Applying to jobs months after starting new job.

[ilovedance1]

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I finished my fellowship at the end of August. I applied for jobs in the last general application cycle, and received several offers. Unfortunately, my options were rather limited because there were not many open positions in my field at this time last year. I started my current position in September. Although I am enjoying the job and the people that I work with, I am pretty dissatisfied overall because of the location of the job. The city that I am living in has a very high crime rate, poor quality of life, and not much going on in terms of events and activities. I am also living several states away from my spouse because they are not able to find a job here. My original plan was to stay here for a year or two.

My previous fellowship site just posted an open position a couple of weeks ago. I would like to apply for this position because I enjoyed working there, the quality of life in the city is good, and it is where my spouse lives. I think that they have been planning on hiring a fellow from my cohort, but I feel like I need to apply or else I will wonder what could have happened.

Does anybody have any advice on how to proceed? I am very concerned about burning bridges in a small field. I'm not quite as concerned about the impression I make with the people at my current position (although I am concerned about that too), but I am very worried about making a bad impression to the people at my previous fellowship site. Will it look really bad for me to apply to a new position after only being in my current position for a couple of months? Also, how do I address a cover letter to an individual that I know well and was one of my previous supervisors?

 

[cara susanna]

I applied for another job only several months in, which I also started after fellowship. Granted, it was within the same agency (VA) so it wasn't as big of a deal, but it was in a different state. I just explained my biggest reason for wanting that particular job (which in my case was also the location) in my cover letter.

 

[ilovedance1]

It feels strange to write a cover letter to a person who has supervised me before. Typically I would write about my goals, why I want to work there, etc. I assume I do the same thing, despite them already knowing these things?

 

[singasongofjoy]

I don't think they would find it strange at all considering you did a fellowship there, and you could write a strong cover letter that includes how happy you were workin there for x,y,z reasons, it's a good fit with your career goals etc.

 

[psychrat]

I applied for another job only several months in, which I also started after fellowship. Granted, it was within the same agency (VA) so it wasn't as big of a deal, but it was in a different state. I just explained my biggest reason for wanting that particular job (which in my case was also the location) in my cover letter.

How did you tell them and what was the on boarding like for a transfer?

 

[WisNeuro]

How did you tell them and what was the on boarding like for a transfer?

The onboarding on my transfer took 7 months.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

The onboarding on my transfer took 7 months.

Mine was about the same, although to be fair, a large chunk of that was b/c I was waiting to finish fellowship.

Although based on what I've seen since then, even if I'd been ready to go from the moment they selected me, it still probably would've taken at least 3-4 months.

The actual transfer process can be relatively painless, or very painful, depending on HR (particularly at your current facility).

 

[psychrat]

The onboarding on my transfer took 7 months.

What would you say the etiquette is for applying for transfers within the VA? It seems like even if an individual only works for one VA for six months or so and then applies for a transfer, by the time onboarding is complete for the transfer the individual would have put in a year? I ask because I am at a VA right now that comes with a good hour commute and I have been wanting to apply for a transfer when a position at the VA close to my home opens, but have been hesitant because I don't want to burn bridges by leaving so soon.

 

[WisNeuro]

What would you say the etiquette is for applying for transfers within the VA? It seems like even if an individual only works for one VA for six months or so and then applies for a transfer, by the time onboarding is complete for the transfer the individual would have put in a year? I ask because I am at a VA right now that comes with a good hour commute and I have been wanting to apply for a transfer when a position at the VA close to my home opens, but have been hesitant because I don't want to burn bridges by leaving so soon.

I think it depends on what your role is. Are you the lead of a team or department? Are you an integral part of the training program? If so, IMO you should let them know so that they can adjust long-term planning. If not, I probably wouldn't mention much until I had an offer in hand. Also depends on your existing relationships. At my first VA faculty job, I had great relationships and let them know soon and why I was applying elsewhere. At my last VA job, I could have cared less and no one knew that my vacation days were spent getting flown out to interview for other positions.

 

[DokterMom]

It feels strange to write a cover letter to a person who has supervised me before. Typically I would write about my goals, why I want to work there, etc. I assume I do the same thing, despite them already knowing these things?

Feels strange because it IS strange. Use the telephone first to feel out your chances. Explain your reservations about leaving so soon, but the situation with living apart from your spouse is about as compelling a reason as there is. If your verbal feedback is encouraging, then write the letter.

 

[randomnamegenerator]

I would agree with what others have said. Feel free to PM me also, as I was in a similar dual-career situation this year, although in a university setting. For what it's worth, my spouse and I ended up applying again, and I will be leaving my current position at the end of the year because she was able to find a much more appealing option in a better area that works well career-wise for both us.

We really focused on the spousal/partner aspect rather than things we didn't like about our current situation. I think people will be more understanding of a partner issue, and as long as you're reasonable about how you proceed, I don't think that most reasonable people will give you much hassle for that. Also, at the end of the day, career is really important to anyone who has spent the time to get a PhD, but life is too short to stay in a situation where you're really unhappy. 🙂 It might be helpful to think about where you'd be several years from now if you end up leaving: Would you regret having left so soon or would regret that you didn't leave sooner if you stay additional years? For many people, I'm guessing it's often the latter.

 

[cara susanna]

How did you tell them and what was the on boarding like for a transfer?

I didn't tell them until after I'd gotten the position. As soon as I had the informal offer, I notified my team lead, program manager, and division manager.

The on boarding for this transfer was INCREDIBLY fast, about 1-2 months. They were very motivated for me to start as soon as possible!