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Move on, learn lesson after bad
career decision

By Andrea Wolf, Globe Correspondent, 2/16/03

Need advice about managing your career or your workplace? The Job Doc can help. Our specialists can answer your questions on topics ranging from career transitions to management issues. E-mail queries to jobdoc@globe.com, or send letters to Job Doc, c/o the Boston Globe, P.O. Box 2378, Boston, MA 02107-2378. Letters may be edited for clarity and length.

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Over a year ago I took a marketing job (my second job ever) at a large New York corporation. They paid me a moving stipend that I would have to pay back if I did not complete a year with them. I hated working there after just a few months and wanted to get out but couldn't afford it due to the financial burden of the moving allowance. Two months after my year was up, and after being on probation for lack of performance, I have recently been fired. I know this sounds ridiculous, but I actually wanted to be terminated so I would be able to collect unemployment while I look for another job. My question: How do I write a follow-up letter to my former boss confirming that I wasn't a good fit but thanking him for his help in teaching me the business and asking for a decent recommendation? Are there any dos and don'ts?

In a tough economy we may be compelled to make rash decisions out of fear. Often this can backfire on us.

In your case, as someone fairly new to the job market, you put a practical decision over a professional one. It is unfortunate that you set yourself up to be fired by underperforming in order to collect unemployment while looking for another position. This was a mistake and there are lessons to be learned from this.

You ask about dos and don'ts. Don't ask your former boss for a recommendation. It is an unreasonable expectation to ask your boss for a reference after firing you. I do not recommend sending a follow-up letter to explain to your former boss why you were not a good fit because that was evident. Your boss will see through this as a way to ask for a recommendation. Remember that the purpose of a recommendation is to present a positive statement about your performance.

Do look at your situation as a learning experience for someone who is new to the job market. So, what can you learn from this? If you could turn the clock back, it would have been more professional if you had directly communicated with your boss to discuss adjustments in your job.

Do see this as a time to reflect on your priorities and personal values. If you are asked what happened in a future job interview, I advise you to be straightforward. Acknowledge that the job was not a good fit, you stayed too long, and you made a mistake. The key here is to learn from this and move on.

Job hopper seeks focus

I am currently searching once again for a new career. My background is quite diverse. I graduated with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice in 1993. My initial interest was to get into law enforcement. I took a job with the Department of Social Services as a social worker. I thought that would be a good ''stepping stone'' into the area that I would eventually be working in. I did that for two years and ''burned out.'' I then took a job in the environmental industry working for an environmental consulting firm. I worked as a project manager where I was responsible for monitoring contractors who were removing hazardous materials. It wasn't for me. I then took a temp job with a large insurance and financial firm in Boston, which turned into a permanent position. I was working on a class-action lawsuit project that was affecting the company. My job was to work in the financial unit calculating monetary relief that was to be awarded to the plaintiffs. I did that job for two years and again found that it was not for me. I clearly have many interests in many different areas. I was wondering if you might be able to give me any advice to help me get focused.

You have job hopped quite a bit and are wise to stop in your tracks and pay attention to defining your career focus.

In the beginning of your career, you had a focus on criminal justice and social work. After a short time, you felt burned out and chose an entirely different job. This raises a number of questions. How did you decide to choose this position? Did you spend any time reevaluating your choices before jumping to the next job? Did you explore other options within your original profession by seeking advice from other professionals or your college career center?

The key question is: What do you want?

It sounds like you could benefit from going through an assessment of your career interests and abilities before going forward. Here are some questions to start you thinking:

• What are your interests? What are the things you like to do that motivate you?
   
• What are your key accomplishments in your work history? To choose an accomplishment, think of an activity where you were at your best and that gave you a feeling of success, fulfillment, and pride.
   
• From these accomplishments, identify your abilities. An ability is a competence, talent, or capacity.
   
• What do you consider to be your strengths? Look for the abilities that match with your interests - things you like and do well. When defining your greatest strengths, you can begin to determine the skills in which you perform your best and which provide you with the greatest satisfaction. This can tell you what ingredients make for a good ''fit.''
   
• What values are critical to your personal and professional fulfillment?
   
• What is your personality style and personal preferences?
   
• What is the best type of work environment for you to professionally grow?
   
• What are the job market needs that call for your particular strengths? This will require research and networking.

Because this may seem like a daunting task, I suggest that you seek the support of a career counselor/coach and/or your college career office. If you decide to look for a career counselor, I recommend contacting the International Association of Career Management Professionals at www.iacmp.org. They have a referral service that you can search by location. The International Coach Federation has career coaches that can be searched by location at www.coachfederation.org.

You can explore free resources and career transition assistance from the Massachusetts Division of Employment and Training's One-Stop Career Centers. Also, check the newspaper for weekly listings of free career seminars.

The Internet has loads of valuable information and resources such as the classic book by Richard Bolles, ''What Color is Your Parachute,'' as well as his website: www.jobhuntersbible.com. It is a free resource where you can receive e-mail responses from career counselors.

There are also a number of good books on the topic. Search www.amazon.com under ''career self-assessment'' or ''career transition'' for a list of titles.

Making leap to teaching

Full-time teaching at the college level is my next career goal. I've had a very successful business career that includes CEO experience both in the United States and Europe; I also have an MBA from a major university. I will turn 49 later this year and want to begin planning now. I currently live in a western suburb, equidistant from Worcester and Boston. I realize there are numerous institutes of higher education in the area; moreover, I have a fair degree of financial independence that provides additional flexibility. In addition, during the late 1980s and early 1990s I taught over 120 semester hours for the University of Maryland in the field of business administration. This was through their University College night course program. How do I go about securing an entry-level teaching position that could lead to a second career as an assistant or full professor?

It is exciting to pursue a second career and fortunate that you have a fair degree of financial independence since most colleges and universities pay lower salaries than corporations.

Your CEO background, international experience, MBA, and business administration teaching experience should position you well for an academic post. It is wise to begin the exploration process early in order to evaluate the market and determine where your best chances are in finding a teaching post.

First of all, there is high demand for college and university instructors. Many professors are near retirement and many more students will be attending colleges or universities than ever before. Specialists say that US college student enrollment will jump from 14 million to 16 million students by 2008, according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

We are also seeing more adults seeking higher education than ever before. Many return to colleges or universities to upgrade their qualifications in order to keep up with our knowledge-based economy.

There are predictions that community colleges will grow by playing a bigger role in easing the overflowing state universities. According to Lisa Rosenberg, a senior education consultant with the American Association of College Registrars and Admission Officers, ''The community colleges are going to have to take some of the overflow. The fields of computer science, business, and engineering are growing areas of need in higher education.''

How can you secure an entry-level teaching position that can lead to a second career as an assistant or full professor? Faculty in business schools usually have a PhD and specialized expertise. If your goal is to teach at a business school, I recommend that you consider getting a PhD or DBA.

The academic ranks start at instructor and move next to assistant professor, associate professor and finally full professor. Tenured positions for full professors are highly competitive and on the decline because of the financial cost of these positions to the institutions. Overall, there appears to be a movement away from full-time faculty.

''The use of part-time faculty allows an institution to save money on pay and benefits and to accommodate the needs of nontraditional students,'' according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook. This can lead academics to teach at more than one college. Often, faculty will supplement their base salary by doing consulting, research, and/or writing for publication.

With a master's degree in business, you are more likely to get a job as an instructor. Your teaching experience will be a big plus. In addition, your real world experience as a CEO and exposure to domestic and international business will widen your areas of expertise and add value for an academic post.

How do you search for a job? Universities are using the Internet to recruit faculty. A popular site is http://higheredjobs.com. Another is the Chronicle of Higher Education at http://chronicle.com/jobs/.

Andrea Wolf is vice president of career management at Right Management Consultants, a career transition and human resources consulting company.

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