You may opt-out by. Then you won't need a glowing reference from your boss. They should understand that if you aren't a contractor and this is a temp thing for you that you will leave when a perm job opens. I had two promising interviews in the last couple weeks, and supposedly I should have another one or two coming up that also look pretty good. I started writing about the workplace for the Chicago Sun-Times in 1997. You can leave without apology. You weren't likely to get a glowing reference even if you had stuck it out for the whole two years. Could you be more specific please? The higher I got in the corporate world, the more operatic the action became. Read our affiliate link policy. If you signed any type of document when you were hired, or you made certain promises to the employer in person, you should talk to an attorney before you quit the job. If I start there and get a decent offer from one of the other companies I've talked to, I don't want to burn any bridges by turning around and quitting the contract job within three weeks. That's too bad for him! In my opinion an employee's job is to give his or her best at work every day. The company I work for hires the majority of their IT staff at the HQ location as contractors with a 12 month period. We haven't been told when. Your California Privacy Rights | Do Not Sell My Personal Information 4. You can quit a job whenever you want. The following errors occurred with your submission. Please help with new contract job negotiations. Almost nobody gives glowing references anymore, since most corporations started funneling all reference requests to HR where they will only verify your titles and dates of employment. Now I write for LinkedIn and Forbes.com and lead the worldwide Human Workplace movement to reinvent work for people. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. When I took my job a year ago, my boss made me sign a piece of paper that said I would stay in the job for two years. (employment, payment) User Name: Remember Me: Password : Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million … I've put my whole life on hold to do this job for the past year and I get nothing back in return. Therefore, NewUser can leave anytime without being nailed. Contracts don't mean that you are obligated to stay for the whole year. It sounds like your soon-to-be-ex-manager thought he could twist your arm to get you to stay in the company longer than your gut is advising you to do. The higher I got in the corporate world, the more operatic the…, I was a Fortune 500 HR SVP for 10 million years, but I was an opera singer before I ever heard the term HR. This is not a good place to work. If he or she is bent out of shape over your departure, that is learning that Mother Nature wants your boss to get. But these points you address don't seem to have any relevance to what happens if. The turnover rate is ridiculous and that makes sense because the managers' expectations are unrealistic. I dont think anyone you would want to work for, misunderstands the current economy to honestly think that leaving after a short time is anything personal (except when it is)Hiring workers, contract-to-hire really has nothing to do with non-existent laws concerning firing people as just about every state has at-will employment. Apart from losing my good reference from this company do I have anything else to worry about if I leave before my written two-year commitment is up? Any employer that really wants to keep you on board will pay you to stick around. Contract-to-hire periods of longer than 3 months can be assumed to be contract work and you should base compensation requirements on the assumption you will not be hired permanently. Leaving contract job to go to another contract job? Contract to hire positions can pay more. Thanks for any thoughts. It means nothing. Can we move it out of Alabama? I can see why they asked me for a two-year commitment. What does the contract say about early termination? A manager's job is to give that employee a reason to come back to work tomorrow. Since that time, company B has decided to close down and lay off all of its staff sometime in the next few months. Check that document. Ars may earn compensation on sales from links on this site. It helps skirt any possible employment issues that may occur even in the Right-To-Work states. You can quit a job whenever you want. If I don't do it, there goes my reference from this job. Maybe they will hire you on a temporary basis with the hopes of making you a permanent employee in the future. Any company that hires contractors absolutely knows and understands that those people are going to leave the moment they get offered a permanent position elsewhere. Get a job that pays the bills, then get a job that sets up your career. I'm looking for a job at the moment (laid off a few months ago), and I'm wondering what the etiquette is with contract positions while I'm looking for a permanent spot somewhere else. You can collect some LinkedIn recommendations from your colleagues, customers and vendors, instead. The contract is only for a couple months, but it pays well, is right next to my house, and is for a company I really want to work for full time.