Look For Job Discretely - the job you applied for and the job you left behind
Look for job
Looking For a Job Discretely
When one is looking for a job there is more at stake than just acceptance or rejection, there are consequences of financial insecurity and loss of reputation should things go wrong.
Imagine a scenario where you end up with nothing…the job you applied for and the job you left behind.
This is not as unusual as you would think…here is a story of a man I knew quite well and what happened to him and his family.
Sean was a husband and father of 4 children who had just finished graduate school after years of struggling. His previous education was not enough for him to derive satisfaction from his career…he had a 4 year degree but he never had an internship and never networked so in a competitive job market with a non- descript degree he blended into the woodwork and nobody noticed him. He took a job right out of college and proceeded to work there for 12 years as the world seemingly passed him by.
He worked at a grocery store…a noble profession…and an honest living. There were good benefits for him and his family and as he got older and his coworkers got younger he began to worry. His wife badgered him mercilessly to get an adult job…every single day of his life he would listen to the insults of his wife…and to his chagrin he let it reach a boiling point…he told her his job was no longer good enough…he wanted to go back to school and get another degree and someday get a real job…they rejoiced..the future held promise!
He worked his way through school with the same job…he made friends with his instructors and had them over for dinner frequently…he leveraged his contacts carefully and exploited every advantage he could. His network was strong and grew steadily as he approached graduation. His mentors gave him lead after lead as he interviewed up a storm until he finally landed a job offer.
His family beamed with pride as he aggressively built their future…they moved to another city and left their old life behind…friends, schools and neighbors were left without so much as a goodbye…they left without much warning as people shook their heads in disgust…debts were left unpaid, tools were kept while neighbors cursed him…all in all it was the unraveling of their reputation.
He had a clean slate in his new city and on his new job and he thrived…eventually his family made new friends and the children got established with their new school.
6 months later he announced to his family that they are moving out of state and he found a new job that will pay a lot more!He was not excited though…because deep inside he only wanted to create a stir so his employer would give him a better wage in order to keep him…he watched with joy as the rumor mill generated momentum…his coworkers began to discover that their new coworker might be leaving.
His boss called him into his office and confronted him….Sean confessed that he was just curious about what else was out there on the job market..but was genuinely surprised that he was offered such a good position despite not having much experience.
He said ”I am a simple man, I worked at a job that paid very little while raising my family though I had a college degree…when I finished grad school I finally got the credit I deserved…this is my big chance”
His boss said “ Sean, the reason why I took a chance on you is because my brother was your classmate in 2 of your classes and he said you worked very hard and it was as if you were afraid to fail”
He went on to say “But you have flaunted your job search and your offer to a lot of people…how would it look if I sat back and did nothing?”
Sean was asked to resign and his new opportunity failed to materialize…it was a too good to be true employment agency that did not actually have the authority to place anyone on behalf of the employer.
Sean found a job eventually but had to move to another town. Look for job written by Ken Bownes
