Why I Left My Job After 7 Months

Business Management Trainee in Marketing & Business Development.

That was the job title that appealed to me a month before I ORD-ed. Having met the boss and talking to her, I felt peace in my heart that this was the job that God wanted for me. I had no hesitation in choosing this over the other job offers that I was given. The salary was higher than expected especially for someone with no experience in this field. All I wanted was to gain some exposure and experience, I would have taken anything, even an intern pay.

During the interview, my boss told me that this role would require me to work in operations for 3 months to experience and to understand the ins and outs of the business.

The first 3 months of working in store was cool. I loved the fact that I could learn new things and meet new people. Anything challenging that could make me use my brain was fun to me. Working in store was just a simple Overcooked gameplay in my head, but playing by myself. I would mumble to myself “2 Large Mushroom, 1 Medium Tomato, 1 Large Corn, 3 Focaccia & 1 Mini Bun, 1 Lychee.” And my mind begins to run “toast bread, large, medium, large, parsley, cream, cap, gotta take order, haven’t finish drink” And repeat…

I really loved that I could keep using my brain to do all these. It was like a game of memorising and executing the action to find the best flow so I could churn out the items in the fastest possible time.

But after working for 3 months, I was still not given the job scope that was promised. And by that time, working in store was no longer challenging. It became a chore and a routine. Going to store everyday and doing the same thing. I hated it. I really really despised what I was doing. I hated doing the same thing over and over again. I was bored.

But I knew the condition of the company. COVID, lack of manpower and my boss just gave birth.

So I said, “Alright, you know what, let’s continue to work and see how. Anyway, I’m already 3 months in, no point leaving now. Office work may come any time soon.”

Without realising, 6 months had passed. Yet, nothing had changed. I was still working in store everyday. That was when reality hit. Had I taken a gap year to work before going to uni, what work experience would I have to show for? 6 months of being a service crew? What good would that do?

If I was working part time or working to earn money, sure by all means. Put me anywhere and I would just do it to kill time and earn some money. But that was not the case. I was not going to Uni because I wanted to expose myself to as much opportunities as possible.

I knew I had to leave.

Yet, I was stuck in a dilemma.

1) I believe this was a job that God had given to me and it was where He placed me to be. Leaving the job early might mean not being able to see or experience the fullness of His blessing in this job. It was a personal conviction that I had, to never leave a place where God had placed me unless I hear or feel Him asking me to move.

2) I really wanted to keep working with my friends. They were really like family. The love they showed me while we were working together was unlike any other. Their love had no strings attached. Neither was it because they could click well with me. It was just simply because they cared for everyone who were working there.

3) But this job scope was not what I had expected. It was not aligned with my personal goals. It did not bring me any hard skills that I needed for my own business.

I couldn’t take it anymore.

I was wasting time.

That same day, for the first half of work, I could no longer bother about my work ethics. I would just cut the customer when they were asking a question, didn’t bother to count money when the customer handed them over and didn’t bother to weigh the popiah that I wrapped (because still not qualified to do so without weighing). I was having the worst feeling. And it was not gonna go away any time soon.

Normally, we would sit in store to eat but I couldn’t bear to be in store. I had to tell my friend that I was going out for lunch, leaving only 1 person to man the store. It was selfish of me, but this was really too much for me. Being anywhere near the job, at that point in time, would have drove me mad. I knew my day would continue to be this way had I stayed in store for my break.

So I went out to splurge on some good & expensive food (my standard coping mechanism when I’m feeling stressed or frustrated). And goshhh, after having a bite of it, I became emotional. The food was sooo good. I was happy but I was feeling irritated & angry at the same time. My eyes became watery. Stuck in this dilemma, I really didn’t know what to do. At the end of my break, I decided to schedule a time to talk to my supervisor.

I told my supervisor,

“I’m tired & frustrated of working in store already. I need to take leave next week.”

But I knew the leave was not going to take away this frustration.

After my talk with my supervisor, I asked the main question that was going to determine if I was going to stay or leave the company.

“Is there any chance that I would not be in store for the 44hrs of my work week?”

And she said “no.” That was it. I told my boss the next day that I was leaving. Tendered my resignation and continued to work for a month before finally leaving.

It was heartbreaking knowing that I was going to leave my really good friends. They were the ones that kept me going for a good 7 months.

Though I was not able to learn any hard skills throughout the 7 months, it was my friends who gave me a new perspective into their lives. Having to leave the country to work and to support their family at such a young age. 2 years without seeing their family and still being able to maintain their work ethics was an eye opener for me. Their attitude towards work and anything that was given to them was extraordinary. They are the most hardworking people I had ever seen. And it changed my heart and my outlook towards those who are serving in the different industries. Especially towards foreign workers.

Now whenever I interact with foreign workers, the questions I ask are legitimate and out of concern for them, no longer just a means to get past some form of awkwardness.

It’s true that no experience is wasted. Everything has a learning point. Whether one is able to see past the pain and to see what God is teaching, will determine how one continues on with the course of their life.

I wanted to share my story because I know there are people who are going through or might have gone through similar experience and are not sure what to do or how to process the situation. I hope reading this has brought you some form of clarity in what God might be doing in your life as well.