Propel your career
to new heights with
Talent Propeller

Where your skills meet opportunity!

Find me a job


22 May

34% of people leave their new job within the first 90 days…. how to not be part of that statistic

You’ve spent hours of your time updating and perfecting your CV, filling out applications and going to interviews. You’ve landed what you thought was going to be an awesome job, but now that you’ve started, you’re getting cold feet. The role isn’t what you expected, you don’t know anyone and you’re feeling stressed and overwhelmed. You’re wondering if you’d be better off just looking for something else.

Has this ever been you?

Well, you’re not alone. According Jobvite’s 2018 “Job Seeker Nation” survey, 34% of people have (at some point in their careers) left a job in the first 90 days.

The good news is that I’ve got some advice for how to avoid getting into that situation.

Do your research and ask questions

According to Jobvite’s survey, 43% of new employees say that their day-to-day role wasn’t what they expected based on the hiring process. This could be because the hiring manager didn’t explain the role thoroughly enough, but it could also be because you didn’t ask the right questions.

Make sure you’ve done your research on the company and ask questions at the interview stage about everything that’s important to you: What is the culture like? What is your team and manager going to be like? What is your day-to-day going to look like? What does success look like in the role?

Doing proper research and asking the right questions means you will know exactly what you’re signing up for when you accept the job offer.

Make friends

Hopefully the organisation makes you feel welcome and your new colleagues go out of their way to be friendly, but you can do your part here too.

Take up any socialisation opportunities that the company offers – attend Friday drinks, go along to the office morning tea or ask someone in your team if they’d like to get a coffee with you.  Making friends will make you feel like less of an outsider, and you’ll feel like a true member of the team in no time.

Speak up about any problems

Starting a new job can be tough. Combine a whole lot of new information with being anxious about failure, and not having a clear idea of goals and expectations, and you’ve got a recipe for stress!

You might not want to speak up about feeling overwhelmed for fear of giving a bad first impression or needing a lot of “hand-holding”, but what your manager doesn’t know, they can’t fix. Be honest. Sit down with your manager regularly to discuss progress, goals, and feelings about your new role. If you don’t speak up about your struggles, your manager won’t know which areas you need extra support in, and that’s not good for you OR the company.

Remember, an employment relationship is a two-way street. It’s up to both parties to be proactive, to communicate and be open and honest with each other. Communication will be your best asset when interviewing for and starting a new job so ask the right questions, be open with your thoughts and hopefully you can enjoy a long and fulfilling career.