ASK HR: Your panic resignation might make you seem an unreliable employee
Many employees tend to panic when the organisations they work for are going through a restructuring process because they fear losing their jobs. PHOTO| FILE| NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- As a manager, you should have been the one reassuring your staff instead of fleeing from the situation.
- You therefore need to reassure the panel that you have learnt from that past mistake and would behave differently if faced with a similar challenge in future.
- Go ahead and demonstrate your technical capabilities in sales, knowledge of new sales technics and team management to endear yourself to the interviewers.
Q. I resigned from my job as a retail area manager earlier this year for fear of being fired as the company was restructuring. I am attending an interview in the course of the week, and I am unsure of how to handle the question, “Why did you resign?”
Many employees tend to panic when the organisations they work for are going through a restructuring process because they fear losing their jobs. Employees react this way because most do not understand the criteria used to decide who will be affected by the changes.
Two of the parameters generally used while restructuring are performance and productivity. Employees who meet and exceed their targets are usually saved from the “axe”, and even when their jobs are affected directly, most often than not, they are transferred to other business units. The other consideration is employees who possess unique skills which the business requires in its daily operations. This is why employees should hone their skills so that they can make themselves as indispensable as possible.
At the interview, honesty is the best policy. Face the panel and tell them why you resigned, indicating that you panicked and decided to resign rather than be asked to leave by your employer. This might elicit questions such as whether your decision was driven by the fact that you knew you were a lackluster performer and therefore would have been an automatic target for exit in the restructure. You should therefore be ready to show that you were an exemplary performer; if possible, carry your performance appraisals for previous years. They might also question your inability to withstand pressure or challenges. As a manager, you should have been the one reassuring your staff instead of fleeing from the situation. You therefore need to reassure the panel that you have learnt from that past mistake and would behave differently if faced with a similar challenge in future. Go ahead and demonstrate your technical capabilities in sales, knowledge of new sales technics and team management to endear yourself to the interviewers.
The challenge for you at this interview will be to show that your panic resignation was a learning opportunity, and that it does not make you an unreliable employee.
