After weeks (or months) of applying and interviewing for jobs, you finally land the role made for you. It’s a moment of celebration and relief—this feels like the finish line.

But what happens if, mere days after starting, you think: Did I just make a huge mistake?

Maybe the job description was misleading, maybe the culture feels off, or maybe you just can’t shake the sense that you simply made the wrong move. Should you immediately look for the exit? Or is it possible to turn things around and make the role work?

Early job regret can be a common experience, but it’s also one that needs to be handled carefully, both for your career growth and your professional reputation.

Identify your feelings—then take action

Before making any big decisions, it’s important to take a step back and reflect on what’s driving your regret.

“Is it the actual tasks of the role? Is it the company? Is it the people you work with?” says Madeline Mann, author and career coach who runs Self Made Millennial, a YouTube channel about career development with over 400,000 subscribers. ​​

Pinpointing the source of regret will help you figure out whether the situation is temporary, something that could improve with time, or a much bigger mismatch between you and the job itself.

If your new role seems unclear, overwhelming, or if you’re unsure how to execute your tasks, it might be time to seek clarity from your manager. Still, even if your manager thinks they’re telling you everything, there are times they’ve been in their role for so long they don’t necessarily remember what it feels like to be a new employee, Mann explains. Taking initiative to fill those gaps is far more effective than throwing in the towel and thinking, “No one told me, I’m lost. I give up.”

If you know what you’re struggling with and you’re comfortable doing so, make sure you share it with your manager and be as transparent as possible. Tell them what you need; that way, “You’re bringing solutions to your manager, versus kind of putting it on them,” Mann says.

Shifting your perspective to look for the positives—even small ones—can also help you regain a sense of control when you feel regret.

“Sometimes we get into this victim mindset. But what is good? What is positive? What can you accomplish?” explains Mann. Celebrating even minor wins can remind you why you took the job in the first place. That may help you build momentum while you decide whether the role is truly the right fit for you.

Patrice Williams-Lindo, CEO of Career Nomad and a career pivot coach, echoes Mann’s sentiments.

If you’re regretting your new job, ask yourself, “Is it a blip or a collapse? If it’s just an adjustment, stay and recalibrate,” Williams-Lindo says. Now, she adds, “If it’s true misalignment, it’s time to leave. Staying in misalignment is how you compound career debt.” In other words, lingering in the wrong role can make it harder to leave later.

When to bail

If you’ve done all the above and still regret it, maybe it’s time to look elsewhere.

But if the company itself isn’t what’s giving you reservations, that doesn’t always mean you need to leave the place entirely. “I always encourage someone to do their best to try to find a better fit within the organization they’re already at,” Mann says.

“The best way to do that is to send out emails or instant messages when you’re a new hire and say, ‘Hey, I’m new. I just joined. Here’s my job title, and I’m making sure to connect with people in different departments so I can really understand the business and how I can be of service, possibly somewhere down the line, or collaborate with you in some way. Would you be open to talking for 15 minutes?’” Mann explains.

If you’ve tried to make the role and company work, and it still doesn’t feel right—it may truly be time to move on.

Mann refers to these situations as “oopsie” jobs—roles that last less than three months but were intended to be longer. “Those ‘oops’ jobs you can just very easily leave off of your résumé if you’d like,” Mann says.

“Update your LinkedIn and digital footprint so this role looks like part of your evolution, not a mistake,” Williams-Lindo says. This might include refreshing your profile, highlighting key accomplishments, and aligning your experience with your broader career narrative. If you choose this route, it’s best to have a simple and understandable reason for why you left when bringing it up in interviews.

“If you start complaining about the company, that’s actually actively hurting your candidacy for other jobs, so make your reason for leaving that company as concise and positive as humanly possible,” Mann says.

A good example would be: “When I joined the company, there was a certain role I joined for. Once I joined, the priorities shifted quite a bit to something that was very much outside of my skill set, and so it was a mutual split. It made the most sense that I wouldn’t continue in that role. I even explored other roles in the company, and nothing seemed to fit with my exact skill set at that moment. So that’s why I’m open to new opportunities right now,” Mann explains.

The key here is not blaming. Instead, you’re just saying things happened and that you’re looking elsewhere.

To reinforce that forward momentum, Williams-Lindo adds another phrase you could try: “‘I realized where I can create more impact . . .’ and it’s at the new company you’re interviewing with. That frames you as future-focused and resilient, qualities every employer is scanning for,” she says.

Whether you stay or go, it’s crucial to be clear on what you truly want moving forward so you can avoid this happening again down the line.

“Maybe it’s because you didn’t know what you were searching for in the first place,” Mann says. She emphasized that clarity is key before making any career move.

Don’t burn bridges on the way out

Leaving a job early always carries the risk of damaging professional relationships. Many people overlook the importance of their final impression at a company. But by working hard until the end, documenting your tasks, and supporting colleagues, you can create goodwill even in a challenging situation, Mann says.

“If your manager sees that in good faith, you gave it a good try, but it just wasn’t the right fit, I think it can make a huge difference,” she says.

Of course, not every manager will take the news gracefully. Some may feel blindsided or frustrated, but even when emotions run high, the best thing you can do is stay calm, be transparent about your decision, and focus on leaving solutions, not problems, behind.

Whether they’re mad or not, the best thing you can do is “document your wins, create clean handoffs, and position your departure as a values-driven choice,”  Williams-Lindo says.

“You don’t burn bridges by leaving; you burn them by leaving sloppily,” she adds.