You don’t have to look much further past Enron or Worldcom to discover more and more companies and once respectable businesses being caught out in one scandal or another. To many employees, this discovery is as painful as if it had occurred within their own family, because to many employees, their company is like family.
It’s easy if you are looking for a new employer, you can do your research on potential employers, checking their social responsibility record, their culture, and their financial practices and ethics and know beforehand that this is not a company with whom you wish to associate.
However, if you are already employed with a company whose closet skeletons are suddenly revealed publicly,it can be an alarming experience… so what can you do? What should you do?
First, don’t panic and don’t act in the heat of the moment. Furthermore, don’t believe the rumor-mill. Your Company should be honest with you, and if they are saying nothing, you are entitled to ask questions. This is your future at stake too.
Some things you will need to consider:
Has your company become a risky place to work? Does it have a future? Even if the Company does take immediate steps to address the “problem” and even if they have publicly declared the reforms they plan to make, their business may suffer the sorts of damage that will result in serious downsizing.
If you decide to leave, how will this look on your resume? Even if you were not involved, there will be those who will hold you guilty by association… mud sticks, even to the innocent. Depending upon your role within the company and how high up in the hierarchy you are situated, your own career may be damaged for life. The more significant your position, the harder it is going to be for you. And if there is no future with your company and you do have to leave, prepare for some unpleasant interview experiences. Remember the mud!
Don’t just leave in the heat of the moment, however, because if you have family and financial responsibilities, you can ill afford such drastic steps.
Plan ahead. Keep a cool head. This is going to be one of those times when your membership in professional groups and associations is going to come in handy, because often, when looking for a new career, it is not what you know, but who you know. In a situation like this, you will need all the respectable and professional support you can get, particularly for reference purposes. Chances are nobody is going to take a reference from your present management very seriously! It won’t be worth the paper it’s written on.
Having established that you have outside company support and those prepared to vouch for your honesty and integrity, you must do some personal damage control. Whether or not you were privy to any of the wrongdoings of your company, it may well be in your best interests to feign shock and horror, as if you are just finding out yourself, like everyone else. If you were not a 'guilty player', play dumb. Do not let on that you suspected anything or knew anything. A truly innocent individual would, in reality, be totally ignorant of the circumstances.
As for your resume, don’t try to fix that yourself. Now, more than ever, you need a professional, and there are many professional resume writing services around. You need to include, perhaps in your cover letter, that you were not involved in the department responsible for the “problem” at the company, and that you have no involvement or knowledge of it. This will give you the opportunity, too, of mentioning your desire to find employment with a company with responsible ethics, integrity and social responsibility. This will protect you from any future doubtful companies, and having just come from such a disreputable company, no potential employer is going to consider you ‘rude’ for stating up front your requirements in a future employer!
In any other circumstances, this next suggestion might be met with equal shock and horror, but in this situation, you may also find benefit approaching your company’s competition. You may find that once you satisfy them that you are innocent of any misconduct yourself, that they perceive you as a potentially valuable asset to them, because not only do you have the skills and expertise they need, but you can bring valuable information with you about one of their major competitors, even if that competitor has now shot itself in the foot.
You may find great benefit in finding new employment through a recruitment agency, because they can explain your situation beforehand to a potential employer, saving you some embarrassment and awkwardness. Keep in mind, some interviewers may be embarrassed about asking you questions about your previous employer. If so, don’t be silent, as this can be misconstrued as you having something to hide. Be open, and without going overboard, explain your role in the company and reassure the interviewer that you had no part or knowledge in the events. Then move on, as quickly as possible, to explain why you would make a great employee for them, emphasize your skills and abilities.
Of course, this is all assuming your employer is involved in a large public scandal of major proportions. If your company is involved in a minor scandal and the publicity is contained within your community and not headlined around the country, and if it appears no major damage will be incurred by the business, then the choice is yours whether to stay on or leave.
If you choose to stay and see it through with your employer, then you need to focus on what is working, and find the good things that have come from the bad experience. Don't get caught up in the negative chatter and gossip. When people are SNIOPING (subjecting you to their negative influences), walk away. Put your energy into doing your job and enjoying your life. Don't spend your time and resources talking with family and friends about the scandal. If you feel you really need to discuss the scandal, write about it in a journal, or talk into a tape recorder or hire a career or business coach.
At the end of the day, you have to look after yourself, and only you can know whether the particular circumstances your company has presented are such that life will eventually go on as normal, or whether stormy waters are ahead.
One last thing to bear in mind is if you were toying with the idea of leaving your company prior to the scandal, you should take steps to find new employment sooner rather than later. If you dawdle about leaving, you face the possibility of being asked some rather awkward questions from potential employers. Something to think about.
(c) Terri Levine MCC, PCC, MS, CCC-SLP is CEO of Coaching Instruction, a Master Certified Coach, Public Speaker, and Author of “Stop Managing, Start Coaching”, "Work Yourself Happy", "Coaching for an Extraordinary Life", and “Create Your Ideal Body.
Full Author Profile -->
PRINT THIS
