Job Offer
I received an unexpected job offer on a Friday evening, one week before the end of my probation period. I had made a daring decision - quit before I received the offer letter. Honestly I wouldn't recommend to quit without a written offer in hand, but I believed that was the best decision for me and the firm. I was required to serve only one week notice period during my probation period, but in the view that my probation would be ending soon, I would need to serve a longer notice period when the commencement date of new job offer was two weeks later. Besides, my unexpected resignation during peak periods would give my team a heart attack and an early notice would provide more time for resources allocation and smoother handover process, especially when I had 2 new upcoming jobs in hand.
The job prospects of my new job had led me to be a risk taker with a backup plan - I received an invitation to interview with another Big 4 and the expected commencement date was the upcoming month. I felt bad for potentially wasting the time of HR and interviewer, especially when the HR was very nice to me and the firm was in fact my first choice.
After weighing on both job offers, I made a painful decision to turn down the job offer from my first choice company. I do prefer to join the firm but not as an IT auditor, although I was assured that the job scope would beyond IT audit. I refused to sign myself up for another black hole, just for empty promises that there are chances to transfer internally to my preferred department.
The final decision was to stick with my current offer and entered into a new work environment with more uncertainties ahead.
Resignation
My resignation was not well received by the management. It was IT auditor's peak period and the team was facing tight manpower constraint. Thankfully the management accepted my job offer without making things hard for me.
Serving notice period was the beginning of suffocating experience. I wanted to maintain my reputation and serve my notice period professionally by completing my unfinished work and handover my jobs appropriately. Sadly, dramas happened even though I was the smallest potato in the team. There were gossips, bad mouthing, jealousy, backstabbing, colleagues maintaining distance (It's important to maintain social distancing btw! Let's flatten the curve together!) and difficult questions. It hurt me the most when my closest acquaintance accused me for being childish and naive because I wanted to look for a better work environment.
My ICMS experience reminded me to maintain professionalism despite the horrible experience. I remained diplomatic with my ex colleagues, tried my best to provide assistance in handover, and most importantly, resisted the urge to complain. I diverted my attention to the life lesson I've learnt from this job and the started to look forward to a new life with these toxic people. I had informal chats with people who had helped me, including the department secretary and the janitor. I reached out to my performance manager for our first and very last lunch. I even smiled and waved goodbye to a senior who was rude and impolite to me - although she ignore me as usual.
So what? It's all behind me now. Reading the messages from my ex colleagues complaining about the same issues again reassures me that quitting is the best decision I had made in 2020. There's a risk that my new job is not my ideal one, but it's definitely much better than me staying in the awfully negative environment.
Goodbye
I have taken a week break before starting my new job to slowly recover from the traumatized experience. I do appreciate all the precious life lessons and important workplace survival skills. Perhaps it's a training ground for transitioning me into the cruel working adult's world. I start to be more grateful with all the nice people I've met in my life. And also, words couldn't express my gratitude for successfully securing jobs in a 2 different Big 4 during this unprecedented time.
Time for a new chapter.
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