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Reader: Our son, who's in his mid-twenties, has received a nice job offer in the city of his dreams. He'll be leaving a reputable financial services firm, his first job since college. His new firm needs him in three weeks, having extended the start date to accommodate his move.
The problem is that he's set to receive a substantial bonus from his current firm just one week before the new job begins. He's planning to wait and turn in his notice on that day because his firm has a reputation for firing people as soon as they give notice.
However, giving less than two weeks' notice will make him ineligible for rehire at his current firm. And if he gives the full two weeks' notice, he keeps his reputation and is eligible for rehire - but there's a chance he might not get his bonus.
I think it would be safer for him to take the chance of losing the bonus. I worry that down the road, if a potential employer checks with his current firm, his ineligibility for rehire might be a red flag. He wants to ensure he gets his bonus to pay off some debt, and he says he wouldn't want to work there again in the future.
Personally, I would avoid damaging my professional reputation at all costs - especially now, when online records can last forever. I worry about online application forms asking, "Are you eligible for rehire at your previous employer?" - and giving him no chance to explain. I'd love any advice you can share.
• Karla: A caveat: I offer the following impartial observations just to cover angles your son may have overlooked - as I assume you are doing - but the decision needs to be his. He's young enough to weather the consequences of a mistake, and old enough to determine his own risk tolerance.
I understand why you're worried about his reputation. As you note, being "ineligible for rehire" could have repercussions beyond his prospects of returning to Firm A someday. It's something prospective employers ask former employers when checking for skeletons in a candidate's closet. Then again, employees can be deemed ineligible for rehire for innocuous reasons, such as complying with a waiting period after a layoff.
Hopefully, any prospective employer asking about his hiring status would also give him an opportunity to explain himself and be willing to distinguish between his breach of protocol and something more problematic, such as being fired for cause. It will help if he can also provide referrals from peers and clients who can vouch for him.
All that said, he's already lined up his next job. Assuming it pans out, his persona-non-grata status at Firm A will soon be a moot point.
That's my objective take.
Subjectively, I find it rich and petty that a firm known to give the bum's rush to people who give two weeks' notice would blacklist someone else for failing to follow that convention. For workers, there's no winning in either scenario. I also have an ornery streak when it comes to making decisions under threat of retaliation. If he had more time, I'd encourage him to look into the terms of his bonus and whether it can legally be withheld, so he knows his rights before making the call. Given his time constraints, however, I agree he needs to secure that bag before he peaces out.
(That is how the kids say it, right?)
• Reader follow-up
Good news about the job seeker whose lapse in ADHD treatment got him fired: He has a new job - even after telling interviewers about his dismissal from the last one. His mom, the original letter writer, passed along this statement from him:
"I was vague about it in the actual interview, but I did bring it up that it was specifically a medication issue. It didn't seem to be a sticking point in any of my interviews - everyone knows what a pain insurance stuff can be, and my long tenure before that job shows that it's at least not something that has happened before."
Three cheers for empathetic employers, and best of luck to the new hire.
Karla L. Miller advises on workplace dramas and traumas.