Dear SafetyXChange Members:

Thomas Wolfe said you can't go home again. But I doubt that Thomas Wolfe ever held a job in corporate America. Yes, Mr. Wolfe, you can go home again. Last week, we talked about how to be welcomed back inside. Now let's look at how to make a successful transition once you land a new job from your former employer.

Making a Successful Homecoming: A Case Study

Homecomings are possible and often successful. One example: Steve Kendall, head of a Georgia recruiting firm, says he placed a former regional sales manager who had left his company to become vice president of sales at a competitor. "The company wanted its former employee back in the role of vice president to strengthen its own sales force and simultaneously to weaken the sales force of the competing company."

Kendall adds that rather than burning bridges, the previous employee's successes at the competitor earned him the respect needed to come back and effectively supervise those who were his former superiors in the previous position. The homecoming was a big success. Sales at the company have increased dramatically since the employee took over as vice president of sales, adds Kendall.

However, the transition wasn't without its bumpy moments. "The employee confronted certain personnel problems that somebody new to the company would not have had to face," Kendall says. For example, some individuals resented his rise to vice president; others tried to rely on old friendships to cover mediocre performance. "To earn respect and establish credibility, he had to lead by example and avoid playing favorites with former co-workers," Kendall relates.

Expect Change - Both Positive and Negative

Regardless of the circumstances of your departure and return, a second tour of duty with a company is rarely just like the first. "It would be a big mistake to assume that everything's going to be exactly the same as the day you left," cautions Debra Feldman, a Connecticut-based executive talent agent and job search consultant. "Time has passed. Circumstances have changed," she explains. For example, since you left there are bound to be new employees, staffing arrangements, clients and vendors at the company.

And, unfortunately, homecomings don't always work out. Consider the case of an international sales professional whose company laid her off and then asked her to return in a different executive-level role with greater responsibilities. It seemed like a Hollywood ending. But less than a year after her return, the company eliminated her position for a second time.

"I knew I wasn't going back to the exact same situation," she says. "I had some apprehension. But I needed a job, and I wanted to come back to my hometown." Her advice to others contemplating a return to a previous employer: "Think it over once, twice, three times. If there were any issues the first time, they're not likely to have gone away."

Applying the Lessons

Some of you might see all of this as completely irrelevant to your own situations. "I'd never return to any of my previous employers," you might be thinking. But guess what? This is precisely what most of the people who have gone back to old companies thought. The point is that you never know if you're going to want to return to a company later.

So any time you leave a position, you would be well advised to leave on the best terms possible--just in case. "There are strategies you can use when leaving a company that will not only preserve but improve your relationships within the company," according to Connecticut recruiter Paul Mathews. "Resign honestly, ethically, professionally and in writing," Mathews advises. "Display remorse if you feel it, express gratitude for the opportunity and let it be known how difficult it was to reach your decision." Offer to help with the transition and (perhaps even serve as an independent consultant) and the effort to find a replacement.

What should you do about those exit interviews? Reveal all of your concerns, or temper your comments? "Exit interviews should not be used to release anger or frustration," advises Kendall. "It should be a candid conversation offering constructive criticism that could help the company. Don't bring up problems without a solution. Be professional."

Conclusion

The moral of our story: When you leave a company, don't burn any bridges, close any doors or count any chickens before they hatch. Fortune cookie advice, but sound nevertheless - especially for the current corporate job market. And here's one you might not have heard: Treat every departure as a "see you later" rather than as a farewell.

Wishing you career success and I'll see you all later,

Lauryn Franzoni
ExecuNet
www.execunet.com

SEASONAL SAFETY

April Fool's Day

By Glenn Demby

Be skeptical about anything you read, see on the Internet or hear on TV, the radio or even the phone. At least on Sunday. Why? Because Sunday is April Fool's Day. You might wonder how the whole April Fool's business got started, especially if you're a history buff like me. I decided to do a little research. Here's what I found out.

First, foremost and fittingly, nobody knows the exact history of April Fool's Day. The current thinking is that it began in France in 1582 when King Charles IX did what kings love to do: mess with the calendar. Charles's contribution to this regal tradition was to introduce the Gregorian Calendar. Under the old calendar, New Year's was celebrated over a week, from March 25 to April 1. In the Gregorian Calendar, New Year's was reduced to a day and pushed back to January 1.

Because of the crude state of communications back in 1582, some individuals wouldn't learn of the switch to Gregorian for years. The uninformed - and the rebellious - continued celebrating the old New Year's. They were labeled "fools" and made the butt of jokes and pranks on April 1.

Supposedly, the harassment and prank-playing spread across Europe. The literature credits England and Scotland with "giving April Fool's Day its first widespread celebration in the 18th century." Although I don't know exactly what that means, I did find out that the Scottish version of April Fool's Day is called Taily Day and centers around buttocks jokes. Apparently, Taily Day is responsible for that great school yard prank, the "Kick Me" sign.

Surely, something as madcap and zany as April Fool's couldn't be expected to remain confined within European borders forever. And sure enough, the tradition or some variant thereof, would spread across the globe to the American colonies and into Africa and Asia as far east as India. Today, I am happy to report, most of humanity shares in the April Fool's fun.

So, my advice to all you members of SafetyXChange, no matter what part of the earth you're reading this from, is this: Keep your head up on Sunday.

SOME MEMORABLE APRIL FOOL'S DAY HOAXES

Harvesting spaghetti from the spaghetti tree

1957 Spaghetti Trees: The BBC TV program Panorama runs a story proclaiming the eradication of the despised pest, the spaghetti weevil, and showing the Swiss harvesting spaghetti from trees. People contact the BBC wanting to know how to cultivate their own spaghetti trees.

1988 Lefty Whoppers: Burger King runs an ad in USA Today, saying that left-handed people can now get a specially engineered Whopper sandwich in which the condiments drip out of the right side.

1996 Taco Liberty Bell: Taco Bell takes out a full-page ad in The New York Times announcing that it has purchased the Liberty Bell to "reduce the country's debt" and renamed it the "Taco Liberty Bell." When asked about the sale, White House press secretary Mike McCurry replies with tongue-in-cheek that the Lincoln Memorial has also been sold and would henceforth be known as the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.

1998 Opie and Anthony Mayoral Hoax: Local WAAF shock jocks, Opie and Anthony report that Boston mayor Thomas Menino has been killed in a car accident. Menino is on a flight at the time and can't be reached, lending credence to the prank. The rumor spreads quickly across the city, eventually causing news stations to issue alerts denying the hoax. The pair is fired shortly thereafter, after which they become syndicated and famous.

1999 New Radio Format: Radio station KFOG in San Francisco, claiming new corporate ownership, says it's switching to a new format - the best 15 seconds of every song. All morning they mix in false calls from perky listeners calling with compliments. In 2006, radio station KOSY in Salt Lake City, Utah, switches to a new format of year-round Christmas music.

1976 Gravity Experiment: British astronomer Sir Patrick Moore tells listeners of BBC Radio 2 that unique alignment of two planets would result in an upward gravitational pull making people lighter at precisely 9:47 a.m. that day. He invites his audience to jump in the air and experience "a strange floating sensation." Dozens of listeners phone in to say the experiment worked.

1979 Doggie Driver: The BBC program That's Life!, which often features talented pets, fools many viewers with its story about an Old English sheepdog that can drive a car.

1985 Fireballing Finch: A George Plimpton article in Sports Illustrated describes a New York Mets prospect named Sidd Finch, who can throw a 168 mph fastball with pinpoint accuracy. This kid, known as "Barefoot" Sidd[hartha] Finch, reportedly learned to pitch in a Buddhist monastery.

2006 News on Pews: In 2006, a Canadian newspaper, the Hamilton Spectator reports that the local Baptist Church is about to install Pokie Machines.

Source: Wikipedia

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