Mark and Sally work at the same company… their company is known for a rather strange, mercurial CEO who changes his mind fairly often, has a rather adversarial environment for people, and yet it is a fairly successful company… most employees don’t stay very long, maybe two or three years even though the company pays very well… on paper the company is very successful but it is known for being a very difficult place to work…
One of the company’s competitors was expanding and wanted to meet both Mark and Sally and try to hire one or both if they could… so we recruited both of them and set up interviews…neither Sally nor Mark knew the other was interviewing
Sally was the top performer of the company and our client was very anxious to speak with her… she, too,was very excited about the interview… however, when she got there she started “explaining” about the lousy place she in which she was working … “the CEO changes his mind every month… we never know where we are … I make a lot of money, but it’s a crazy place to work… the only people who stay are just as wacky as the CEO and I can’t wait to leave…it is just a crazy place to work“… she went on and on about the company, the job, and the people…. near the end of the interview she started speaking about her track record, which was excellent and how successful she has been and is. Admittedly, our client was impressed…but her attitude about her present company overrode her presentation of herself.
When Mark interviewed, he took different approach… he said things along the lines of, “…our place is a rather interesting place to work, to say the least, but it is a very gratifying experience… even though it’s a challenge, I have performed well and I have learned a ton… the CEO is one of the smartest guys that I’ve ever run into and even though he’s a bit erratic, he has given me a tremendous opportunity and I have really appreciated it… the only reason for leaving is to find a better opportunity for me and provide well for my family…”
Well, guess who got hired…it wasn’t Sally… even though Sally had a much better track record than Mark. Our client just didn’t like how much she’d badmouthed her present company… everybody in their market knows how goofy the CEO is and how difficult a place it is to work, but Mark simply handled it better than Sally.
The truth is that Sally is a much better performer than Mark … but our client just didn’t like the comments Sally made… so they hired Mark..
Lesson: Don’t ever, ever, ever badmouth your present or past employer. Whatever you say about the company you are working with now or have worked with in the past, the people who you are currently interviewing , will assume you are going to eventually say the same things about them…it can cost you a job and a career…
