Career opportunity--need advice?

["Hart, Geoff" <Geoff-H -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA>]

Brandi Herring reports: <<I was laid off from a  company earlier this year
that was an established company rolling out a new business plan to compete
among the dot.com start ups at the wrong time. About 30 people were kept on
board after the third set of major lay offs (I survived until the third
one), and they have retooled their business plan and product offering. I
have been asked to come back on board and put together a Technical
Publications department to align with the needs of the new business plan.
This is an ideal opportunity for me and aligns with my career goals...the
problem is, do I return to the company that just downsized and that still is
operating on investment capital?>>

It's always tough to provide such advice, since we don't know the actual
details of your situation, and any advice you take could well be wrong and
could leave you in an unpleasant situation. So you have to make the decision
yourself, but here are a few things to think about if you're willing to take
free and not-fully-informed advice:

You mentioned that your current position is "stable, but not challenging"
and that you "do not foresee a long-term future and certainly no
opportunities for advancement"; the old company sounds like exactly the
opposite situation. This suggests to me that you're looking for an excuse to
leave, and if you don't have major financial commitments (a mortgage or a
family to support), you could probably take the risk with a clear
conscience, particularly since you like the old company and sound eager
about returning.

If you do, it would be appropriate to point out to the person who's trying
to recruit you that you need to be duly cautious; after all, you've been
burned once before, and given that they as yet have no steady income, you're
risking being burned again and need an incentive to jump ship. At a minimum,
try to negotiate a substantial raise (to persuade you to leave and
compensate you for the increased risk you're taking on). If you're feeling
bold,ask for what many executives and some managers receive: a "golden
parachute". For example, ask them to include in your written contract a
clause that says if they have to lay you off or if the company goes under
within a specified time period, they will pay you 6 months of your salary in
compensation. Ideally, get them to put this money in escrow (if that's the
correct legal term), held in your name so that you know it'll be there if
they go out of business; a written promise isn't worth the paper it's
printed on, but a bank account held in your name is probably protected
against even their creditors. Worth a shot? All they can say is "no", in
which case, you can renegotiate your position.

And hey--if you get the 6 months salary, you owe me a beer if you ever get
to collect on that severance package! <g>

--Geoff Hart, FERIC
580 boul. St-Jean, Pointe-Claire, Quebec H9R 3J9
geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca 

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