This Is How to Get Your Next Job

They’ve Been Burned

Some have become cynical and wary because of bad experiences with new hires in recent years. These were people given the benefit of the doubt. People in whom the employers had faith. People they wanted to believe could do the job.

Take the time Dianne Durkin, president of Loyalty Factor, a consulting and training firm in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, hired a new person after months of interviews. The night before the employee was to start, Durkin got an e-mail from the person saying, “I decided not to take the job,” with no explanation.

The next person she hired (who had been out of work for two years) came into her office his second day and said, “Boy, you guys really work hard. I don’t think I can do this,” and left.

So now ...