A large company has recently been beleaguered by all sorts of gossip and rumours. It?s been getting very hot for the people in the corporate communications department. A newcomer who joined the place just out of college a little more than a year ago decided that she would seek greener pastures. She had been accepted by several companies when she had graduated, so she didn?t expect a problem. But, to her dismay, there have been no takers; she is still looking for a job.

This is not a simple case of being shunned because you have been working for a corporate pariah. The company concerned is also known to be a whale on industrial espionage. Once you spend a few months there, you are automatically suspect. People wonder if you are still working for your former boss and will leak out vital secrets.

?The lesson here is not to be taken in by size,? says Mumbai-based HR consultant Shashi Rao. ?Don?t get taken in by the media halo either; money can buy a lot of things. Ask yourself why the company does not go to the best B-schools. (Nobody will join.) Ask yourself why they have to pay more than their professional competitors for the same job. (That?s the premium the company has to pay for its own unprofessional management style.) Companies like these have a low attrition rate, not because employees think it is a wonderful place, but because they cannot go elsewhere.?

If you join a company such as this despite all the warnings, you might find that your goose is cooked. It is a different story for people who have joined a perfectly good company and then find the whole thing collapsing like a house of cards. Look at Enron, WorldCom, Tyco... Closer home, we have had MS Shoes, CRB Capital Markets, Mesco...At Enron, some people took things to extremes after the crash. They appeared in the buff in a special Women of Enron issue of Playboy magazine (and a Men of Enron issue of Playgirl). In India, you don?t have to drop everything to find a new job. But the going may not be all that easy.

THE PRESCRIPTION

Advice for a refugee from a tainted company Don’t try and hide your former company’s track record Talk openly and honestly about what you observed in your former company and what you have learnt. But don’t appear like a “sneak” Concentrate on your strengths Be prepared to take a pay cut If feasible, take a break. For instance, do an MBA If you are young enough, change your career path Network like crazy Source: Drake Beam Morin; TT compilation

?You should realise that you are on a weak wicket and moderate your expectations accordingly,? says Rao. ?Be prepared to join at less than your last salary.? The other piece of advice she gives is to never try and hide the background. Truth will out and, if it happens later, it could prove very damaging to your career in the new company.

One solution, suggests Rao, is to take a break. Do that MBA you always wanted to but couldn?t find the time. ?If nothing else works, set up shop on your own,? says Rao. ?Become a consultant. You must have built up some contacts who you can tap for assignments.?

That is all very fine, if you have saleable skills. But what happens if you are the average corporate drone?

?Pray,? says Rao. ?You should never have been holding the job in the first place.?