So, I just had my first experience quitting a job. While it went really smoothly for me, that’s not always the case for everyone. But in order to understand why I quit we have to go back a little bit, to earlier this spring.

You know those websites that advertise internships and jobs, etc.? They’re great for rapid applying; you can submit your resume to multiple companies at a time in a matter of seconds. The problem is that this type of system really hinders your ability to learn about each company. Sometimes there isn’t even a description of what the job is, but rather just the company name, which means you have to do your own research.

I tried to do my best researching, but this company in particular had a website that was super vague. I could not for the life of me figure out what they did. Long story short, I got a call, set up an interview and made my way through the hiring process. Problem number two was that everything that was said during the interview was also vague. So, the ending here is that I was under the impression that I had one job, and when I showed up on the first day, it turned out I had a completely different job—one that was not going to work for me. I tried it for a few days, but it was really rough, and not at all what I signed up for. Ultimately, I made the decision to leave the company so that I could enjoy my summer and find something else more in line with my interests.

While the company could have definitely gone into more detail during the interview process so it was clear what the job was, at the end of the day, it was my fault for not asking more questions. When you’re looking for a job you have to have a clear understanding of what that job entails. The umbrella of “marketing” or “sales” and other generic labels can be deceiving, so it’s crucial to really delve deep when asking questions and do as much research on a company as you can, so you know what you’re getting into before you start.

This was a learning experience for me, and because it was just a summer job, it wasn’t that big of a deal to switch suddenly—as it turned out I got another job offer the next day, so that worked out pretty well—but if it had been a job that I was counting on, it would have been a bigger dilemma. The point is, be careful when looking for jobs. Do your research. And most importantly, ask a lot of questions and make sure you have a clear understanding of what you’re getting into, before it’s too late.