Quitting a job for less than a year used to be considered bad form, but being a career expert Amanda Augustine, CPCC, CPRW declared as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. “In general there is a lot more forgiveness,” she says, adding: Unemployment periods are less stigmatized. “So many people are in the same boat,” she says. This applies in particular to those who work in the catering, tourism and / or hospitality industry.

“The real thing employers are looking for,” says Augustine, “is whether this is a consequence of the pandemic or is this an indication of a pattern that has long been in that person’s work history?”

Some of the most common reasons why a person quits their job after a relatively short period of time can be due to both external influences (e.g. or internal forces (such as a toxic work environment You don’t see any improvement over time) says Augustine.

The latter feels particularly strong in the pandemic. Being overworked or in an unhealthy situation can make you feel mentally and physically ill on a job, which is a good sign for Augustine that it may be time to leave. “Your health is more important than any job you will ever have,” she says.

So what if you’ve just started a job and have reasons to want to quit sooner or later? What steps should you take to make sure you finish after leaving the door? Can you ever really walk without burning some kind of professional bridge?

Ideally, Augustine says, you should cancel your standard two weeks in advance. During this remaining time (in case they want to keep you) you should fix all processes for which you are responsible (e.g. tasks, projects, files, passwords) and make them accessible to those who will take over your tasks once you are gone . This can make work easier for colleagues, especially if your departure means a greater workload for them.

Career advisor Maggie Mistal Encourages customers to try to make a good impression when leaving work. “Good endings make good beginnings,” she says. She suggests thanking those you worked with during your time there and having the sometimes uncomfortable conversation about your decision-making process regarding leaving. “It goes a long way if you want to maintain relationships,” she says. What to do since you never know when you will be able to work with them again. “Identify the people in the company who you want to keep in touch with and drop them a note to let them know personally [about your departure]“, Recommends Augustin.

Not only do you need to ensure a smooth transition for your employees, you also need to keep an eye on yourself. Do you like the organization and do you think it might suit you better elsewhere? Mistal points out that it may be easier to take this step if they already know and like you.

On the flip side, if you’ve had an overwhelmingly negative experience in the organization, Augustine said that you can use the exit interview constructively, rather than critically, to provide helpful feedback. “Let them know what your expectations were,” she says. “Smart companies are really going to listen to the people who leave to get a better understanding of what they might be doing.”

According to Mistal, if you don’t have another job before or after you leave, there are three things you need to do to advance to the next phase of your career: soul searching, research, and job hunting.

Mistal says that regardless of your age or career history, you need to ask yourself what you actually enjoy doing. In finding the soul, she says, one should try to find out why you don’t like the job you are leaving, be it the culture, your boss, or the actual work. Are there patterns similar to the reasons you left jobs like this one? If so, maybe it is time for a big change.

The research phase takes some patience, says Mistal, but it allows you to gather all the information you need before you make a switch. She recommends speaking to someone who works for a company you are interested in (or at least in the same industry), what their typical day is like, what she loves, and what they find challenging. “See what you’re getting into before you take on a role,” she recommends.

After you’ve researched where to work and what to do next, it’s time to do the job search part. And as anyone on the job hunt will tell you, your resume (and, heck, even your LinkedIn profile) is a pretty important part of it. So are you leaving the job you just left?

Augustine says if you’ve been out of work for a long time before your last job, it’s best to leave it to minimize the length of job gaps. Mistal says that if the job brought you a good experience or a short-lived project that you can highlight, it’s good to keep it on your resume too; However, both experts say it’s best to leave it out if it doesn’t leave too big a void on your resume or if the job has nothing of value.

That’s because, as Augustine puts it, “Your resume and LinkedIn are a curated marketing document.” You don’t have to go into every detail – you just have to do it consistently. For example, you don’t necessarily need to include months on your resume; You can simply set years if this throws less red flags.

Augustine also recommends having your own “bulky book” when starting your job hunt so that all of your valuable information is in one place. This could be a google doc or a word doc where you record anything that is worth bragging about potential new employers, from salary increases to a great email you once received from a boss. (In fact, she recommends that before you leave the job you are quitting, you have everything you need that you cannot access after your absence.)

Most importantly, Mistal encourages you to take some time figuring out what your ideal job is by making a list of what you are really looking for. “Be honest with yourself,” she says. “Give yourself permission to dream big.”

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