Q. I have quit only one job in my entire career—but I quit in the first 3 weeks. What will employers think of me? Do I have to mention this job on my resume?
If it makes any difference, the reason I quit was because no one paid any attention to me. I asked my boss for work and my boss seemed surprised to see me there! I asked a coworker if I could help with their work and they bristled, as if I had said they were incompetent. After 7 workdays like this, I went job hunting. I called Human Resources as soon as I had another offer in hand to say I was quitting. They basically shrugged. What kind of company does that?
A. What you experienced was a horrific onboarding process. Research by Sapling last year revealed that 88% of organizations do not onboard well, are focused on completing paperwork, and stop even rudimentary onboarding after the first week. So it seems that a lot of companies are like the one you suffered in.
Poor onboarding—no training, guidance, organization, or communication from day one—makes employees twice as likely to quit and seek a new job. Research by isolved Connect states that 51% of employees consider leaving a job immediately if the onboarding goes haywire.
You are not alone in your solution to this problem. Kudos to you for waiting until you had a job in hand before walking away.
I usually advise people to mention every job on their resume but in this case I somehow doubt the company would even remember you worked there if a future employer calls. To be perfectly open, mention the company at the very end of your resume under “Other Experience” or “Early Experience” and just give the company name and your position, without any details.
You should avoid bad-mouthing this company. Since you have a long work history and this is the only job you ever quit, it is unlikely anyone will ask about it. If it is mentioned during an interview, you can always refer to it briefly, without going into details, and then change the subject back to happier work experiences.
Robin’s Resumes® comes across many types of iffy work situations, and we are confident in our ability to write resumes, LinkedIn profiles, and cover letters that address any issues that need addressing.