By Boris Groysberg, George Serafeim, Robin Abrahams & Eric Lin
EVEN if you had nothing to do with a scandal at a former workplace, it will affect your employment prospects. Here are some tips for lowering your chances of being caught in a scandal and surviving one if you are:
- Know the law and cultural climate where you work. Laws vary but so do social norms, which can be easy for outsiders to transgress.
- Research a company’s ethics before joining. Due diligence is necessary when you consider that every company you work for affects your career mobility.
- Develop strong external networks. A stigmatized manager can appear to be less risky if associates can vouch for his integrity.
- Consider a diverse résumé. Stigma is most powerful in the absence of other information, so having multiple jobs on your résumé can dilute the impact of a scandal firm.
- Address your emotional needs. Being stigmatized can have serious consequences on your emotional and physical health. Seek out a safe place to work through such consequences.
- Consider distancing yourself. The wake of a scandal may be a good time to change industry, function or location.
- Reinforce shared values with your desired industry or field. Look up the mission statements of potential employers, and be ready to make connections between their stated values and your own capacities and ambitions.
- Keep the scandal firm on your résumé. Trying to obscure a past association will only make a job seeker look guilty.
- Look where your peers have gone. Former colleagues now working elsewhere may be a good source of job leads.
Boris Groysberg is a professor of business administration at Harvard Business School (HBS). George Serafeim is an associate professor of business administration at HBS. Robin Abrahams is a research associate at HBS. Eric Lin is an assistant professor in the department of behavioral sciences at the US Military Academy.