More on The Apprentice: Sometimes You Have to Keep Quiet

Last week I commented on the Apprentice candidate who quit, standing up to Donald's harsh words: "I hate a quitter." This week's decision was both easier and harder. Candidate Merisa wouldn't shut up, even in the Boardroom. Placed in charge of Marketing, Merisa kept pushing her ideas. Change the name of the salad. Put some chickens on the street. When she failed to sell her team, she wouldn't stop. Even in the Boardroom, she interrupted The Donald as well as everyone else. Sounds far-fetched, doesn't it? How could a smart, attractive business woman make this mistake? Anyone who asks hasn't been a career consultant very long. For example, my client "Ursula" was a talented smart marketing manager of a professional services company. She'd been fast-tracked all the way. Until her new boss gave her a less than steller performance review. Ursula called me. "I've brought up the point several times. He just doesn't want to talk about it." After we talked, Ursula realized reluctantly that she had to move on. If she pressed the point, she'd just irritate her new boss further. She realized she may already be at the top of the pay scale in her job category, so her manager may decide to hold back and let others catch up. (Fair? I have no idea. Reality? Often, yes.) She realized she was completing an assignment from her previous boss that her current boss dismissed as a waste of time. Dropping the project was not an option. And she realized that new bosses, like new brooms, sometimes sweep clean. The solution? Drop the subject. Her boss was an ardent football fan so we agreed she would say nothing. But if asked, she would draw an analogy to a team that didn't like the ref's call but chose to go on with the game. And that's not all. Ursula needed to identify an appropriate, ethical recruiter. She might not begin a job search energetically, but she needed to have all her ducks lined up, just in case. And she needed to get into some pretty aggressive networking. I'm not sure what happened. I did get a one-line email: "All goes well. Thanks for the help!"