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GAF, I've made a huge mistake. (Job related.)

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G0523

Member
So I started my first day as a staff accountant at this corporate company. I've never been a staff accountant before nor have I worked in a corporate environment. I was really nervous about it and I wasn't even sure if I could stand being in a business outfit all day.

Anyway, I get there and after filling out the necessary paperwork, I'm left at my cubicle with nothing to do. My computer isn't hooked up since they couldn't find the power cord and they weren't even sure if they had done a background check on me. After filling out my background information, I was left at my cubicle again with no instructions whatsoever. I was told before that I was going to be in training but nothing happened.

So I just sat there at the desk for two and a half hours. I was on my phone practically the entire time and I was bored stupid. After two and a half hours I had had enough. So I went to my boss and told her that I don't think this is a good fit. I told her that they don't seem organized and told her that I wasn't doing anything. She told me that it's only the first day and that I'm in training. But I told her that I haven't done anything and I wasn't even getting trained. So I told her that I'm leaving and am going home.

And now I'm at home. I called a couple of my friends, my boyfriend, and my mom called me and they all think that I made a huge mistake and should go back and ask for my job back. So I called my boss back and she said "No. You're done." And that was it.

After getting told that I screwed up, that I ruined my future, that this is how the corporate world works, I'm feeling very depressed. It definitely hit me that I made a huge mistake. Why don't I just kill myself now and get it over with? I have no future anyway, right? Why does the corporate world work this way?! This is horrible! Maybe I'm not meant to be in a corporate environment. Maybe I'm just meant to make minimum wage and be stuck at some dead-end job.

I hate my life. Did I fuck up my future that badly?!

TL;DR: I quit a corporate position after doing nothing but sitting for 2.5 hours. And now I'm paying for it, I guess.
 
W

wild wild rice

Member
I've spent anywhere from a week to a month doing basically nothing when starting a new job. This is normal. Just be more patient.

Integrating a new employee, figuring out their strengths and where they fit, not to mention just the basic bullshit of getting the person a desk/phone/internet/business cards whatever takes time.
 
V

Viewt

Member
You fucked up, but only for this job.

You'll be fine for the next one. Just don't mention this incident to anyone else ever.

EDIT: As for the situation itself, what happened to you is pretty much the case everywhere. Consider this - when you're new, and you need to be trained, there's rarely a dedicated person to train you. Someone else has to take time out of their day to come hang out with you and show you the ropes. Since there's other stuff to do, it won't be constant, and they wouldn't want to overload you anyway. What you're supposed to be doing with that free time is just getting used to the environment, and asking questions when they pop up. That's literally all you've gotta do. I don't know what would posses you to go to your new boss and tell her that her office is bullshit and that you're quitting because it's not professional enough, but aside from being an embarrassing story, I wouldn't worry about it that much. Just go work somewhere else and act differently.
 
F

FunkyPajamas

Member
Well... you're not paying for it now, but you might pay in the future. What the hell were you thinking? Is that the type of thing you want on your resume? Walked out on a job after literally a few hours? To go home and do what? Sit around and browse GAF?
 
M

Mr. Poolman

Member
It looks to me like you screwed up.

You had just to wait for the IT guy to set up your computer and get something to do.
It was your first day :/

Hopefully you can set up on a place you feel more comfortable with.
You future is not set on stone.
 
I

iMax

Member
It's important to remember that a job needs to fit you just as much as you need to fit it.

Seems like they don't respect their people. Sounds like you made a lucky escape.

Keep looking. You will find somewhere that values you.
 
B

backflip10019

Member
Rookie move. Depending on when you join the company, and how busy everyone is, it can take a while until you really start doing stuff.

Also you quit a job for doing nothing after 2.5 hours. Really, dude?
 
G

GrizzNKev

Banned
I would've just asked if there was anything I should be doing. If they say no, just take the free money.

Pretty much every large company is hilariously disorganized and slow, and you work might always feel meaningless. You were in training - training for what the rest of your life will be like.
 
R

RapidCancel

Member
After just a day? Hell, it took me a week just for IT to finally get my computer all set up. I pretty much just read a book for a week.
 
G

G0523

Member
Mr. Poolman said:
It looks to me like you screwed up.

You had just to wait for the IT guy to set up your computer and get something to do.
It was your first day :/

Hopefully you can set up on a place you feel more comfortable with.
You future is not set on stone.
Click to expand...

There was no IT guy. They just couldn't find the power brick for the monitor.
 
F

FunkyPajamas

Member
G0523 said:
There was no IT guy. They just couldn't find the power brick for the monitor.
Click to expand...
It as a test. You were supposed to find it yourself. Think about that.
Viewt said:
You fucked up, but only for this job.

You'll be fine for the next one. Just don't mention this incident to anyone else ever.
Click to expand...
Well, sure, just go back to searching for a job and that'll be it.

OP, I don't think there's any point in begging for your job back, but consider this: you could have stayed there and if after a few months (or weeks) you didn't like the job at least you'd have the experience on your resume.
 
E

ElectricBlanketFire

Member
You quit a job after 2 and 1/2 hours?

Did they not give you an agenda for training?

Did you think about asking, "Hey, is there anything you'd like me to do while I'm waiting to get set up?"

I'm absolutely baffled by your decision.
 
T

Tertullian

Member
2.5 hours? Yeah, I definitely wouldn't have recommended that course of action after just 2.5 hours of them being disorganized.

But your life isn't over. You'll find another job. It's a good field. Don't give up!
 
S

shadowkat

Unconfirmed Member
You left after 2.5 hours? That was a poor decision.

Did you ask for something to do? Like shadow someone while you wait for your computer to get set up? Getting fully set up as a new employee can take some time, even for a well organized company.
 
R

Rockandrollclown

lookwhatyou'vedone
Your future is not fucked. Don't even put that job on your resume and it will never likely come up again. As a rule of thumb, don't turn down free money unless you have another job handy. Corporations have a lot of moving parts, between your onboarding, IT having equipment ready for you, your trainer, sometimes things won't go perfectly. If you can't handle a little disorganization you going to want to avoid corporations and their bureaucracy altogether. Hell just looking at it from the IT perspective, I've seen extreme examples where new hires went weeks without a working computer.
 
M

Moltenix

Member
You fucked up bad. Just started a new job not long ago myself, it took over a week to get everything setup. The last place I was at was pretty much the same.

Edit: If you're feeling bored, you could have asked if there's anything you could do in the meantime.
 
X

xxracerxx

Don't worry, I'll vouch for them.
Quit after 2.5 hours, this might be the most ridiculous job story in a while. You didn't fuck up your life, but you fucked up hard at this job and actually dealing with employers.

G0523 said:
There was no IT guy. They just couldn't find the power brick for the monitor.
Click to expand...

You could have offered to help look.
 
N

NoblesseOblige

Banned
Yeah you made a mistake, but nothing about it sounds as life damning as you make it sound. Learn from this blunder as you try and find a new job.
 
O

ohlawd

Member
no one ever told you most people don't do shit in their 9-5 office job?

and you don't even have a fallback plan

yeah uhh lol
 
S

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
You didn't think to go ask a supervisor if there was anything you could be helping with, or when training would commence, or where to track down a power brick?

Oh man. Wow.
 
W

whitehawk

Banned
Bad move, but please don't stress about how this will affect your future. It's a bump in the road. Look for a new job and remember what happened here; learn from it.
 
M

marrec

Banned
Yes you made a mistake.

Corporate jobs can include many instances of sitting around for hours with no direction or work, if you want to continue pursuing a career in that field then I would suggest that you realize that now.

No, you didn't mess up your life. Many people get fired and many get fired for doing AWFUL things and they're fine.

You'll be fine too.
 
G

Gravy Boat

Member
I did nothing for the first two weeks of my current job. Got way better at Heartstone but not much else. Oh how I miss those days, these days I'm lucky if I get a lunch.

You've made a pretty stupid mistake. I can't even begin to understand your train of thought.
 
F

FunkyPajamas

Member
Familienoberhauptvogel said:
Exactly he should have been on GAF on the job.
Click to expand...
*fist bump*
iMax said:
It's important to remember that a job needs to fit you just as much as you need to fit it.

Seems like they don't respect their people. Sounds like you made a lucky escape.

Keep looking. You will find somewhere that values you.
Click to expand...
I--- is this a troll? Am I-- is this happening? Is this for real? "respect their people". He was on the company's money and not being asked to do anything that goes against his values or personal well being. This is not "I was called for an interview and had to wait three hours before being called in, without being offered a glass of water and I'm wasting my time because I have actual better things to do.". This is "I was at work and since there's not an IT guy I had a bit of downtime and reacted in a very unprofessional manner."

Some of you really are delusional.
Stinkles said:
You didn't think to go ask a supervisor if there was anything you could be helping with, or when training would commence, or where to track down a power brick?

Oh man. Wow.
Click to expand...
I would track that power brick to the end of the world for you Stinkles.

Is that weird? Did I make this awkward?
 
X

xxracerxx

Don't worry, I'll vouch for them.
Stinkles said:
You didn't think to go ask a supervisor if there was anything you could be helping with, or when training would commence, or where to track down a power brick?

Oh man. Wow.
Click to expand...

This this this this this this this this this x10000
 
R

RumblingRosco

Member
Did you fuck up? Yeah. You sound like someone that's never held a job in their life.
Did you fuck up your life? No. If you got this job you'll be able to get another job. Just... never mention this experience in any capacity whatsoever at future job interviews.
 
T

TatteredHat

Member
Yeah bro, you done fucked up.

Why didn't you just wait? Your manager even told you it was only your first day. Even if you weren't being trained you could have asked if there was something else you could do in the meantime, show a little initiative.

Welcome to the real world, better luck next time.
 
C

cyborgnumberblue

Member
Why didn't you ask anybody if there was anything you should be doing?

Why did you sit there for two and a half hours being bored then straight up quit? Have you done similar things in the past?

I have 101 questions, this is honestly one of the weirdest behaviors I've read on here.
 
M

Marjorine

Member
It isn't the end of the world. Just don't list it on your resume and consider it lesson learned.

I know some companies might have you hit the ground running, but that's pretty rare unless you have a ton of experience in that particular job. My first TWO WEEKS at my current job were screwing around, doing HR training modules and waiting for someone to give me something to do. It's not unusual.
 
B

bobeth

Member
That was an incredibly immature thing to do in my opinion. I don't even know how you could think acting like this was correct and justified..
 
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