Thinking of quitting job during probation

Hi all,

I started a new job in January this year, looking for a new challenge. The job is an online marketing manager position in a well known marketing agency, it had a good salary and from what I heard at the interview, it seemed like a good fit, so I took it.

It's turned out to be a terrible fit. I was expecting to be focusing more on account strategy and team management, but the 'team' turned out to be 1 executive who refuses to be managed, doesn't report directly to me and has her own accounts (which makes it extremely difficult to make this team work), and I'm doing -a lot- of the account management work that I was expecting to get away from. The department had gone from 12 people to 3 when I started. The culture is absolute corporate bullying and very cut-throat, with my line manager being harsh and dismissive about any efforts I make on a regular basis, and I had zero support from him when I started, which led to me making some mistakes due to the workload and stress - he said they did throw me in the deep end, but I should see it as a challenge.

I decided to give it till the end of my probation (6 months) to see if I could turn things around, after a couple of chats with my manager in which he said he expected to see more from me. The 6 months have gone by and no official review has taken place, but I spoke to my manager and someone else last week on a 'catch up' and he basically said the team wasn't working which was my fault, that he hadn't seen anything special from me and my probation was at risk. I gave them some points on things I thought I had done well (my accounts are generally working well and my clients have told me they're very happy), but it was all shot down with 'that's basic, that's not strategy, that's a waste of time'. Mistakes from 3/4 months ago were brought up, which I thought we had already discussed and they haven't happened again, and when I mentioned something I had done well in recent weeks, I was asked why I hadn't done that 3 months ago. They also said that even though we have flexi-time (arriving 8-10am), as a manager I shouldn't take advantage of that and should come at 7.30am.

I have the general feeling that they've made up their mind and they're trying to push me out, or they're trying to squeeze even more out of me. I feel like I'm hitting a brick wall. I considered quitting 3 months ago but I thought I'd give it my best to show improvements, try to be there for at least 1 year and then leave, as I didn't see this working long term and I don't want to work in this particular area anymore. After last week's conversation, I decided I can't take this anymore, and I would try and do more for a few weeks while I looked for another job. However, I've spent the weekend keeping panic attacks at bay, and I'm feeling physically sick about going in tomorrow.

I can't see myself successfully looking for another job in this state, so I'm thinking of quitting now even though I don't have another job lined up. I know everyone will think it's a bad idea, but this is making me ill. I have enough money to support me for a year if needed, and while I don't want to eat into my savings, I don't think it'll take this long to find something else. I'm speaking to recruiters already, and I think it'd be best if I quit during probation than being fired. It'd be good to take some time out while I think of my next move so I don't end up in this situation again, and I can try to find some part time work to tie me over, although I'm a little worried about not having another job lined up.

Has anyone been in this situation who can offer some insight?

How much longer do you think it would take to get another job? chi

Well, I have enough savings to last me a year, and I was thinking of taking a few weeks off in summer to really think of what I want to do next. I've gotten head hunted regularly during my time at this role and got in touch with these recruiters again, plus a friend of mine in my hometown (different country) has sent me a couple of contacts of people who might have jobs back home (which I'm also considering, as I've been in the UK for 8 years now and getting a little tired).

I want to go into more general marketing, but there are a lot of online marketing companies in my city and if the money situation got bad, I'd be able to find a similar but less demanding job fairly easily (1-2 months max).

This sounds awful AND it sounds like they're going to pick and find fault, not because you aren't doing a good job, but because they don't want to pay you more when you "finish" your probation period. Also from 12 people down to 3? Yeah, someone is killing that company off and they know it.

Normally I would not say quit before you have another job lined up, BUT this really sounds like a ship show deluxe from people determined to simply squeeze as much out of you without paying you what you're worth.

So do this: sit down and do a list of pros and cons between staying to work there or quitting. Write each of those down and really look at the list and decide what's the best thing for YOU, not them, they're jerks who don't care and are trying to get other people to do as much work for as little money as possible, so what benefits do YOU and YOU alone get out of staying or going? And from there you can then make up your mind.

Also what would happen if you just said screw it, I'm going to do what I can do and no more and they then fired you or let you go? Would that affect you more negatively or would that just be a blip on the radar of your career? I say that, because really it sounds like you aren't going to win with these people no matter what you do, so why are you killing yourself if you don't have to do so?

Plus I have a hunch if you then said, "Oh, well since I'm failing probation I am just going to pack up my things and go," then they might back down realizing they have to do the work themselves. Maybe they wouldn't though since they have allowed 3/4s of their company to walk already. Also keep in mind, rats abandon a ship that's going down, so seriously there very well likely won't be a ship there much longer anyways.

These are my thoughts. Good luck on whatever you decide.