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Background

My background is in credit and risk management and I had one job since I graduated in 2018. I focus mostly on credit assessment, credit review, conducting postmortem credit review and also work on several process improvement projects.

In mid 2021, I applied for a similar role outside of the company and got the offer. The job description that was presented to me was similar to what I’m currently doing right now, albeit a wider scope of industries. I accepted the offer because at that time I thought that’s the direction I wanted my career to grow. I didn’t want to only focus on a specific sector and industry.

In the offer letter, it did not state the job description that was presented to me by the recruiter. It only says that the exact responsibilities will be given on the first day of reporting.

Problem

During my first week there, I had a meeting with my manager. She told me that she wanted me to focus on other things that is totally different than what was stated in the job description - and honestly it’s not the direction I expect my career to grow.

They wanted me to fully focus on doing process improvement projects and while I do have experience on this field, I felt that I’ve been lied to and it left a sour taste in my mouth.

What I’ve tried to do

After that meeting, I had a 1:1 with my manager on this and highlighted the discrepancies between the agreed JD and what was discussed during the meeting. She mentioned that there were some changes in the decision post-hiring and this new role and responsibilities is what they wanted me to focus on. They also mentioned that the decision was final.

Question

  1. Is it fair for me seek other opportunities in the mean time?
  2. If other recruiters asked why I’m in the market again after a few months joining this company, will it leave a bad impression if I were to explain my predicament?
  3. What telltales/red flags should I take note off to ensure that this won’t happen again?
Kate Gregory
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JadedWorker89
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    It's 'take note of', not 'take note off'. – Michael Harvey Nov 13 '21 at 19:25
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    Have you actually read your contract before signing? – Danubian Sailor Nov 13 '21 at 20:01
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    @DanubianSailor Not sure of the OP’s location, but most full time jobs in the US do not have contracts. – John Oglesby Nov 13 '21 at 21:04
  • To answer the question as it was phrased in the title: you can either take a punt and roll with it or politely decline the offer, stating your reason(s) for doing so. – Shaggy Nov 13 '21 at 22:42
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    @DanubianSailor Which part of their contract should they have read? If it's the job duties, then, in my experience, those tend not to be described in contracts beyond the job title. OP did read the job description, which describes job duties, and that's why they're unhappy (because that's not what they'll be doing). – Bernhard Barker Nov 13 '21 at 23:18
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    They will fire you in an instant if business requirements arise just like they changed the definition of your position. Why would you care about fairness? They either lied to you or are completely unreliable. Spare yourself some headache and get out there as soon as possible. It looks better to look for a new job within the next few weeks rather than in a few months. Now, you can just accept a gap in your CV and explain it as extended vacation or similar sometime in the future. – bash0r Nov 14 '21 at 00:29
  • @BernhardBarker exactly the part that describe job duties. If they are not described, it means it is pretty everything within the company's profile. – Danubian Sailor Nov 14 '21 at 14:29

2 Answers2

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At a previous company, we had someone leaving, starting a new job Monday 9am and calling us Monday 9:10 am asking if he could have his job back. He got it and HR fixed things as if he never left.

So calling your old company is something you might consider if they felt you leaving was a loss for them.

Looking for a job elsewhere is absolutely fine. Telling them the reason (I want a career in X, and that’s what they offered, but my actual work is in a totally different direction). And what happened is hard to avoid unless you bring a lie detector to the interview.

Joe Strazzere
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gnasher729
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    They decided that they wanted to leave in 10 minutes or less? What the heck happened? – J. Mini Nov 13 '21 at 15:12
  • Even the lie detector might not help. They might have legitimately intended to hire for that position, but things changed as the manager said. – Barmar Nov 13 '21 at 18:32
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    @J.Mini - I once started a new job and found a note on my desk informing me that my position was being made redundant in a few months. – Richard Nov 13 '21 at 20:09
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    "Telling them ... that’s what they offered, but my actual work is in a totally different direction" - be careful with the phrasing here because it's not a good idea to "badmouth" a former employer in an interview. – Bernhard Barker Nov 13 '21 at 20:24
  • @Bernhard Barker - I prefer to answer that question with “changes in the management’s direction which is not aligned with my career goals..” would that be a more reasonable explanation? – JadedWorker89 Nov 14 '21 at 02:32
  • @Richard I have had extended offers withdrawn before my first day on the job. Stuff happens. – emory Nov 14 '21 at 02:38
  • @JadedWorker89 Maybe. The point is to try to avoid the "they lied" or "they just changed their mind" sentiment and instead try to aim for "the business needs changed": something natural happening, not them disregarding their employees. Also, I'd probably get specific and say what direction was shifted towards and why it doesn't match your career goals (in as far as it's appropriate). That could help avoid similar roles in future (as they probably won't hire you if their role is or might be similar) and it could lead into explaining why you think the role you're interviewing for is a good fit. – Bernhard Barker Nov 14 '21 at 03:09
  • @J.Mini it happens frequently that in the first ten minutes of a job you get to hear the "real" story. I've never quit because of that (suck it up..) but I've learnt to base my choices on what the team charter appears to be much more than the specific role let alone the particular project. A team charter changes at a much lower frequency. – WestCoastProjects Nov 14 '21 at 19:23
  • @WestCoastProjects If you picked up the team charter in less than 10 minutes, then I think I must have a very different idea of what a team charter is than what you do. I think that I might just not have a clue what you're talking about. No offense. It's me that's at fault. – J. Mini Nov 14 '21 at 23:41
  • @J.Mini I may not have expressed clearly. The team charter is not part of the 10-minute eye-openers but subsequently in later years of a more careful interviewing process – WestCoastProjects Nov 14 '21 at 23:45
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    I would suggest leaving the few days you have been working at this company off your resume. – DJClayworth Nov 15 '21 at 15:54
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Why not ask for 33% more money. If you get 15% (not likely but nothing to lose…) then you have a better baseline for finding another job if they ask your salary.

If the answer is no then start the job and learn what you can … consider it being hired to learn… find out who is both smart and nice and get friendly with them.

When your boss asks why you’re spending time with these other people it’s because you met them, told them what you need to learn, and they clearly knew about it so I took advantage of the opportunity.

If they don’t like what you do and want to let you go you challenge it … not legally, but by stating you want severance … you gave up other offers because you unfairly recruited me. How can you fire me for not doing a job that you didn’t hire me for?

If they do fire you then you send them a bill for $25k for emotional distress. They don’t pay of course so you go to court. In court you’ll be given the option of mediation … take it … that’s your real chance to get something from them… they won’t like it and they won’t like the waste of a day because if they don’t give you something they’ll have to wait again or come back, to be heard before the judge and the judge will not like that they were really in the wrong and didn’t settle and give you something for your trouble.

Unless of course you find another job then who cares.

Randy Zeitman
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    This is perhaps the most passive-aggressive (or just normal aggressive) way one can deal with this problem. What's the benefit of creating all this conflict when one could just learn what one can by doing the job while building good references with one's boss and coworkers and focus one's energy on looking for another job instead? Also, I doubt one will have success in such a lawsuit or asking for severance (or asking for a raise immediately after starting). How many such cases have you been involved in and how did those turn out? – Bernhard Barker Nov 13 '21 at 20:22
  • "If they do fire you then you send them a bill for $25k for emotional distress. " You can sue them for $25k for "emotional distress" (which would have to be proven in court), but you can't just bill somebody and then take them to court, and they certainly won't accept mediation (both parties must agree to it by the way). – Ron Beyer Nov 14 '21 at 03:38
  • @BernhardBarker ???... I stated "If the answer is no then start the job and learn what you can … consider it being hired to learn… find out who is both smart and nice and get friendly with them."

    "Also, I doubt one will have success in such a lawsuit or asking for severance." Why. I just sued American Airlines for $3500 (out of pocket expense for misinformation). The mediator said I had no legal standing because there was no contract. Yet American was willing to give me $1000, which I accepted, as they didn't want to waste the time before a judge.

     – Randy Zeitman Nov 14 '21 at 21:16
  • @JoeStrazzere Yes, it's true that it's not an optimal solution. The person should first secure another job and then ask for more money ... do your point is very much correct. I missed that part. – Randy Zeitman Nov 14 '21 at 21:20
  • @RonBeyer You most certainly can bill anyone and take them to court. As I stated in another answer I sued American and apparently I had no legal standing but they accepted mediation and partly paid me. AA stated over and over in mediation I had no legal standing ... the mediators didn't disagree.

    Here's the check. http://myeasywebaddress.com/Stage/AA.jpg

    I am making a YouTube video with the details. I've filed three small claims suits in 23 years for non-payment for services but this was a first and hopefully last for something other than non-payment (it was a hassle but glad I won).

     – Randy Zeitman Nov 14 '21 at 21:31
  • @RandyZeitman of course you can bill anyone and take them to court. I can bill you for wasting my time and then sue you for not paying. Doesent mean it wont be thrown out in court. You sued AA, they value their brand, and they know that paying you a bit of money is cheaper than fighting it. So you essentially blackmailed them into paying, either they pay or they waste a lot more money on getting the lawsuit thrown out and risk the possibility of negative media backlash. – TineO Nov 19 '21 at 15:07
  • @TineO ? They were already in court virtually - the rep was in Dallas waiting. I learned the mediation option in court, they chose to accept it. It was the mediators who asked them to do something for me because I was out of pocket $3200 and not asking for anything punitive. Negative media backlash? This is not about a plane crash. Blackmail? ... I didn't ask for $1 additional, I lost rent and cable money not being able to move. I 'won' $1000 but am still out of pocket $2200. It was their first offer. And that is blackmail? – Randy Zeitman Nov 19 '21 at 20:01