Hating Your First Graduate Job?  Here’s Why You Should Just Quit

 ‘I’ve worked so hard for this, why am I not happy?’

If you’re in your first graduate job and ask yourself that question every morning, don’t worry – you’re far from alone.  Plenty of people who graduate with flying colours and land what should be their dream first job find themselves feeling trapped, miserable and wishing they could do anything other than this.

When you first opened that congratulatory acceptance letter, everyone was so thrilled for you.  You were probably happy and more than a little relieved too, finally able to say that all those years of study had paid off.  But what if you find a couple of months or even weeks into your first graduate level job that you really, really hate your role or the company you work for?

There’s no shame in admitting you’ve made a bad move, so if you hate your first graduate job, here are just a few reasons why you should pack it in and move on.

Life’s Too Short

 It’s a well-worn cliché, but life really is too short to spend it doing something you hate.  It may just be that this is the wrong company for you, or you may be re-evaluating whether you need to take a different career path altogether.  Whether you simply need to make a small sideways step to another organisation or need to go right back to the drawing board, make the leap and find something you’d be happier doing.

You’re Far From Alone

 According to the American Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average worker today will get through ten different jobs before they reach the age of 40 and that figure is set to rise among Millennials and younger generations.  Don’t think you’re a failure if you switch jobs so early on – there will be lots of other graduates in a similar situation.

It Shows Courage

 Making for the escape doors so soon can, in fact, show tremendous courage.  Rather than see this as throwing in the towel or taking the coward’s way out, you should give yourself a pat on the back for having the courage of your convictions.  Owning up that your first job might have been a mistake can be an incredibly difficult thing to do when so many people are congratulating you, but ultimately it’s you who has to endure it day in, day out, not them.

You’re Not a Stereotype

 It’s all too easy for those in the middling or final years of their working lives to scoff at the youngsters as ‘snowflakes’ or ‘quitters’ with no staying power.  You’re not a stereotype just because you want out.  The workplace is very different to what it was even a few years ago, and there are now so many more opportunities open to you that you needn’t feel trapped or desperate to live up to the expectations of those above you.

It Can Lead to Greater Things

 Sometimes you need to find out what you don’t want to do in life just as much as what you do want to do.  By dipping a toe in the water you’ve at least begun to question what you want from your career.  Whether you decide to switch companies, do an internship to try something new or even strike out on your own and launch a start-up, being brave enough to jump ship will pay off in the long-run.

There’ no point staying in your first graduate job if you dread going to work every morning.  Simply by graduating and landing the role in the first place goes to prove what a grafter you are, so be brave enough to admit you’re in the wrong job and something else will come along sooner or later.  It’s true what they say: do something you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.

Lizzie Exton writes for Inspiring Interns, which specialises in finding candidates their perfect internship. To browse our graduate jobs, visit our website.