The author Thomas Wolfe said you can't go home again. But Thomas Wolfe was self-employed. He didn't work in today's global economy where so many men and women take jobs in a foreign land. The following exchange that took place on the ExecuNet "Ask the Expert" forum illustrates some of the problems they face when they come home and how those problems can be overcome.

QUESTION 1

I'm an experienced IT executive who's been working in Australia for the past seven years and am now looking to return to the U.S. My current employer has no relevant opportunities in the U.S. So I must re-enter the market. Due to family concerns, I am targeting the east/southeast U.S. But my professional contacts from that area are very limited.

I'm interested in building my network and need advice on returning. For instance, I'm wondering if the potential of international relocation will turn leads cold. I'm also concerned about re-entering in an uncertain economic climate.

ANSWER

In the Forum, ExecuNet member questions are usually answered by experts. But in this case, another ExecuNet member stepped forward to answer: a gentleman named Mike who's currently in China. Here's what he had to say.

I faced a similar issue this year, having been in Asia for seven years. My employer was quite clear that my best value to them was my remaining in Asia. So I pursued outside opportunities as well as looked for things in the company back in the U.S. Some things I found that helped with trying to make contacts and apply for jobs:

As to the rough economy, make the pitch in your cover letter or conversation with recruiters what great experience you have overseas, working in different markets, with different providers, etc. Given the global nature of IT these days, turn your time overseas into a competitive advantage by showing companies how you can immediately contribute to the results of their business.

Conclusion

Even though this exchange involves corporate executives, the same principles apply to safety professionals who wish to return home after spending a stint abroad.

Wishing you career success in all parts of the world,
Lauryn Franzoni
ExecuNet, www.execunet.com

THIS DATE IN HISTORY

The Sunshine Mine Memorial

May 2, 1972

By Glenn Demby

"Morning rush hour in the Idaho panhandle was a stream of primer-splattered bombers and gleaming pickups on big tires that pushed the cab halfway to the sky. All were driven by miners hurrying to get underground."

So begins Gregg Olsen in Chapter 1 of his book, The Deep Dark: Disaster and Redemption in America's Richest Silver Mine. Olsen's work is a chronicle of a horrifying fire that occurred in the Sunshine Mine on this date in 1972.

Sunshine, which is located about eight miles southeast of Kellogg, Idaho, "has long been legendary, even sacred, among miners," Olsen writes. Two brothers from Maine discovered silver in what would become the mine on an outcropping on the eastern ridge of Big Creek Canyon in 1884. For the next two decades, farm boys hauled the precious ore out from underground by candlelight and dragged it down Big Creek Canyon on skids.

But it was in the 1930s that Sunshine became famous after the discovery of what Olsen calls "an ore vein of outstanding breadth-23 feet." Soon Sunshine would be yielding up more silver than any other mine in the world. Most silver mines followed veins that eventually trailed off to stringers and petered out. Only rarely would mines allow for the extraction of ores at depths greater than 1,000 feet. "Not only did Sunshine have viable ore below 1,200 feet, but . . . crosscuts chased high-grade ore bodies all the way to the 5,600 level."

By 1972, there were 522 employees at Sunshine, 429 of whom worked underground. On May 2, company officials were holding their annual shareholders meeting in Coeur d'Alene 45 miles away. In their absence, no individual was designated to run the entire operation. Instead, each foreman took charge of his own crew. At 11:40 AM, two electricians smelled smoke and shouted out a warning. The smoke was coming from the 910 raise on the 3700 level in the Jewell shaft. 81 workers made it out.

But most of the men were working on the 5800, 5600, 5400, 5200 and 4200 levels below the fire. Attempts were made to get them out. But by the time they got to the 3100 station, most were weakened by smoke and carbon monoxide. The three foremen directing the evacuation were either dead or passed out. None of the workers managed to escape. The toll: 91 dead of smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning.

Aftermath

The Sunshine Silver Mine fire was the greatest disaster in the history of U.S. hard-rock mining since 1917. Investigators concluded that the fire was probably the result of spontaneous combustion of refuse near scrap timber used as backfill.

The fire led to the replacement of the U.S. Bureau of Mines, which had been criticized for being too friendly with mining companies, by a new and more accountable mine health and safety agency. It also generated mine safety reforms such as enclosing elevator operators in airtight compartments to protect them from being disabled by smoke, and requirements that miners carry personal respirators.

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EMAIL BLOOPER

The "SEND" key: A loaded weapon

Spellcheck Unchecked

In response to your e-mail bloopers from last week, my advice is be sure to check spell-check.

I was sending an email with the recipient's last name in the body of the message. The recipient's last name was Resnick and the spell check suggested Redneck and I accepted the change and the email was gone before I realized what I had done. Fortunately, the recipient was understanding, but I sure felt bad about my mistake.

Name Withheld

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TELL US ABOUT YOUR EMAIL BLUNDERS

Got a good war story? Tell us about it. glennd@bongarde.com. Unless you say otherwise, we won't list your name or company.

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