Melina Murray

What should the response be to broken promises when starting a new job? I hear this question at times and find there is no easy answer.

Sample scenario: You are hired in a senior marketing role to launch a new product. During the interview period you are told (by all players in upper management) this is a critical position as the new product is redefining the company. The company is 110% committed to the goal and you will have whatever resources you need to get the job done. They want you because your greatest strength is in marketing new products, getting the information out to the masses, eliciting excited responses. Wow, cool.

Then you officially start. Two weeks in, you are told the product isn’t ready yet. Three weeks in, you realize no one even knows if the product will work. There are major technical issues that no one can solve. Still, you believe and start to gather your resources. Oops, the company is cutting back on spending. No tools, team members or other resources. They tell you to make it work with what you have. What you have is no product, no confidence that it will work and no tools to market it. Still, you gather what meager resources you have so you are ready when the time comes. You hope for a change, but all information and conversation point to the reality that there will be no new product. And this goes on for the next few months…

What do you do?

Do you leave, realizing the company isn’t going to launch the new product?

The reason you were hired does not exist anymore- should you stay anyway?

I know there are many variables and each situation is unique, but I would love to hear what you think. Have you been in a similar situation? What did you do and why?

I often get resumes from friends and past co-workers asking for editing/comments and most of the time, my changes are relatively significant, with the main comments being “make sure you tailor this to the job when you apply” and “what were your achievements, how did you make a difference?”.

Well, I had a wonderful surprise recently. A resume that was close to perfect! (the only change I made was switching 2 sentences) That was such a treat! What the person wanted was specific and concise, jobs included successes/achievements, highlights were noted, skills were not exaggerated, and it was 1 page. It was beautifully written, the writer obviously put thought and effort into it.

The resume doesn’t get you a job, but it can do 2 things. 1. get you through the first door when your network can’t, 2. highlight an introduction from your network (a good resume here is like a bonus).