HEADLINES from Business Mentors, Inc.

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HEADLINE: IT’S JUST NOT WORKING OUT…

I recently received a request from Carlos to meet. He described his work situation as completely untenable. His new employer had moved Carlos and his family for the position, moving them from Texas to the Northeast. Now, he has just been told by his new boss that she had decided to move him out of his role after only six months on the job. She told him that it “just wasn’t working out”. She felt that it was not a good match and assured him that perhaps they had contributed to the problem as well.

IT’S NOT YOU, IT’S ME…

Carlos had never received a performance review, been put on corrective action, or even been told his work product was less than acceptable. Instead, he explained that he felt “a disconnect” with his boss and his fellow employees from day one. He described it as a closed club where he was never able to gain entry. Their comments, their jokes, their non-verbal gestures all held special meaning to each of them and he never understood where they were coming from. There were also many important closed door meetings to which he wasn’t even invited.

He was being let go – fired, in essence, and he was given a small severance offer. The boss asked him to sign it as soon as possible to that they all could just “move on”.

NOW, HOW DO I EXPLAIN THIS…?

Carlos and I had our work cut out for us. First, we had come up with a counter offer on the severance to make sure that Carlos was provided a more lucrative package. We had a good argument in place as this organization had relocated Carlos and his entire family and now they were moving him out of his role in less than six months. Secondly, we needed to work out a reference so that Carlos would be comfortable telling future potential employers why he was in his role for such a short time.

With several calls to his former employer and proper positioning of the reasons Carlos was entitled to more severance and a good reference, he was able to walk away with an additional three months of salary and benefits and the former boss agreed to provide a positive reference using such terms as “the company was moving in a different direction”. Such verbiage deflected the cause of Carlos’ departure away from him and positioned his departure as an overall management decision to go down a different path.

COUNSEL FROM THE COACH

What happened? Carlos represents a vast majority of those clients who approach me after their positions have been eliminated or after they have been terminated. In 80% of the cases, the reason for separation is “environment” and not performance. How do you avoid these situations? Well, while it’s not fool proof, remember that the interview process is TWO WAY. Rather than viewing it as one where you passively sit and only respond to questions, keep in mind that a good coach can teach you how to formulate questions which will help you uncover the type of environment that you may be entering. Rarely do job seekers pursue this line of questioning, and, oftentimes, they discover too late that the environment is not a fit for them personally or professionally.

Carlos is now in a new role, and he likes his new company. He has joined an institution that is a far better fit for him in size, performance expectations, and environmentally. He took my advice and interviewed his boss and his fellow employees as well to uncover the characteristics of the environment he was entering. He is happy and prospering only seven months later from the day after his first visit to my office.

Invest in Yourself,

Al Stewart

President/Owner

Business Mentors, Inc. is a career management organization that was founded in 1995 by Al Stewart, a former corporate executive with background in the transportation and communications industries with such industry leaders as Eastern Airlines, AT&T, GTE and Sprint and an educational background in Adult Education. His firm, Business Mentors, Inc., offers a broad range of services focused on successful management of professional careers including: Career Exploration, Career Transition, Career Outplacement, Becoming an Entrepreneur, Executive Development and International Transition. With a powerful record of success using counseling, consulting and motivation of over 3500 executives in the past ten years, the firm founded the executive coaching movement and continues to enhance its reputation as one of the leading and most highly regarded career management firms in the country. For more information about our services or questions regarding how we can assist you, please consult our website: www.business-mentors.com Or, you can choose to email us at alstewart@business-mentors.com or call our offices (Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale or Paris, France) at our global number: 404.644.8618. Our associates are available in person at one of our three offices or via teleconference worldwide.

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