教你怎樣閃電離職的"歪門邪道"
John Coletta quit as chief financial officer of Real Goods Solar Inc. in late August─just five months after he arrived. He announced his departure to his boss and other company board members in an email.
入職僅五個月後，約翰•科萊塔(John Coletta)於去年8月辭去太陽能公司(Real Goods Solar Inc.)首席財務長一職。他通過電子郵件向老闆和公司其他董事遞交了辭呈。Mr. Coletta says he felt guilty leaving so soon to take the same position at Quiznos. But the restaurant chain, which needed him to start in mid-September, offered a chance 'to go from a good fit to a great fit, ' he adds. He believes he exited 'with style and grace' because he briefly advised his interim successor at the solar-energy company.
科萊塔說，對於這麼快就離開然後去Quiznos擔任同樣的職位，他感到內疚。但他也說，Quiznos公司爲他提供了一個“從合適變爲絕配”的機會。這家餐飲連鎖企業需要他在9月中旬入職。科萊塔相信，他的辭職得體而有風度，因爲他給予了太陽能公司的臨時繼任者簡明扼要的指導。His former boss, Real Goods Chief Executive Kam Mofid, views the departure differently. 'It would have been a little better handled to have the face-to-face conversation first and then send the (resignation) letter, ' Mr. Mofid says. Mr. Coletta replies that he 'wanted to notify the board at the same time.'
然而，他原來的老闆、太陽能公司首席執行長卡姆•穆菲德(Kam Mofid)卻對這次辭職有着不同的看法。穆菲德說：“如果能先面談然後遞交辭呈，就會處理得更好些。”科萊塔迴應說，他是想“同時知會董事會”。
Leaving a plum management post less than a year after being hired is a risky, but often necessary move. It requires careful action because inevitably, someone will be unhappy about the fast quit. At a minimum, experts say, you should bend over backward to help during the transition. You also should craft a strong rationale so future potential employers don't raise an eyebrow. Besides a better offer, acceptable excuses include a culture mismatch, corporate reorganization or sudden exit of your supervisor.
上任不到一年就離開一個肥美的管理層職位，雖然有風險，但常常也是必要之舉。這需要小心行事，因爲免不了會有人對這種閃電離職感到不悅。專家說，起碼你應該在交接期竭盡全力地幫忙。另外你還應該給出一個有說服力的理由，讓將來的潛在僱主不至於莫名驚詫。說得過去的諸多借口當中，除了下家條件更加優厚外，還有不認同公司文化、遇上公司重組或上司突然離開等等。Without a persuasive story, 'you look like an opportunist instead of a business builder, ' cautions John Keller, a vice chairman of executive recruiters CTPartners.
高管獵頭CTPartners的副會長約翰•凱勒(John Keller)說，如果沒有一套讓人信服的說辭，“那麼你就會像是一個投機分子，而不是一個企業建設者”。Jolie Hunt, whom AOL recruited as chief marketing officer last July, parted ways in December when CEO Tim Armstrong decided to decentralize marketing. John Browett resigned from Apple Inc. in October, six months after joining to run its retail stores. Stephen Gillett, Best Buy Co.'s head of digital, stayed nine months before jumping ship to become chief operating officer of Symantec December.
朱莉•亨特(Jolie Hunt)在去年7月被美國在線(AOL)聘爲首席營銷長；12月，在CEO蒂姆•阿姆斯特朗(Tim Armstrong)決定下放營銷權時，她與公司分道揚鑣。約翰•布洛威特(John Browett)10月份從蘋果公司(Apple Inc.)辭職，離他加入蘋果負責零售店才六個月時間。史蒂芬•吉列特(Stephen Gillett)以數碼部負責人的身份在百思買(Best Buy Co.)工作了九個月之後，便於12月跳槽到賽門鐵克(Symantec Corp.)擔任首席運營長。AOL had hired Ms. Hunt to centralize its marketing, according to someone familiar with her thinking. But she and Mr. Armstrong 'disagreed over what the chief marketing officer should do, ' this person recalls. Upon her departure, the company cancelled a $10 million branding campaign that she spearheaded.
據某位知悉亨特想法的人士說，美國在線招她過去是讓她集中營銷職能。但據這位人士回憶，她和阿姆斯特朗“對首席營銷長的職責認定產生了分歧”。亨特離職後，美國在線旋即取消了她所牽頭的一個1,000萬美元的品牌推廣項目。Ms. Hunt tells recruiters the AOL job changed shortly after she arrived, the informed individual says.
上述知情人士說，亨特對獵頭講，她加入美國在線後不久，職責內容便發生了變化。Apple's Mr. Browett soon discovered 'that their culture and strategic direction was different from what he envisioned, ' says a spokesman for Monsoon Accessorize, a U.K. fashion retailer where he took command in early March. Mr. Gillett declined to comment.
布洛威特在3月上旬成爲英國時裝零售商Monsoon Accessorize的掌門人。該公司發言人說，布洛威特加入蘋果後不久便發現，“他們的文化和戰略方向有別於他的想象”。吉列特則拒絕置評。In job interviews following a rapid resignation, 'you should admit that you didn't do enough homework before accepting your last position without blaming anyone there, ' says Laurence Stybel, co-founder of Stybel Peabody Lincolnshire, a Boston leadership consultancy. He also suggests describing lessons learned from this mistake.
波士頓領導力諮詢公司Stybel Peabody Lincolnshire聯合創始人勞倫斯•斯泰貝爾(Laurence Stybel)說，在閃電辭職之後的面試中，“你應當承認自己在接受上一個職位前沒事先做好功課，而不要去怪罪上家公司的任何人”。他還建議描述一下從這次錯誤中所汲取的教訓。Putting a positive spin on a rapid resignation doesn't mean glossing over the truth, however. Recruiters say they reject prospects whose resumes omit a short stint, and dig deep to confirm reasons for fast exits.
但是，把閃電辭職事件往好的方面說並不等於掩蓋真相。獵頭說，他們會將那些在簡歷上省掉某段短暫工作經歷的求職者拒之門外，並且會通過深入調查來證實閃電離職的原因。Two years ago, the chief operating officer of an Ohio retailer interviewed for a CEO post elsewhere. He said he had stepped down as second in command of another retailer in 2008 because the chief executive resisted relinquishing control, according to Peter Crist, chairman of recruiters Crist/Kolder Associates, which handled the 2011 hunt.
兩年前，俄亥俄州某零售企業的首席運營長去參加另一家公司CEO職位的面試。經手這次招聘的是獵頭公司Crist/Kolder Associates，其董事長彼得•克里斯特(Peter Crist)說，這位首席運營長表示他曾在2008年辭去另一家零售企業的二把手職務，原因是首席執行長拒絕放權。But a board member at that retailer contradicted the former COO's explanation, telling the search firm that he left because 'he crossed the professional line in how he dealt with women subordinates, ' Mr. Crist remembers. The rejected CEO candidate should have told the truth because 'leadership is about character, '' the recruiter says. 'You can run but you can't hide in our world.'
但那家零售企業的一位董事反駁了這位前COO的說法。據克里斯特回憶，這位董事對Crist/Kolder Associates說，該首席運營長之所以離開，是因爲“他在如何與女下屬打交道方面跨越了職場界線”。克里斯特說，這位被拒的CEO候選人本該講出真相，因爲“領導力事關品格”，“在我們的世界裏，你躲得了一時但躲不了一世”。To be sure, there are times when making a hasty exit makes sense. Mitch Marcus resigned as chief financial officer of Orbitz Worldwide Inc. on Jan. 8, two months after he arrived, in order 'to pursue other opportunities, ' the online-travel agency said in a regulatory filing. Mr. Marcus joined Orbitz after extensive due diligence, a Marcus acquaintance says. But he quickly realized 'it was not the right place for him.'
需要說明的是，有些時候匆忙離職確實是合理之舉。米奇•馬庫斯(Mitch Marcus)在上任兩個月之後，便於今年1月8日辭去了在線旅行社Orbitz Worldwide Inc.首席財務長一職，以“追尋其他機會”。這是Orbitz公司在一份監管備案資料裏的說法。馬庫斯的一位熟人說，他是在做了詳盡的盡職調查之後加入Orbitz的，但他很快意識到這家公司“不適合他”。For those who wait nearly a year to leave an ill-fitting management post, 'there's a perception that the company fired you, ' warns Jane Howze, a managing director of recruiters Alexander Group. That attitude partly explains why the search firm still woos candidates like the current CFO of a South Carolina law firm whose last job lasted a week.
獵頭公司Alexander Group.的董事總經理簡•豪茲(Jane Howze)提醒，如果是等了將近一年才離開某個不合適的管理層崗位，“別人會覺得是公司炒了你”。正是出於部分此原因，獵頭公司仍然會去挖南卡羅萊納州某律師事務所現任CFO那樣的候選人──這位CFO的上份工作才做了一個星期。That finance executive says he accepted a sizable pay hike and temporary housing to join a bigger Midwestern law firm in 2009. (His family planned to relocate later.) By his third day, he concluded 'they weren't going to need me as much as I thought they would.' He flew home that Friday, leaving his clothes at the corporate apartment because he didn't know whether his old employer would rehire him. It immediately did.
這位財務高管說，2009年，中西部地區一家更大的律師事務所開出大幅加薪和提供臨時住房的條件，他接受了。（他的家人打算過一段時間再搬過去。）到第三天，他總結下來認爲“他們不會像我想象的那樣需要我”。那周的星期五，他便飛回家裏，留在公司公寓的衣服都沒有拿走，因爲他不知道老東家會不會招他回去。結果老東家馬上就讓他回去了。For employers, writing a corporate biography for a newly hired executive with a brief tenure elsewhere requires a 'a bit of finesse, ' says Howard Polskin, a New York media consultant who has held senior communication roles at two Fortune 500 companies. He's used phrases such as 'left after a short stint' or just mentioned the executive's year of employment at another firm.
曾在兩家財富500強公司擔當高級公關職位的紐約傳媒諮詢師霍華德•鮑爾斯金(Howard Polskin)說，對於僱主來講，爲某個剛剛招聘進來、曾經短暫供職於其他公司的高管寫介紹材料，需要“採用一定的技巧”。他曾使用“短暫任職後離開”之類的措辭，或只提及高管是於哪年在另一家公司工作。Quiznos omitted Mr. Coletta's Real Goods tenure from its Oct. 16 announcement about his appointment. Instead, the press release emphasized his franchise and restaurant experience at two other businesses. 'Real Goods was a short period of time and very different, ' observes Elizabeth Sapp, a Quiznos spokeswoman. 'So why mention it?'
Quiznos在10月16日公佈任命科萊塔爲CFO時，便省掉了他在Real Goods的工作經歷。相反，新聞通稿強調了他在另外兩家公司負責加盟招商和餐飲管理的經歷。Quiznos發言人伊莉莎白•賽普(Elizabeth Sapp)說：“他在Real Goods的時間很短，很不一樣，爲什麼要提它呢？”
