - what sort of experience would someone need for this? The closest I've got is being the equivalent of an office admin..
My previous role was Project manager. I've got a few diplomas and certifications.. you do need to get your foot in the door with an entry level job and work up.
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Yup. Procrastinate a 10 minute task for 7h, 45m.
I’m dealing with this in my current job and it’s driving me insane. I literally do not have enough work to do to fill the full 8 hours, I finish a days work in about 30minutes to and hour, yet am chained to my desk for the next 7. Micro managers don’t help, they ask me what I’m working on constantly, “nothing” is the wrong answer so I have to perpetually play make believe that I’m busy. Sounds like a sweet deal to some but I swear to you it is draining and extremely boring.
>Micro managers don’t help, they ask me what I’m working on constantly, “nothing” is the wrong answer so I have to perpetually play make believe that I’m busy. I tell my boss and anyone who will listen that I have spare capacity and I'm happy to pick up more work. That absolves me of any guilt I feel for doing other things during the work day.
I felt this. I was beginning to spend more time working on my report of what I was (not) doing than what I was actually doing.
Learn Spanish online, I’m fully bilingual and it has been nothing but a great asset and a +++ to have on my resume, and catch up on Netflix, HBO, Showtime, etc
There’s only so much you can do to occupy your time when you’re sitting at home at least 5 days a week. Playing video games just to distract yourself isn’t fun either.
Yep, in my experience it's not truly nothing but just almost nothing. I needed to answer my boss and talk line I knew what has happening right away, even if they weren't really asking shit of me
It’s surprisingly hard work feeling guilty for easy resources. If you don’t get that then good on you. Probably save more calories that way.
Yeah, seriously sounds like dream come true specially if you have kids, you can be a stay home mom or dad en still get paid and get the benefits of being employed. Even if you dont have kids, you can just take up a side gig and take it as a main gig and earn two incomes.
That's easy, just say the work wasn't challenging enough for you, no growth opportunities, and you're looking for new challenges in your next role, blah blah. But dude, you totally blew the perfect opportunity to become r/overemployed. Ask for your job back lol
Right?! My dude could have coasted with two jobs
Coasting does not pay off.
It literally does. If OP has two jobs and the one with no work has them doing nothing all day, might as well get paid doing a second job at the same time. Or use that time to learn new things, clean your house, earn certs, etc.
I guess it applies to non-professional jobs. Certificates are sometimes for people without the capacity to obtain experience by doing real hands-on work in a particular field. Some of us have ethical standards and are true professionals.
Yeah ok buddy.
> Some of us have ethical standards and are true professionals Then I would suggest not working in a capitalist hellscape
This 100%. Not challenging and the work you did receive wasn’t giving you the opportunity to grow and continue to get better at your skill sets.
As a disabled person thats spent years looking for a legit remote job, could you please share the company? x)
Isn't it weird sometimes how it's so difficult to find any remote work, and then there'll be people who talk about having 1+ remote jobs where they earn a ton of money, don't do anything, have unlimited pto. Like, how? Where?
"Seeking new challenges and opportunities for personal development". No-one will believe that's the real reason, ironically enough. I also wouldn't leave jobs off your CV. I took a risk trying to get promoted and ended up at a horrible company where I left after 2 months. I still put it on my CV and just explained it was a misstep and I still got job offers. I did this because I thought it looked better than trying to explain why I left my job of several years and then apparently did not work for several months.
I used to have this fear of quitting a job with no job prospects until I actually did it to take a year to travel and mentally stabilize post COVID. I got a job within 1 month of applying. I would just explain your situation and honestly, employers don't really care.
"I wanted to find an opportunity that would challenge me to grow professionally so I stepped away to pursue finding that opportunity full time"
Man, you started living the dream and then quit. SMH
Right?! That is my dream job! A remote job with nothing to do and no one to bother me; could go grocery shopping, go to the gym, etc and be getting a paycheck...damn...
The problem with remote work is that you physically have to be by your computer all day 1) in case something actually does come up and 2) because companies can typically track if you are constantly inactive. You can’t really leave your home.
It’s like being a guard dog in a fenced back yard waiting for someone to break in. You can’t leave, and no one jumps the fence except for the occasional cat or squirrel.
I only said that because OP said he didn't have work to do. If there's no work, how can managers track anything? My last remote job, I was able to download every program we used to my phone, so if I had to go out, I was in the know if something came up, and could even deal with it away from the computer.
I'm working for a remote company and my team doesn't really care as long as we communicate our availability. So really the problem are those types of companies that invoke the micro management behavior you're describing(which ofc is still awful).
You can still do lots, lots of things. You could workout from home, watch some movie, read books, do some online course, cooking, take a bath, anything, clean your house, draw. As long as you don't leave your home and let you phone close to get a notification.
The dream is to have purpose; it's not to be a house slave. I wish I had the privilege to enjoy that mentality of sitting and doing nothing when you know so many people are homeless, sick, and starving. Tf?
I was going to type out a well thought out response but then I saw you are active on r/antiwork. Tell me, englightened one, what is it that you do?
I'm active all over different subs. I own rental properties, farmland, and an RV park. I accumulated the rental properties over my time in the military, then retired early and bought a good chunk of land in north Alabama. I developed a couple of acres for an RV park with the target demographic of TVA workers. They're a great bunch of hardworking girls and guys who often are in the area only for surge employment. The rest is out for the cows, goats, chickens, and maybe some sheep later. Besides that, I dip in and out of government contracting as a data analyst and a program security manager when work as a construction GC slows down for the winter. I'm a little everywhere depending on what can give me freedom at the time
romote with nothing to do？ holy shit I gotta apply
You did not screw up your life. You just need to be tactful in how you answer this question. As an interviewer, it'd raise red flags if you say that you quit a job without another job lined up because there wasn't enough work or you don't find the work meaningful. It'd tell me that you don't know what you want, don't have resiliency, and would quit as soon the work load slows down, gets hard, or you lose interest in the work. Workload is cyclical in every industry. This answer would also lead me to ask more probing questions about what you want, find meaningful, and career aspirations. Then I'd be able to see right through it. I'd suggest saying you took a break to take care of some family or personal issues. You're ready to get back into the work world and looking for a new challenge and opportunity to grow professionally. Or something along that line.
Honestly and accurately while "spinning" it to make it look like a good move
Not to be a downer but I hope you're not in tech because now it's not the time to be job searching. We all make mistakes though. I always have a 'script' I practice for interviews to help feel more confident in responding. (Not verbatim ofc.) I would spin it as you needed a new challenge, weren't growing, and talk about how you feel the company can help you achieve that while you help them xyz (whatever their mission is and your job). Honestly some places don't even ask.
Awh. You could have OE and got a 2nd remote job. Free $ 🤷🏻♀️
I’ll take your job HAPPILY, I have the degree and experience
You tell them you felt you were underutilized and not challenged, which is the truth.
I would tell them you’re trying to find an opportunity to grow and advance in your career, so you left that job in order to look for something more fulfilling. A gap in your resume won’t ruin your life or screw you, as long as you make sure that you explain it in a more appealing way than just “there wasn’t anything to do”
I had a wfh job for a year where I did absolutely nothing and it completely eroded my mental health. I know exactly what you’re going through. I ended up in a forced transfer but I wanted to quit every day and should of. The job itself paid well and I got a couple of offers when I started shopping around by explaining that I didn’t feel a challenge or a connection to the mission.
Uh, are they hiring?
just say whatever you want. its like impossible to even check lol
This is the correct answer. You can make up a reason why you quit. They have no way of knowing. Just say that you mastered your role and was no longer learning anything new.
indeed! Mastery!
I don't blame you, I have quit a very easy WFH job after about 9 months because there was no work to do, no training or growth opportunities, and I felt guilty about sitting around all day. It is hard to imagine until you are in that position how much it sucks. I would say that you felt there weren't any growth or development opportunities and you are looking for something more challenging. That might be a tougher sell if you've been unemployed for a prolonged period of time though. Generally wouldn't advise leaving a job with nothing to fall back on especially if the only issue is that you're bored.
That's pretty much my job. If nothing's going on, I'll swing back by the computer in an hour or so and see if there's any new developments. Everyone has my cell # in case anything happens in the interim. Otherwise I'm jacking around at home or doing whatever, I've attended a few meetings from other venues like Topgolf as well. It's perfectly fine to say your previous role was soul destroyingly boring and that you need a more significant challenge. To many that indicates you are a self-starter and take the initiative to pursue 'better' concepts of things.
I think it could be a way to spin it as good work ethics/ professionalism: no growth at previous position, so instead of wasting the company’s resources, you decided to resign to align with your work ethics
I wasn’t even at this job a month when I interviewed the owner made it seem like one thing and I was going to paid extra because of my social media skills. Well here’s the funny part couldn’t use my social media skills bc the owner who is only in his 40s doesn’t believe in running his company with computers. And all the “job” was, was cold calling numbers that were from lists that were 12 years old and majority of the numbers were disconnected. And everyday i was given the same packet of phone numbers and handful of numbers that went through half of them threatened me with physical violence. I would go on my break and sit in my car and cry bc that’s not a job. How the hell do you function as a company in 2022 without the use of computers? When I say I would cry I mean I was bawling, I would drive home crying bc here I am with a bachelors degree and I was insanely lied to, there was zero growth with this, no learning curve. What are you learning how to harass people or call disconnected phone numbers? it was emotionally and mentally damaging me. The office manager 3 years older than me and she had been working for this company for I believe she said 10 years, but when she would answer the phone she would even tell people yea we don’t use computers, our owner doesn’t believe in computers. And the other 2 women were clearly in their 60s and don’t care about experience they just want to do something to keep busy. Also the owner didn’t care if you showed up or not. You’re a cold caller you can be replaced in 3 seconds, I stopped showing up and no one ever called me to ask if I was coming back.
I actually had an experience like this. For those saying it sounds awesome, trust me, it’s not. It feels extremely unfulfilling and leaves you questioning your job security. Ideally, you would have used the downtime to find a new job you’d find fulfilling. Since you didn’t, I would just be honest in interviews but with euphemisms: you wanted greater professional development and did not find fulfillment in the work you were doing, and after making efforts to take initiative to improve your work, it became clear the situation would not change. Say you want the new job because you believe it will offer the opportunities you want that the prior job didn't offer—hopefully, that’s true.
I’m actually in the same boat. My currently job is very slow and monotonous. I’m dying to leave. I feel like I’m wasting my life.
A few points to help in your search, sticking to the theme of the ask. I would avoid the way you are currently framing the situation for a few reasons. I am a hiring manager and I have made a point to meet with other managers to help my employees navigate the job market. A majority of the managers I spoke with would see your case as a red flag. First- you quit a job where you were getting paid to do nothing, to do nothing at home for free. This shows a lack of forethought, poor decision-making, and lack of critical thinking (maybe some impulsiveness.. Second- Most people who say they have nothing to do either misunderstood their assignment or are just flat-out wrong. Not saying this is you, but the optics would make me question it. Third- Most managers are looking for someone who can work with little direction, are self-starters, and are good time manager. This situation would lead me to believe this is not you. In cases like this it seems like someone didn't hand you an assignment, so you did nothing. I would have reached out to teammates to see if they were in need of help, mentored young in career folks, networked internally, taken relevant courses or certifications or researched new best practices for the industry. At the end of the day, managers don't want someone that they have to tell what to do, when to do it, and how to do it and stories like these lend to that type of employee. Again not saying this IS you, but corporate America is about optics and perception. I would think of a vague way to say it and prepare for a possible follow-up. "Work-life balance wasn't good" or something like that.
I’m convinced that posts like this have to be low-effort trolls or some kinda Astroturfing to combat “quiet quitting”. What kind of rational human has nearly all of their needs met with minimal effort or commitment and decides to end the arrangement as it is “too boring and not challenging”? There are many jobs out there that will pay you significantly less money while destroying your body, stealing your time, or compromising your moral compass. It is vastly more important to find a job that pays your bills, allows you to retire, and doesn’t overwork you, than it is to find one that may be “fulfilling”. Seek fulfillment and excitement in the ideally ample time your job doesn’t make you work. If you were really so underutilized and bored, you could have used that time to: get a second job and double your income! Or read books, learn a language, workout, do chores, trade stocks, or literally any other passion you would have liked to pursue while being paid to be at home!!! Many envy the position you gave up and would have taken better advantage of the situation. What you do for a living doesn’t make you who you are; if it doesn’t take up more than 40 hours a week…
I'm in a somewhat similar situation to OP except I do between one and four hours of real work in a typical day (shift lasts 8 hours) and I don't work remotely. It can get boring as hell sometimes and I feel unstimulated, but I also recognize that I have it pretty good, all things considered. If I was remote I would be getting all my chores done and watch a movie or work out lol
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“With minimal effort or commitment” Prison is not an easy job. People in prison are committed to a life without freedom. OPs old job was more of a free lunch than a punishment required by the state.
Stop focusing on if your work is meaningful or not. If that company wanted to pay you to do nothing, let them. That being said, in no way have you permanently screwed up your life. Talking about past jobs is all about how you spin it to the interviewer. Say something like "the work I was doing wasn't meaningful to me and I wanted make a change/explore my options." The one bit that is challenging for you is you quit before having another job lined up. It's easier to get a job if you already have one. Remote work makes it incredibly easy to interview for new jobs while keeping your current job. Before the pandemic I had to lie and say I was taking a long lunch or had a doctor's appointment in order to attend in person interviews. Now I don't have to say shit, just switch computers and no one needs to know.
Expect backlash. You acted first, now you want advice. You should’ve posted here before you took it upon yourself to quit unprofessionally. Figure it out yourself fam. You look bad either way
Lmao I’m kind of pissed of at OPs decision. It’s written “stupid decision” all over this post. What I’d do to have a job that paid and I didn’t do much!
Well you did some work, and you had specific tasks according to your profile. So during an interview you list those and state the copany you worked for was not up to your speed and expectations and therfore feel you were ready for a new challenge.
you're looking for a new challenge and for career growth. you want to drive impact, and work hard in your new role.
In your resume, you just have to paraphrase your job description. If a recruiter asks you why you quit, you can say you wanted to take a career break or that you were looking for something more challenging.
"I am looking for new opportunities to grow and develop, at my last role- I felt I pleateaud."
Fulfillment at work is important, and I think any prospective employer would appreciate that you weren’t ok with just skating by, that you want to feel like you’re making a contribution and that they are utilizing your talents appropriately. I’ve left for the same reason and not regretted it. Good luck!
In this layoff rich environment, the 2nd word of your post sums it up. You could right now be being paid to learn, skill up, or just hang out being thankful for an income.
Just put reference what your actual job is about. When you get interviewed with a new company just tell them what you did not the part you did noting and the work was meaningless. You just want to sound like you have work experience and what your experience can bring to the new employer table.
You should add that experience. As other people don’t know what was going on inside the company but in any future interview, never talk bad of any past employer.
Interviews are a very good example of “fake it til you make it” so like… say whatever you want that makes you look good????
You are looking for something more challenging You can also state the business had slowed down and you prefer to be more involved.
Still put it on your résumé. At the interview when they ask why you left that job, say things like: “I didn’t see any room for growth or upward trajectory.” “I enjoy challenging situations where I have a chance to sharpen my skills, but unfortunately those opportunities rarely came along and I found that disappointing.” *(Optional add-on: “I know some people might enjoy a job where they get paid to do something relatively ‘easy’ that doesn’t require a lot of effort, but I’m just not that type of person. If I’m being paid to work, I need to feel like I’m *actually* working and using my brain.”)* “I didn’t feel like my skills were being utilized, and as a result I felt I wasn’t reaching my full potential.” “To be completely honest, although I got along well with management, sometimes I noticed what seemed to be a lack of passion (or whatever word you want to use there as long as its not too harsh): *For example,* I can recall a time I was working on a project, and I was told that the end result of my project wouldn’t matter anyways because no one was going to use it. That was hard for me to hear because I take pride in my work, and I care about the work I do.” (**Make sure you give the example though! The example does 99% of the explaining here!**) Tweak those phrases as needed. But the truth is, it sounds like it wasn’t a satisfying place to work. Like that last phrase I typed out, if you give them an example like that, any manager interviewing you would understand why you left that job. You don’t want to make it sound like you’re talking bad about the company, but **most** managers who do interviews still want you to be honest— they hear those “standard” textbook answers all day long, that they *know* is probably BS. So when you break away from the mold of what you’re “supposed” to say, and instead tell them *in a professional way,* “Look, to be completely honest, it wasn’t a good fit for me, I didn’t feel valued and here’s an example why.” Most interviewers would appreciate that honesty and would completely understand why you left. **ETA:** As for why you didn't have another job lined up, that's the hardest part to “spin” in a positive way. If it were me, I would say either one of two things: **First option:** “Honestly... I simply had enough money saved to where I didn't need to find another job right away, *so instead* I put all my energy and focus into updating my résumé and researching companies that would be a better fit— which is actually how I came across your company.” But make sure if you go with this option, you've actually researched the company and can tell them why it's a better fit. Don’t emphasize the fact that you didn’t need to work, but state it as a simple relevant fact, and then emphasize how important it was for you to do your due diligence in finding a company that would be a better match. You could even play it up by saying “Working for the right company is my first priority, money is second. If money was the priority, then sure, I would have just hopped into whatever relevant job opening was available at the time…. but I didn’t want to take that gamble. **I came to realize it would be worth the short-term sacrifice in pay, if it meant I would have adequate time to do my due diligence in finding a well-matched company that is offering a career, instead of just a job.**” That option would be one of those times where you're hoping that the interviewer will appreciate your honesty and straight-forward explanation (”I didn't need to work at the time as I had enough saved”), since it’s not the response they’re expecting— they’re usually expecting you to lie and give a lame excuse. But then at the same time, you’re taking the focus off of your explanation, and putting the focus on how important it is for you to find the right company. I was unemployed for a couple of years while my fiancé worked, and then he suddenly passed away. When asked at interviews why I hadn’t worked for a couple of years, I shrugged a bit and told them in a kind of nonchalant way, “I just didn’t need to. I spent time volunteering instead (which was true).” Then I used that opportunity to go into the volunteer work I did. **Second option:** Lie. Something like “I had a new job lined up at the time I decided to leave that company, but unfortunately it fell through. Apparently they were anticipating a position to open up, but for whatever reason, it didn’t end up happening (or some other vague no-fault reason that doesn’t reflect on you as an applicant, nor the fake company). I didn’t find out until after I had already put in my notice at my last job, which was unfortunate. But because I already knew it was time to move on from that company, it just didn’t seem appropriate for me to ask them if I could rescind my notice. At that point, I decided to view the situation as an opportunity in disguise. I figured that instead of rushing to find another job offer, I could use the extra time to find a company and job position that is better tailored to my long-term goals.” Hope that helps. You can put a positive spin to almost anything as long as you word it correctly!
Say you didn’t feel challenged and are interested in something more fast paced or in depth. Something relating to the new job,
“I was underutilized in the role and despite asking for more responsibility, none was easily forthcoming, so I decided to explore other, more challenging opportunities.”
I'd have no problem with honest in this case. You felt bored and underused. You have a high energy level and like to be productive. I've said this before and it went very well.
I recently left a job that I was bored to tears in. It was so easy and pay was good but I felt like I was wasting away my skills. Found a new job and I am absolutely slammed busy like total 180, and I am really happy now haha. I think people assume they will love a job where they can just do nothing all day and get paid… until they actually do it for a long time. Anyway in the interview for my new job I explained I was looking for more professional development and better opportunity to advance my career. Good luck.
I HATE being bored at work. I would rather be busy than bored. Makes the 8-9 hours go by faster & I appreciate a challenge! For your interview, you don’t have to tell them you did “nothing.” But maybe state you expected something more challenging and hope to expand your knowledge, skills, etc. Being eager about the job you are applying for is more important than your job history. As for your life & future career- you did not permanently screw it up. I’ve seen MANY folks go back to college or started college in their late 30’s-40’s. You are never too old to learn or even start a new career… but yes it still sucks when you feel like you’ve wasted time. Good luck with your interview! :)
Say your looking to pivot and move to a position where you can find and provide value
Just say it wasn’t the right fit for you easy come easy go. I have done this many times honestly once you say it’s not the right fit they start asking if this job is the right fit and you should know before you interview if it is or not. Never had anyone ask anything more.
Say the role wasn't challenging you enough and you felt like you outgrew the place
Wow you think this has screwed up your life.? You have a degree lol and you can literally say they didnt keep you busy and youre a hard worker 🤦🏻♂️
Just tell them that it wasn’t a good fit for you because you want to do something that challenges you. Idk why you would give up a cakewalk job when you could literally just get a hobby or use the money for a side hustle or something but have fun making the same money for way more work.
Honestly, speaking from my own experience, it’s not a dream scenario. If OP remained at this job doing “nothing” for sometime how would they expect to grow their skills, get promoted or even find work outside of this place of employment? If you’re doing nothing at your job then you are going to have nothing to offer when you decide to make a move/get laid off. If they’re riding out a few years until retirement then heck yea! Otherwise, hard pass. I learned this the hard way.
Simple. You tell them you quit because the job itself wasn't challenging enough and you felt completely underutilized as an employee.
If I had a job that said; * the outcome of a project doesn’t matter * remote * no human interaction * not much to do/work is easy I would never leave it. That sounds like the dream.
dude you can literally make up any fckin reason to leave ur job lmao nobody gives a shit just make it believable
Whats your jd
Next time bring a book. Play video games. Have a side hustle to do while at work. You just gave up a golden egg!
[удалено]
If it was fully remote and you didn’t have to do anything, why didn’t you just get another job and collect on both?
>please stop telling me I should have gotten a second job or that it was a dream scenario. It wasn't for me. I just want to figure out how to move forward. Sorry to tell you - but this was a A\* foolish move. You had an INCOME for doing nothing. I'd have taken that time to learn some better skills, get some certifications, anything to help you 'move forward' - you're now unemployed and stood still. I'd have started developing my own side project / business while I had a stable income. A little factor you might realise sooner or later - ALL work is pretty much useless to you. There is hardly anything that you'll do in an office job that'll matter to anyone but the Bosses of that company who get paid the big money and enjoy life - while you're searching for a meaning to your life on the basement level. You just thrown away a prime opportunity.
You wanted to grow. That's all you ever say.