General advice needed. How long after starting a job can I apply for a different one?

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This is totally off topic and of little relevance to any of you I guess but as this is the only forum I'm currently active on I thought I might as well post it here.

I was off work for almost two years after leaving university, initially just because I couldn't find anything but subsequently because I was unable to work thanks to mental health issues.

Almost a month ago I returned to work part-time for the first time in 5 years, at the same place I worked before university. It's a betting shop, it's not an enjoyable job in any way and I might even have some moral issues with working there too. Co-workers are nice enough but they're 20-30 years older than me and we have nothing in common, so conversation dries up pretty fast. It's also in the small town I grew up in, which after 4 or 5 years of living in cities is incredibly boring, it also doesn't help that 90% of my friends have fled this town by now.

Ultimately it's just about on the right side of tolerable in a short term sense, but only just. I took the job a stop gap thing but I obviously haven't told my boss that.

Can I start looking and applying for jobs in the cities I want to live in after just 3 weeks on the job? I'm not contractually bound to stay there but I'd feel a bit guilty about it and surely I'd get a terrible reference. Should I let them know that I'm looking around for something else? I'm sure that's a bad idea and would make things pretty awkward.

There's a chance that all this is moot as jobs are hardly easy to come by at the moment... Though that's probably another reason to start looking now.

Just looking for some opinions on this to put my mind at rest really. Thanks.

[bigm141414]

Yes. If you don't like your job start looking for another one.

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I can't escape that feeling that it would be unfair on the people who gave me the job (the staff, not the company). But you're right, I'm probably just going to excessive lengths to avoid confrontation.

[Morrigainz]

Absolutely. Is it the kind of place people stay for 20 or 30 years? If not, they won't be surprised you are looking elsewhere.

If you aren't attached to the place, I would not let them know you are looking...just because they could decide to be proactive and fire you instead.

Good luck!

[WizardTrip]

Of course you can! As a friend once told me years ago, "never stop looking for something better." He didn't necessarily mean to actively look all the time, but to always have your eyes open. In your case, it will mean to actively look. If this place is a stop gap for you, then use it as such. You may find a new job in a week and you may not find one for several months, either way, you'll either be in a better situation soon or you will have been actively seeing what is out there and heading in the direction of that better job.

I fully understand not wanting to put the staff and possibly the organization out, but in the end you need to look out for yourself and what's best for you. I currently have a friend that felt the need to give a 90 day notice due to her position at her company. I certainly understood where she was coming from, but even for her, being that "kind" is not necessary.

EDIT: and ditto what MirGSS said....no need to tell them anything.

[ebm1224]

even if it hasn't been said outright, i'm sure that your boss and co-workers know that this isn't your dream job. rarely do people return to their jobs after finishing school...so those that do usually do it out of necessity.

do your best when you're there and obviously don't degrade the place to anyone (you don't want to give the impression that you think you're "too good" to work there). it might be a good idea to bring up your studies in casual conversation with co-workers or even your boss (depending on your relationship with him/her). perhaps something like "that customer reminded me of my *insert class* professor." people may ask you questions about what that class was about or similar things - it will give you a good opportunity to talk about what you enjoyed about your studies and how you'd like to use them in the future. in this case your older co-workers might be a great resource in that they likely went through job searching phases in their lives as well...and may even have contacts through family or friends that could give you leads on places to look for work.

i guess my main point is that, when you find a job you like better, you likely won't blindside them by leaving (even if it's shortly after they hired you back). but it might not be an idea to "plant the seed" that you don't intend to stay at this job forever.

out of curiosity, what kind of jobs are you looking at?

[This is Seth]

9 months minimum. Any less and it doesn't look good on your resume.

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even if it hasn't been said outright, i'm sure that your boss and co-workers know that this isn't your dream job. rarely do people return to their jobs after finishing school...so those that do usually do it out of necessity.

do your best when you're there and obviously don't degrade the place to anyone (you don't want to give the impression that you think you're "too good" to work there). it might be a good idea to bring up your studies in casual conversation with co-workers or even your boss (depending on your relationship with him/her). perhaps something like "that customer reminded me of my *insert class* professor." people may ask you questions about what that class was about or similar things - it will give you a good opportunity to talk about what you enjoyed about your studies and how you'd like to use them in the future. in this case your older co-workers might be a great resource in that they likely went through job searching phases in their lives as well...and may even have contacts through family or friends that could give you leads on places to look for work.

i guess my main point is that, when you find a job you like better, you likely won't blindside them by leaving (even if it's shortly after they hired you back). but it might not be an idea to "plant the seed" that you don't intend to stay at this job forever.

out of curiosity, what kind of jobs are you looking at?

My degree is in music technology which is hardly an easy industry to find work in, but my ideal jobs (shortly behind rock star/ professional soccer player) would be related to sound engineering. But at present I think I have a better chance of breaking into the Manchester United first team than getting a job like that.

Essentially I'm in the post-graduation floundering hopelessly/ convinced I have no future phase that a lot of people seem to go through.

Potentially looking to become a teacher, I've also started re-learning HTML/ CSS in order to possibly get a bit of work in that area but also just because I enjoy it.

It's a matter of location as much as anything, so I'd be applying for a wide variety of low level jobs at this point. It's just hard to have a life in this town, it's a nice, quiet, safe place to bring up kids or to retire to but it offers me little.

Another thing about this job is that it's only part time hours, 16-25 a week so my pay wouldn't be anywhere near enough to live on if I wasn't currently living in the spare room of my dad's house rent free, so that's another reason to be legitimately looking elsewhere.

As for the "9 months minimum" comment, if I end up even getting close to that I'll be very unhappy indeed.

Sorry if this is a little incoherent, I've just been running and I'm still a bit of a state.