Be careful...
I had the same thing happen about eight years ago. Took a job in government when the company I worked for reorganized and eliminated my position. An acquaintance realized afterward that I had been available and made me an offer that meant a 60% increase over the government job. The new supervisor wasn't too happy but he understood that I had taken a severe cut to go to the government job. Unfortunately, the better offer was in financial difficulty that I wasn't aware of when the offer was made but saw the signs after joining so I started my own company and left right before their parent company filed bankruptcy. The government guy ended up giving me the same job again several years later when my own company closed but it ended up being only on a short-term basis. He used me until everyone had taken their vacations and then let me go during the probationary period, saying it wasn't working out. Funny, he'd hired me twice. Wouldn't that mean he'd made the same mistake twice? Don't assume they forgive the quick jump even if they seem to understand and would take it themselves. And that's precisely why "jumping ship" can be a dangerous thing to do - if you're not careful. In this example, sounds like just about all the career job hops have now been used. Paul W. Barada The Negotiation Expert
In the case of the higher offer, I stayed there a year and did the best I could to turn things around but the company had been hemorrhaging cash for a couple of years and the processes I put into place only made it viable to be sold off in the bankruptcy. The finance director had worked for her husband at a car dealership and had no construction background so she didn't even know when to request draws on the construction loans. When I first realized it, I gave her the information on how to request over $400,000 in draws that we were owed, in some cases for months. That was only enough to pay the bills for one full AP run though. Overpaid help, high paid people with no real job, fancy digs, no cost control processes, sales force in charge. It was a lesson in how not to run a small company. I had started my own business before I took their job but was only working it part-time on weekends. When I realized the company was swirling in the commode, I started lining up jobs and put in my notice. So, is a year long enough or is that considered a job hop? The reasons for the short tenures don't matter if all a prospective employer is looking at is a resume. The only way to approach this is by explaining what happened concisely in your cover letter or during the initial interview. Paul W. Barada The Negotiation Expert | |
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Career Tips
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