Ask Ash

Dear Ash,

I recently started work at a new firm but I am not enjoying it. My expectations of the job are not being met and I am regretting leaving my last job. My manager is also not very approachable and he tends to ignore me. My colleagues in my last job were a lot friendlier and although I was on a lower salary, I was happier. I am still in touch with my former colleagues and I have discovered that there may be a new vacancy arising at my previous firm. However, I am not sure if I should go back or stick it out at my new job. 

Ash replies:

Some people say you should not look back. However, in today’s job market no job is considered for life and employees tend to move around in order to improve their career prospects. A move is not necessarily seen as a bad thing, even if it involves a previous employer.

However, I think that it is also important to give yourself a reasonable amount of time to settle into your new role. Moving jobs is one of the most stressful things a person can do. There can be many initial teething problems in any new position, but it is important to give yourself a chance to fit in, as well as adjust to new routines and expectations within the new organisation. Difficult though it may be, try not to compare your current team to the one you have left. Relationships at work can take time to develop and it is unclear how long you have been in your new job, but it can take some weeks or sometimes months to feel comfortable in a new post.

In my opinion, energy spent focusing on your new role will be a more productive use of your time at the moment, rather than looking at other avenues for employment. Keeping in touch with ex-colleagues is a good thing, but remember the grass always seems greener on the other side!

Send your queries to Ash

“Ash” is a solicitor who is willing to answer work-related queries from solicitors and trainees, which can be put to her via the editor: peter@connectcommunications.co.uk, or mail to Studio 2001, Mile End, Paisley PA1 1JS.

Confidence will be respected and any advice published will be anonymised.

• Please note that letters to Ash are not received at the Law Society of Scotland. The Society offers a support service for trainees through its Registrar’s Department. For one-to-one advice, contact Katie Wood, Manager in the Registrar’s Department on 0131 476 8105/8200, or katiewood@lawscot.org.uk