‘I Made a Big Mistake!’

Buyers remorse may be good news for you

We talked in the past about “Job Search Redux.” There we stressed the importance of continuing to follow up with employers who have turned you down when you were a finalist for a position.

Why would anyone do that? There now is hard evidence showing that this is a worthwhile endeavor – even for you!

Numbers don’t lie

According to a national survey by Robert Half, the global staffing and human resources company, more than half of employees say they would quit a job within six months of being hired if they weren't happy at work. Experts say such short tenure could be a result of how poorly many companies interview job candidates.

Twenty-eight percent of workers said they would consider quitting within the first 90 days of starting a new job if they were unhappy at work. More than half said they would quit within the first six months. Eighty percent of employees would consider telling their employers to, "Take this job and shove it," within a year of being hired.

You probably know someone who has been in this situation. They take a new job and in a few short weeks or months, they painfully realize that they made a big mistake and move on. This may not indicate anything negative about the job or the employer. There are probably 101 valid reasons why things don’t work out. Sometimes they just don’t. Sometimes it’s just not a good fit.

Of course the reverse is true as well. No matter how attractive a candidate may appear to an employer, very soon they see the error of their ways and depart company with their new hire and start searching all over again.

Either way, the job is once again open. And, if that employer liked you enough to make you one of the finalists last time around, they probably still like you and are worth a phone call.

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