Q. My question is about whether I should consider returning to my previous employer. The situation is somewhat complicated.
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After
I graduated from college, I worked a temporary job at this news
organization. The pay was good, but the work schedule was wildly
erratic. Most of all, I wasn't getting the training that I felt would
make me more marketable as a journalist. My temp job ended on the right
foot after two years. I went to grad school and eventually landed
another temp job at a large daily, at roughly the same salary as my
previous gig.
After a few months, the editors offered to hire me
permanently -- but would only do so if I would accept a pay cut. And
I'm talking a big one; double digits, percentage-wise. I don't think it
had anything to do with my performance, which was good. I decided to go
with the offer and wait until another opportunity arose elsewhere. I've
been here about two years now and have grown increasingly frustrated
with the pay and with my assignment. I've started to think that maybe
my previous employer wasn't so bad after all; at the very least, I was
getting a fair paycheck and covered, occasionally, some pretty big
stories.
I'm still looking at other news organizations, but I want at least to explore going back to my first employer.
If I do go back, how do you think that would affect the way any future employer might look at my resume?
Thanks so much for the service you provide with your blog.
Reluctant SupplicantA.
When potential employers read resumes, they look for patterns. The best
pattern shows that your
career is on a steady rise. Other impressions
might be of careers that have peaked and are declining, of
people who have plateaued, who jump around, who have stayed too long
in one place or whose careers never really took off.
Of course,
there is gross oversimplification in pattern detection, and it is just
one of many factors in staff selection. But this is at the heart of
your question.
If, as you go back to a former employer, you show a rising level of responsibility, I don't see a problem for you.
Coming Wednesday: She plans to leave her newspaper and its desperately unhappy staff after she has a baby. She wants to know how honest she should be in an exit interview.
