diff --git a/plugin/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/job/JobManager.java b/plugin/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/job/JobManager.java
index a419b9eeef2..4c6ab0e9ca8 100644
--- a/plugin/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/job/JobManager.java
+++ b/plugin/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/job/JobManager.java
@@ -167,6 +167,7 @@ public class JobManager extends AbstractComponent {
         MlMetadata currentMlMetadata = state.metaData().custom(MlMetadata.TYPE);
         if (currentMlMetadata != null && currentMlMetadata.getJobs().containsKey(job.getId())) {
             actionListener.onFailure(ExceptionsHelper.jobAlreadyExists(job.getId()));
+            return;
         }
 
         ActionListener<Boolean> putJobListener = new ActionListener<Boolean>() {
diff --git a/plugin/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/utils/ExceptionsHelper.java b/plugin/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/utils/ExceptionsHelper.java
index ead25a48455..b1d0655ceae 100644
--- a/plugin/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/utils/ExceptionsHelper.java
+++ b/plugin/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/utils/ExceptionsHelper.java
@@ -23,11 +23,11 @@ public class ExceptionsHelper {
     }
 
     public static ResourceAlreadyExistsException jobAlreadyExists(String jobId) {
-        throw new ResourceAlreadyExistsException(Messages.getMessage(Messages.JOB_CONFIG_ID_ALREADY_TAKEN, jobId));
+        return new ResourceAlreadyExistsException(Messages.getMessage(Messages.JOB_CONFIG_ID_ALREADY_TAKEN, jobId));
     }
 
     public static ResourceNotFoundException missingDatafeedException(String datafeedId) {
-        throw new ResourceNotFoundException(Messages.getMessage(Messages.DATAFEED_NOT_FOUND, datafeedId));
+        return new ResourceNotFoundException(Messages.getMessage(Messages.DATAFEED_NOT_FOUND, datafeedId));
     }
 
     public static ElasticsearchException serverError(String msg) {
diff --git a/plugin/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/job/JobManagerTests.java b/plugin/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/job/JobManagerTests.java
index 5606ad8abcc..7723d1b30d7 100644
--- a/plugin/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/job/JobManagerTests.java
+++ b/plugin/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/ml/job/JobManagerTests.java
@@ -167,18 +167,17 @@ public class JobManagerTests extends ESTestCase {
         ClusterState clusterState = ClusterState.builder(new ClusterName("name"))
                 .metaData(MetaData.builder().putCustom(MlMetadata.TYPE, mlMetadata.build())).build();
 
-        expectThrows(ResourceAlreadyExistsException.class, () ->
-                jobManager.putJob(putJobRequest, clusterState, new ActionListener<PutJobAction.Response>() {
-                        @Override
-                        public void onResponse(PutJobAction.Response response) {
+        jobManager.putJob(putJobRequest, clusterState, new ActionListener<PutJobAction.Response>() {
+            @Override
+            public void onResponse(PutJobAction.Response response) {
+                fail("should have got an error");
+            }
 
-                        }
-
-                        @Override
-                        public void onFailure(Exception e) {
-                            fail(e.toString());
-                        }
-                    }));
+            @Override
+            public void onFailure(Exception e) {
+                assertTrue(e instanceof ResourceAlreadyExistsException);
+            }
+        });
     }
 
     private Job.Builder createJob() {