I consulted with a job seeker over the phone recently. The question she asked was one I have heard many times before. For privacy, I’ll call her Audrey. Audrey will be moving out of state in 12 months, but she is currently interviewing with several dental offices for a full time job where she’s living now. Her question to me is this: Should she tell her potential employer she will be moving, or keep it to herself?
I listened to Audrey, and put myself in her shoes. As she shared, I could hear her talking herself in to thinking its okay to protect herself. I could hear her struggle, with bitterness to her tone. Audrey was placing herself first and disregarding what she knew deep down was the right thing to do. After all, our life experiences influence our decisions. In the past Audrey was shocked when she found herself unemployed. Discharged from a job where she received glowing performance reviews. But when revenue fell off, a business decision was made and the last hired was the first to go. Audrey found herself without a job. In her eyes, employees are replaceable, dispensable. There are no guarantees, and the last hired are generally the first to be let go. Audrey is in survival mode. In her mind, she is doing unto her employer as her employer might do unto her. Put yourself in her Audrey’s shoes, and you’ll understand that she needs a paycheck.
With all of that said, the right thing to do is TELL. Be upfront with hiring managers. When your employer discovers you were misrepresenting yourself, you just blew up a bridge (did you hear that explosion?!). Leaving on a negative note, you will never be able to use that employer as a reference, and you essentially wasted 12 months of your career. You just made a negative impact that could follow you the rest of your career – a mark on your professional reputation. Remember, it’s not just your employer, but everyone involved. Your co-workers, customers, and vendors. They now remember you for all the wrong reasons. Deep down you know you just wasted everyone’s time and resources. Deep down, you know when you lay your head on the pillow at night, you did the wrong thing.
My advice to Audrey, tell. Tell the honest truth. Tell your prospective employer you will be moving. Be your authentic self. Nine times out of ten, if you present with the soft and hard skills the employer is looking for, eventually you will land a job with an employer who values you. Your honesty with them builds trust. Trust is of value. You have gained a professional reference. I liken it to that additional golden brick for the path of your successful career. You want to collect bricks for your path, not ones that break windows!
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