Vent/Advice: Left a stable job for an HR Director role, walked into a company collapse. Did I bite off more than I can chew, or just get incredibly unlucky? [N/A]
Hi everyone, using a throwaway account for obvious reasons. I really need to vent and get some objective perspective from fellow HR professionals.
For context, I spent nearly 5 years at my previous company, moving up the ranks internally until I became a Team Lead. The environment wasn’t perfect—especially my relationship with my upper manager, which had become deeply toxic and full of mutual resentment—so I started looking elsewhere.
I eventually accepted a massive career step up: an HR Director position for the national branch of a multinational corporation. The title, compensation, and benefits package were incredible, and it felt like the perfect escape and career progression.
The first month or two felt like a honeymoon phase. But once the onboarding dust settled, the grim reality hit me: the company is essentially on the brink of shutting down this entire national branch. I later discovered that their revenue has been heavily in the negative for the past 5 years—a massive financial red flag that was completely hidden from me during the interview process.
Budgets and funds for any kind of development or investment are completely frozen. The organizational structure is nonexistent, and compliance is an absolute nightmare. To make matters worse, the financial situation is so dire that every single month we honestly don't know if we will be able to process and pay employee salaries.
On top of that, because the structure is crumbling, I’ve been buried under responsibilities that have absolutely nothing to do with HR, such as facility management, fleet management, and HSE.
What hurts the most is that my true passion in HR has always been improving the workplace and the employee experience. Deep down, I have a bit of a people-pleaser personality, and I thrive when I can support and elevate people. Instead, my actual role here is to act as an executioner. My sole purpose right now is to figure out how to keep the lights on with zero budget, cut costs aggressively, and manage terminations until we are reduced to a skeleton crew.
I’ve been here for about six months now, and I am already desperate to leave. However, I am terrified of how such a short stint on my resume will look to recruiters for similar management roles.
I’m stuck in my own head spinning with self-doubt: Did I make a massive mistake and step into a role I wasn't actually ready for? Or did I just have the worst luck imaginable and walk straight into a sinking ship?
TL;Dr: Left a stable job after 5 years to escape a toxic boss and became an HR Director at a multinational. Turned out the company has been bleeding money for 5 years, is on the verge of shutting down, and we literally don't know if we can pay salaries month-to-month. Instead of doing actual HR, I’m stuck managing facilities, fleets, and laying off the entire staff with zero budget. I want out after 6 months but I'm terrified it will looks like the biggest red flag in my CV. Am I incompetent or just cursed?
Thanks for reading and please send help