How long to stay at first job before moving on?

One more thing, he said “the managers are so busy. If we had told the new hire we aren’t interested as an applicant it’s a different story. The managers are too busy to know who’s a new hire” and I said “I send out the weekly report of new hires and those still in process”

He paused and said “they’re very busy people but I don’t know what happened there. I think you need to work on communicating better”

I would say it is best to wait at least two years, but if you can find a new job don’t worry for a second about your first job only being 6 months. Just know you need to stick out the next one at least two years.

Don’t fire anyone without HR in on it. HR knows the laws and the exposure to the company. Managers do stupid shit all the time. They typically just want to make their life easier.

But my supervisor is the HR supervisor. She told me to do it…I feel like I am the scapegoat

@chelle21689 No wonder you are frustrated! Did she tell you only verbally? Or, do you have it in writing? You’re going to have to be in CYA mode in that company. Look for another job.

CYA? She told me verbally. Crap happens like this all the time and I get the blame…..this isn’t the first incident where I did as told.

I feel like I’m new so they save their own asses. And that the director makes excuses for managers because they’re in a crap hole of they piss them off. I feel like even though he has seniority over them he bends over for them.

From now on, as long as you’re there, when you’re told to do something big, follow it up with an email. A nice, friendly email worded like “Just to confirm as per our conversation today, I am going to email Jenny and tell her she’s transferred to XYZ Department as of Monday, July 1.”

That way, there’s a time and date on it, and if there’s a misunderstanding, it’s in writing so it’s clear.

Jca, he believes I was told by my supervisor. That wasn’t the issue. The issue is he sees it as my fault like I should’ve told him or had been some psychic to predict what would happen.

Cover Your Ass. CYA.

Start using Blind CC, BCC, on emails or forwarding the emails to include him in on the loop while the discussion is going on. Or, even use CC. Don’t just get things in writing for after the fact. Let him know you will start doing that to improve communication between everyone as he suggested and you appreciate any feedback. Not for every little thing obviously.

Then go to him and tell him you’d like not to have that happen again, and if he can help you clarify what things your supervisor tells you should be questioned and what things you should just do without question. Tell him you don’t want to be disobeying your supervisor when she tells you to do something but yet you don’t want to run to him for everything either.

Your question, as posted, is very confusing.

No one told you to fire anyone, no matter what you interpreted “tell her to apply for another position in two months” meant. Suggesting to someone that they apply for a different position, either within the company or even elsewhere, is not “firing” a person. There is a world of difference. If I attempted to “fire” anyone at my company, where I am in middle management to begin with, I would very likely be fired myself, no matter how much the boss likes me. Firing someone without the authority to do that – and following all of the legal steps that are required in your jurisdiction – can cause huge legal and financial repercussions to your employer. Suggesting that “you might be a better fit in another job” is something that anyone can do at any time. You need to understand that difference!

Perhaps the problem that you’re having is one of unfamiliarity with terms and processes, which is part of the learning curve of any new job.

So my recommendation has nothing to do with “time on the job” or “what looks good” or “what anyone else will think of you”, but “don’t leave a job that you’re still learning, if there are more good days than bad”. Every job will have bad days. If you’re active, take initiative, and a go-getter then you will always make mistakes. Some of them may get you a talking-to, as you have experienced.

You’ve had some good advice above: When you’re about to take any action that’s unfamiliar to you, follow up with someone with a phone call or a note to discuss your understanding of the instructions that you’re trying to follow. By all means “question authority” when the orders are not clear! Learn the language that is peculiar to your industry and your company; sometimes “plain English” words have different meanings in different organizations. Learn the processes and when they can be safely ignored or short-cut, and when they must not be. By all means write things down. Write down what you’ve been told, word-for-word, and write down your interpretation of what you think that means. Date and time-stamp papers that come across your desk, if necessary.

This is what business is, all over the world.

No they said they weren’t interested in continuing with her and to just have her apply again when she doesn’t have issues.

I have documented in my email my supervisor asking the managers what they wanted to do. Only they responded back verbally, not email.

You’re taking all this too seriously. Just shrug it off with the certain knowledge that your superiors are truly your inferiors (don’t let them know).
Is it a good paying job you have? Are there more jobs readily available to you? Is this job so important that you are willing to lose sleep over it?

I’m afraid I’m going to get fired if stuff like this keeps going down where I look bad.

@chelle21689 The person saying you should have questioned it, is there any way he might be trying to help you? He didn’t write it up did he? As a way to document your mistakes to get rid of you? My assumption is he had a word with the managers also, since he acknowledges they were wrong. I really think try to frame it in your mind as a learning experience and utilize his suggestion to check with him. It is permission for you to go to him when you are unsure. It doesn’t sound like he expects you to know the write answer, just to question things and check with him.

I agree with @CWOTUS; I think you need to stay around and learn what you can about working from this job for a while. You’ve been in a few positions that you’ve talked about – an internship where there were problems – and now this. Maybe there are things you need to learn about difficult work situations. Unless, as others have said, it is easy to find another position.

I just can’t believe this was happening. I mean if my boss tells me to do something I didn’t think to do anything otherwise. Even though I felt it was kinda sad to terminate.

Upside, we reversed the termination lol.

I just would rather leave than get terminated.

@chelle21689 You’re in HR. Does your company have a “terminate at will” policy? Is it likely they would fire you without a warning? You need to calm down or talk to your managers about what happened.

It’s great if you can keep a first job for at least 2 years. The tenure looks good on your resume and shows that you’re focused, reliable, and committed.

But, if the job’s untenable, it’s often best to move on. Sometimes it really is them and not you. You say that this sort of problem occurs frequently. If your employers treat people unfairly and make capricious decisions, you could be the next to go. It’s better to leave, on your own terms, than to get fired.

I’m still confused whether we’re actually talking about a “termination” issue, where someone has a job and loses it, or a much less traumatic “decline to interview or hire” issue, which happens all the time with HR departments everywhere. “Termination”, or firing a person, whether for cause or no cause or “redundancy” or layoff as we call it in the states, is a process that has varying requirements and process steps from one legal jurisdiction to another. It’s a potential landmine to the unwary, and your boss would be highly unlikely to tell you as an inexperienced HR newb to “terminate” anyone.

But “decline to accept an application”? Or “decline an interview” or the like? That happens all the time. Generally (unless there are allegations of illegal discrimination) nothing more comes of that. The applicant goes elsewhere to look for work, and the HR department doesn’t give another moment’s thought to the issue.

As for people saying one thing and doing another, or misrepresenting what they said or did at a later date when a problem is discovered, or being defensive, and all of the other interpersonal issues that can arise when “shit happens”, that’s just normal, everyday business, everywhere.

I’m amazed that they have someone who’s been there so short a time (chelle21689) do the termination of an employee.

@jca Me too.

Don’t let it worry you about getting fired. It is obviously a crummy job with lousy management. No matter how bad the economy, there is always a way to earn a living.

@jca I wasn’t supposed to but my boss told me lol. I found that out today..

The way things are going, I guess I wouldn’t worry much about “when to leave”. As soon as they bring in a new intern, then she’ll probably fire you, too. That could happen as a result of miscommunication, a training exercise gone awry, or just someone having a bad day. That, or the company will go bankrupt as a result of sheer incompetence or a crippling lawsuit.

This management seems inconceivably lax to me.