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THE
CAREER DOCTOR
AN
UNFORTUNATE MOVE |
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Q:
I joined a company as Manager / Director designate
a few months ago. Immediately on joining, I was
informed that the assistant in the department was
dismissed, without my knowledge, during my notice
period. The role, therefore, has become much more
junior that I had expected. I am doing work that
I last did some 15 years ago. I do not think it
is an option to discuss the situation with management
as the company will not be recruiting an assistant
for some time due to lower than expected sales.
Reluctantly (and with apprehension as its only a
few months since I was last job searching) I think
I will have to go back to the jobs market. Can you
advise me generally about the situation and also
how to deal with it at CV/Covering letter/ interview
stages?
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I would have to say that this sounds like a dim-witted company,
making a less-than-brilliant move with you. To not inform
you of the changes in your department prior to your arrival
smacks of ‘seat of the pants’ management and
to expect you to be happy to perform significantly below
your level is just plain stupid. So, I concur with your
intention to move on quickly (unless there is any way that
you can significantly boost sales in a 3-6 month period
and rebuild your department). The only meaningful discussion
you can have with your new employer should centre around
that: “If I produce X in Y months, then I get
Z.” If your role does not enable you to directly
affect the top line, I agree that it’s time to go.
Find
out what the network is now saying about your current employer.
How did you not hear about the declining sales line when
you were jobhunting? Did the market know then, or does it
know now? What is the bush telegraph saying …? This
will help you in deciding your pitch to the market.
Addressing
this on your CV is difficult and a quick-and-dirty move
like this can worry a future potential employer as your
judgment will be in question. If you are going the placement
agency route, you need to ensure that you are dealing with
someone senior and to agree a ‘positioning statement’
that he/she can use when talking to the market. If you are
answering advertisements directly, then you need to highlight
any and all contributions that you are making in your new
role and keep updating your CV weekly/fortnightly/monthly
while you are hunting.
Your
cover letter is the appropriate place to address your motivation
for moving on. “I’ve been sold a pup”
is not an ideal opener, but it is the truth, so that is
the optimal starting point. Having opened with that 'me'
statement, you need to immediately follow with a glittering
list of accomplishments and the benefits to having you on
board.
What
you need to stress throughout your hunt is that it is taking
considerable courage for you to go back to the market and
admit a mistake and that, having made that mistake, you
have learnt your lesson and have sussed out this new potential
employer with a microscope! (There’s a degree of flattery
going on here in the subtext – “I am now
working for a less than marvellous company, but I’ve
researched the heck out of you and you are in a different
league altogether, otherwise we wouldn’t be having
this conversation …”)
Rowan
Manahan is MD of the career management firm Fortify
Services and author of Where’s My Oasis?
Visit www.fortifyservces.com or telephone 01 230 1313.
Irish Independent,
Jobs & Careers supplement, August 11th 2005.
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any job problems you would like answered by our panel of
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