What Happens When Your New Job Does Not Work Out?

Dedicated to Lori Golden

What went wrong?

What happens when your new job does not work out? You had been excited to start that new chapter of your life. It’s your first day, and you have taken care of all HR paperwork and begun your training. That alone runs 2 to 3 weeks. You meet people in the company, each one handling a different department with different responsibilities.  As you learn more about what this new company has to offer, loyalty begins to swell.  You are looking forward to showing them what you have to contribute.  Whether it is new tech, a new product, a unique twist on an old product, or just maybe, it is a new and different service to the market.  In any case, you cannot wait to learn more.

In the Beginning

After those initial weeks, you branch out on your own, a seasoned professional, calling on your book of business and making those initial contacts.  You discover that as interesting as this new company might be, it is not an easy sell, and is actually more taxing on the client than you are initially led to believe.  In any case, the company continues to support you.  They let you know it will take 3 to 6 months to learn everything, and you have your weekly team share meetings.  Sometimes, you might invite more knowledgeable members of the team to join you on your calls, and other times, you venture out and handle them on your own.

Making Moves

After 3 or 4 weeks, you get your first contract in!  You coordinate with the corresponding team to take the next steps…only they don’t seem to do what they are supposed to. You follow up and finally coordinate the meeting with the client and the team that fills the orders…. Only they do not seem to get it done.

Ultimately, you make yourself available to the team and coordinate yet another meeting with the client and the post-sales team.  You are there to help, but need to move on to the next client.  You reach out via calls, e-mails, and set up a number of meetings.

One of the largest potential clients has required extensive emails, contacts, and calls, but they have expressed some serious interest.  They finally get back to you …. They are in!   Now on to getting them set up in the system.  As you are preparing the contract, they let you know that they cannot work with you under the terms of the contract.  Ultimately, certain alterations would be necessary.  They are the same term changes requested by multiple other clients you would have closed otherwise.  You speak with your boss, then with the founder of the company, yet everything is a flat ‘no’ to any changes.

You close two more smaller clients and have a slightly larger one pending.  At least deals are getting closed, even if not on the level you would have liked.  After all, enterprise clients with complicated integrations are a more complex sale, and your manager has confirmed that they are well aware of that.  You receive kudos on your great pipeline, and told to keep working on it.

Looking Good!

As it turns out, there is an event that your potentially huge client will be attending!  Yes!  You go with several other members of the team, and the company founder sees you get a handshake from the head of the department necessary to move forward with the huge deal!  He asked to hold off for 8 weeks, then we can start moving on it.  In addition, you meet a few other people you have worked with over the years, and you are proud that members of your team drop your name to start conversations. In the end, you carry clout in this industry!

When you go back, you start the integration with one of the contracts you brought in.  However, another client has a few complications and asked to begin integration on another part of their business.  In the end, you are glad they like you enough to want to work with you in any way possible.

As you continue to reach out, two more companies let you know they want to give you a try in a few in a few weeks time. It is the end of the holiday season and they just need to wrap a few things up. Finally, things are starting to fall into place…or so you thought.  You receive a message from the founder of the company asking you for the links on LinkedIn to a number of the contacts you have verbal agreements with.  In the end, it’s your boss, and whatever you do for him is good for both of you, right?

What the…?

The next morning, you meet with your manager who has the company attorney on the call.  They are letting you go because “your contacts were not good enough” and they want to hire BDRs. This is another term for lower-salaried, less experienced people.  So after only 3 months, you are gone.  You are confused as you have closed 3 deals, and later on that day another contract comes in.  In total, you have 4 signed contracts, with more due to come in shortly. No metrics were ever given as to what is expected from you. In addition, you are told not to worry since it takes a while to learn everything, and the enterprise clients you are supposed to bring in, require a longer sales cycle.

You let all your clients know, and get some satisfaction knowing that almost all of them have opted not to work with your ex-company.  As much as they attempted to gaslight you and make you feel unworthy, your company learned that you need more than a name and email address.  In the end,  relationships do matter.

Stay Calm and Know Your Worth

What happens when your new job does not work out? You get nervous, and you aren’t sure of how you landed in this predicament.  Calm down and in the interim, take some time for yourself. Do not ever question your capabilities.  After all, you’ve been a solid professional for a while, and when you are ready, you will explore other options.  You are better than this, better than them, and will find something better suited for your skill set. Look ahead—- there is a much better fit just waiting for you!