How often have you left a job without having one to go to?
Would you advise someone to do this?
Last week I interviewed someone from a competitor that quit her job with them before actually finding an alternative.
While I enjoyed the interview, just the fact that she left her previous employer without having a new job lined up really irked me.
Maybe I’ve just not met enough people that have done that.
Should I be bothered about hiring her?
Re: Quitting before landing a new job.....
Muzna
well there are atleast 4 things you have to consider
1- was she laid off? in which case she had no choice
2- was she fired? in which case well red flag but you have to see whether she has the ability to do what you need her to do and had a bad boss or something
3- did she leave because work atmosphere was such that it was simply not tolerable
4- did she leave before she was fired..i.e. she knew something was going to happen but before **** hit the fan she resigned.
I would say focus on her skills, ability, motivation and fit with your company and team.
Re: Quitting before landing a new job.....
I've never quit a job myself, ie I'm still working for the company I started my career with. But I have seen many people quitting without having an alternative lined up. As X2 said, there could be various reasons for that and while you should remain cautious, I agree that you should focus on her skills and her ability to fit in your team, rather than her HR history.
Re: Quitting before landing a new job.....
Very interesting suggestions.....
I never even considered #4.
Fact is she is happy to offer her previous supervisor as a reference. That should be a good sign.
^^ Do you own that Co.? Are you interviewing her for your own business? Or you are an employee interviewing a prospective employee.
If you are just an employee, then you can ignore the 4 points suggested by X2, references should be good enough and let HR worry about her criminical background.
If you own the business then you should be concerned about the 4 pointers suggested by X2.
Muzna, do you remember when I was working at the ford motor company? That is when I joined GS for the first time. I was a contract employee then. My boss was such a nuisance that I called my contract house telling them that if they dont find me a new position in a month, I am quitting. Off course they found me one, but I was honestly ready to quit.
^^ Do you own that Co.? Are you interviewing her for your own business? Or you are an employee interviewing a prospective employee.
If you are just an employee, then you can ignore the 4 points suggested by X2, references should be good enough and let HR worry about her criminical background.
If you own the business then you should be concerned about the 4 pointers suggested by X2.
why? because we dont want to hire a bad employee when its coming out of our pocket but if its coming out of corporations pocket then we dont care? :)
the principles should stay the same.
Re: Quitting before landing a new job.....
Businesses and corporations fire people without thinking about the lives of their employees, They dont think about the principles..for them its the bottom line that matters.
If an interviewer is an employee, then he/she should put himself/herself in the shoes of the candidate and be focussed on his/her skills, rather than focusing why she/he left her previous job.
its about conscience. An employee should love his/her job not his/her company, becoz you never know when your company stops loving you!!!
How often have you left a job without having one to go to? Would you advise someone to do this?
Last week I interviewed someone from a competitor that quit her job with them before actually finding an alternative.
While I enjoyed the interview, just the fact that she left her previous employer without having a new job lined up really irked me.
Maybe I've just not met enough people that have done that.
Should I be bothered about hiring her?
Muznaji what do you mean by competitor??? If you a business owner or share profit with the Co., it makes sense then...
If you are an employee, then you are being really funny.
If an interviewer is an employee, then he/she should put himself/herself in the shoes of the candidate and be focussed on his/her skills, rather than focusing why she/he left her previous job.
its about conscience. An employee should love his/her job not his/her company, becoz you never know when your company stops loving you!!!
1- if you love your job and you are hiring people for your team then hiring the right person is loving your job, same if you are a peer and have to work with the person.
2- as far as focusing on the skills, that sounds like an echo :)
I would say focus on her skills, ability, motivation and fit with your company and team.
Re: Quitting before landing a new job…
***I quit my job before finding another one…Have you asked her why she did what she did ?
For me the place I was working at had nothing more to offer in the way of learning or expandingmy career horizons and the atmosphere was becoming intolerable , I felt my career stagnating and so decided i’d be happier quitting now , re-evaluating my options and starting another job when I’m good and ready. I made sure in the interimthat I had enough to support myself independently and decided to learn something new .
I don’t for one minute regret that decision ,in fact I wish I had done it much earlier.
However you have to review her whole career history , I know some people who are just not consistent and can’t deal with the pressures of a career and are quitters too , so you got to keep that in mind as well.
For the girl your interviewing if she has what your looking for then maybe you can hire her and keep her on probation for a while 
***
Re: Quitting before landing a new job…
***I quit my job before finding another one…Have you asked her why she did what she did ?
For me the place I was working at had nothing more to offer in the way of learning or expandingmy career horizons and the atmosphere was becoming intolerable , I felt my career stagnating and so decided i’d be happier quitting now , re-evaluating my options and starting another job when I’m good and ready. I made sure in the interimthat I had enough to support myself independently and decided to learn something new .
I don’t for one minute regret that decision ,in fact I wish I had done it much earlier.
However you have to review her whole career history , I know some people who are just not consistent and can’t deal with the pressures of a career and are quitters too , so you got to keep that in mind as well.
For the girl your interviewing if she has what your looking for then maybe you can hire her and keep her on probation for a while ***
1- if you love your job and you are hiring people for your team then hiring the right person is loving your job, same if you are a peer and have to work with the person.
2- as far as focusing on the skills, that sounds like an echo :)
I agree with your points..but if you read her comments ->
While I enjoyed the interview, just the fact that she left her previous employer without having a new job lined up **really irked me.
But, she should not be *really irked * by this, and that too if an interviewer is an employee. Especially in this economy people should be a little understanding and accommodating. And if she really liked her, then she should go ahead without hesitation.