Posted by Josie on 5/14/2009, 2:44 pm, in reply to "Re: Followup to "Where Is Everybody" remark"
Thank you for clarifying that 1 or 2 isn't that many. I'm sure we were all confused on that issue...
Larry didn't try to hold me back. And I can name several more people that I believe would say the same thing because Larry really has little to do with on-air talent once they move on. By that, I mean I wouldn't and didn't put Larry on my resume as a supervisor or a reference, and I don't know why any programmer not in management would. I put Chad Elliot's name as both and was offered jobs at all three places I applied. Therefore, either he wasn't called, or he gave me a good reference. Either way, no one from Zimmer tried to hold me back. (I'm only talking about programming employees. If you were in sales, maybe the situation was different. I wouldn't know because I wasn't involved with sales over there.)
I don't know what went on in other former jocks' personal lives between jobs. I'm not going to list other people's names here as though I have some authority to speak for them. I do know these two things: If you were fired, when called by prospective employer, ANY company will tell them you are NOT eligible for rehire. That is not unique to Zimmer. Also, a prospective employer shouldn't have any reason to call Larry about your skills/talent/work ethic unless you put his name on your resume. And you shouldn't put his name down. You should put your PD, OM, or co-workers down as references.
I think the real challenge would be for you to list more than 1 or 2 people Larry has personally held back. (And I think we've already established that 1 or 2 is not that many.)
You know, I'm not trying to lead the "Love Larry Bandwagon" here. I'm simply trying to prove that your circumstances are very likely not his fault-- or anyone else's for that matter besides yourself.
When I left Zimmer I was so disappointed and embarrassed about the circumstances I didn't want to leave my house for a few days. I never blamed my leaving on anyone but myself, though. I do believe I would've eventually been fired had I stayed on with Cody as my supervisor, so I made a decision to preempt that. Was it the right decision? Who knows? What I do know is that I'm happier at my current job than I have ever been in my adult life as a result of my own actions.
Accountability and ownership can be a wonderful thing...
