Dierickx applied a two-pronged approach. First, she instructed Edna to get out of the finance department — to spend time in the operating units and ask questions along the way. Second, as people slowly began noticing Edna's new appreciation for operations, Dierickx advised her superiors to give her feedback, both good and bad. She also he asked them to make a point of spreading positive reports about Edna, "to create a different kind of buzz," according Dierickx. Edna is still with the same company — now as the finance chief.
Get Yourself back in the Game
Marge and Edna were fortunate that their employers gave them a chance to address their flaws before showing them the door. But you don't have to work for a benevolent boss to start over with a new image.
If you were fired, don't take it personally, and don't let it shake your confidence. "Sometimes when people get fired," says career-management consultant Ed Kelleher, "they can't distinguish between 'failure' and 'my failure.' Often, firings are simply about compatibility with the company culture."
If you're between jobs, especially if you have a tarnished reputation, "don't expect the recruiter to be your friend," says executive-career consultant Larry Stybel. "You have to put in the effort and use your networks." (That's good advice even when you have a job, notes executive coach Lassiter. "CFOs frequently keep their head down and do a great job and don't consciously think about [their] professional reputation," she says. "But they should, and not only for themselves. It helps the company too.")
"John," when he was ready to emerge from his two-year break as Berglas's client, sought out an advocate from his business-school days — a well-known and respected professor under whom John had written his honors thesis. Through the professor and other contacts, John managed to land a job on his sixth application; he's now the CFO at another company.
Stybel recommends reintroducing yourself at industry meetings; if need be, you should attempt to mend relationships by being honest about past problems, and even apologizing for your previous bad behavior. It's not a bad idea — after you've addressed your problems — to meet with a boss that fired you, adds Dominguez. By demonstrating to your old boss that now you "get it," you might actually pick up another good reference.
When you land an interview, be prepared to talk about a past problem in a forthright, sensible, and non-defensive manner; don't make the interviewer draw it out of you. "Always say the bad news first," says Berglas. For example, "if you locked horns, put it on the table. You lose nothing by saying you didn't get along with someone." Then explain how you addressed the problem and moved beyond it.
A more precarious situation is when you have some career flaw that the interviewer doesn't talk about; that's a sign you're about to be cut from the short list. In that case, says Stybel, "It is incumbent on you to bring it up." Kelleher agrees: "If you and I both know between us there's an unasked question, confront it."
"The more you explain your failures, the more likely [the interviewer will be that] you won't do it again," says Stybel. For those who still have doubts, says Berglas, you might be able to take a contract at will. Ultimately, however, your openness about past missteps will make the biggest impact. "You don't surprise people by talking about your faults," says Berglas, "you surprise people by your candor" in acknowledging them.
You'll also face rejection — but what job search isn't an exercise in rejection acceptance? The benefit is more compelling: Sooner or later you'll find someone who is impressed by your candor, who will hire you at a firm that's a good fit for you. Stybel recalls one CFO client who had a significant gap in his resume; he had spent that time getting treatment for drug abuse. It was important for him not to lie about it and to raise the issue himself if the interviewer didn't ask. He lost a lot of jobs that way, acknowledges Stybel, but eventually he got a job with a CEO who not only admired his forthrightness, but who had himself been in alcohol treatment.
Finally, one simple piece of advice is emphatically repeated by career experts: Don't badmouth anyone. As Stybel says, only somewhat facetiously, "Always describe your last boss as the moral equivalent of Mahatma Ghandi and Mother Theresa, and that working for them was a great experience."
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