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????親愛的安妮：我最近剛炒了老板魷魚。這是一家會計事務所，我的職務是審計師。這份工作收入不錯又很輕松，但我實在看不慣事務所內普遍存在的不道德行為。事務所的合伙人對客戶提交的“假賬”視而不見，甚至連虛假交易和一些可疑賬款都能心照不宣地蒙混過關。 ????我相信，如果外部審計員都能夠盡職盡責，2007到2008年的金融危機也就不會產生如此災難性的后果。所以，一想到自己被迫卷入了這些見不得人的交易，我就寢食難安。但現在的問題是，如果面試官問我為什么離職，我該如何解釋？——廉潔先生 ????親愛的廉潔先生：雖然目前整體經濟情況不佳，但你盡可放心，辭去這份“收入不錯又很輕松”的工作，絕對是明智之舉，不必為此感到后悔。曼哈頓獵頭公司Chadick Ellis的聯席CEO賈尼斯?艾麗格表示：“我面試過的求職者中，不少人都是因為公司的道德問題而離職，這些公司不久都被媒體曝光了。” ????她還說：“不道德行為最終將大白于天下。比如在安然公司（Enron）和世界通信公司（WorldCom）案件中，與罪魁禍首一樣，審計人員也未能逃脫被起訴、罰款和最終名譽掃地的命運。所以，你現在全身而退是絕對正確的選擇。” ????再就業咨詢巨頭挑戰者公司的（Challenger, Gray & Christmas）CEO 約翰?基林格也表示：“堅持自己的道德的立場，確實值得稱贊。在沒有找到下家的情況下辭職，的確需要勇氣。” ????雖說善有善報，但時候還未到，至少目前來看是這樣。因為向面試官爆料前東家的不道德行為，并非明智之舉。 ????基林格說道：“問題在于面試官并不了解情況，也無法驗證你的那些控訴是否真實，或許會認為你在搬弄是非。未來的雇主可能擔心，說不定哪一天，它們也會因為你而背上罵名。” ????幸好，有許多方法，既能誠實地解釋離職的原因，又不會捅馬蜂窩，也不必借助“追求更大的挑戰”這種慣用的說辭，這種話面試官聽得太多，甚至一聽到這樣的話，他們就會打瞌睡（即便這是求職者真實的想法）。 ????基林格建議：“從公司內尋找其他理由，合理解釋自己離職的原因。比如說，公司一直經營困難或者正在重組，所以大批人員離職，或者公司正在進行業務或策略轉型。當然，情況雖各不相同，但仔細想想，總能找出一些理由，既能說明問題，又不會讓自己或前雇主給人留下過于負面的印象。” ????賈尼斯?艾麗格指出，如果真的想避免“安然”事件重演，“可以向監管部門揭發公司的違規行為。舉報沒有錯，但對面試官說這些話，就不太合適了。” ????不過，她建議可以這樣說：“我和公司在管理理念上存在分歧，所以分道揚鑣是最好的選擇。” ????這聽起來有些含糊其辭，但沒有關系。艾麗格建議：“如果面試官追問細節，你可以這樣回答：‘對不起，因為涉及到公司的商業機密，所以我不便透露。’” ????其實，求職者根本不必為如何解釋離職原因而煞費苦心，原因有兩個：第一，與求職者之前的工作經歷相比，稱職的面試官對于應聘者未來的潛力更感興趣，所以重點在于引導話題，多談談自己現在能為雇主做出哪些貢獻。 ????第二，目前有意跳槽的人大有人在。美國勞工統計局（Bureau of Labor Statistics）的報告顯示，5月份，主動離職的員工達200萬人（截至目前的最新統計數據），創下了自2008年以來的最高水平。 ????此外，普華永道會計師事務所（PriceWaterhouse Coopers）最新進行的一項調查顯示，優秀員工的流動率正在上升。2010年優秀員工跳槽率為4.3%，已經接近2007年（經濟衰退前）的水平。普華永道的研究人員預計，截至2013年，這一比率將增加一倍，達到8.7%。所以，在這樣的大背景下，也許根本不需要為離職過多的浪費口舌。 ????另外，還要牢記一點，求職是雙向選擇。基林格建議：“求職者同樣也要衡量雇主。在沒有確信公司是否遵守較高的道德標準之前，不要急于接受這份工作。面試時，不要對這種問題刨根問底，但一定要仔細觀察，并且相信自己的直覺。” ????反饋：你是否遇到過同事或上級有不道德的行為？你是如何處理的？歡迎發表評論。 ????翻譯：富來細特 |
????Dear Annie: I recently fled my comfortable and well-paid job as an auditor with an accounting firm because I couldn't ignore the unethical practices that were commonplace there. The partners turned a blind eye when presented with "creative" accounting and window dressing by clients. Even fictitious transactions and questionable payments were approved with a wink and a nod. ????I believe the banking crisis of 2007 and 2008 would not have had such catastrophic effects if external auditors had done their job properly, so I was losing sleep over being made an unwilling party to these shady dealings. But the question is, when job interviewers ask why I quit, what should I tell them? — Mr. Clean ????Dear Mr. Clean: Yikes. Just in case you harbor any second thoughts about the wisdom of giving up a "comfortable and well-paid" job in this rocky economy, rest assured that you did the right thing. "I've interviewed job candidates who had quit their previous positions because of ethical concerns, and it later all came out in the news," says Janice Ellig, co-CEO of Manhattan-based executive search firm Chadick Ellis. ????"Unethical behavior will come to light eventually," she adds. "And, as we saw with scandals like Enron and WorldCom, the auditors get sued, fined, and tarnished along with the perpetrators, so you're absolutely right to protect yourself by getting out now." ????John Challenger, CEO of outplacement giant Challenger Gray & Christmas, agrees: "You are to be applauded for taking an ethical stand. It takes real courage to leave a job when you don't have another one lined up." ????But, for now at least, virtue has to be its own reward, since telling job interviewers about your former employer's misdeeds would be unwise. ????"The trouble is that anyone who wasn't there and didn't see what you saw will have no way of knowing whether your accusations are true, or whether you're just a troublemaker," Challenger says. "Prospective employers will worry that you might make them look bad someday, too." ????Luckily, there are plenty of truthful ways to talk about why you left without opening that can of worms -- and without falling back on the old standby about hankering after a bigger challenge, which interviewers hear so often that it tends to make their eyes glaze over (even if it's true). ????"Look for other things going on at the company that could reasonably have contributed to your decision to leave," Challenger suggests. "For example, maybe the firm has been struggling or restructuring and there has been a wave of departures, or the company changed its scope of work or its strategy in some way. Every situation is different, of course, but if you think about it carefully, you can almost always find something that doesn't put either you or the company in a bad light." ????Janice Ellig points out that, if you truly want to prevent another Enron, "there are regulators you can contact to report misconduct. There's nothing wrong with being a whistleblower -- but not in a job interview." ????Instead, she recommends saying something like, "We had philosophical differences on how the business should be managed, and it seemed best if we parted ways." ????Don't worry if that seems a little vague. "If an interviewer presses for more details, you can reply, 'Sorry, but I'd be revealing proprietary information,'" Ellig adds. ????It may help to consider two good reasons why you needn't get too hung up on formulating an answer to the why-did-you-leave-your-last-job question. The first one is that any interviewer worth his or her salt is far more interested in what you can do in the future than in rehashing your employment history, so concentrate on steering the conversation toward what you can bring to an employer right now. ????And second, you're hardly alone in wanting to change jobs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that almost 2 million workers quit voluntarily in May (the latest month for which figures are available). That's the highest monthly figure since November 2008. ????What's more, a new study by PriceWaterhouse Coopers says that turnover among "high performers" is increasing. The percentage who flew the coop in 2010, at 4.3%, is approaching 2007 (pre-recession) levels, and PwC's researchers expect that to double, to 8.7%, by 2013. Against that backdrop, you may not need to do as much explaining as you think you will. ????Bear in mind, too, that any job interview is a two-way street. "You're evaluating the employer too. Don't take any job unless and until you're convinced the company's ethical standards are high," advises Challenger. "In an interview, don't grill them about it, but keep your eyes and ears open and trust your gut." ????Talkback: Have you ever been confronted with unethical behavior by colleagues or higher-ups? What did you do about it? Leave a comment below. |
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