Three weeks till the job starts

You just won the job - congratulations! You gave notice and quit your old job. Or maybe you have been looking for a long time and you finally landed the Big One. Yaay!!!

But your new job doesn't start for another 3 weeks. What do you do?

First, be sure you have a written offer.

Don't be insulted by this suggestion. Many seasoned professionals assume, "Organizations are honorable. They will keep their word."

Usually that's true. But I personally know 2 professionals -- each with over 10 years experience -- who experienced huge losses when a future employer failed to follow up on a verbal offer.

If you don't have a written offer, you don't have a job yet. Keep looking!

Second, if you are still working at your current job, continue to turn in good work. Two cautions:

Do not offer to return after you've left. If your skills are still needed, your company will pay you -- or someone else -- as a consultant.

And do not disclose the details of your new job, no matter how strongly you're asked. Some employers actually say, "We need to know this for our recruiting."

You are not responsible for their recruiting or for helping them determine market value. Worst case, simply say, "I have a written contract that forbids this disclosure" or just turn and walk away.

Third, if you are not working, recognize you have a mini-sabbatical. Make a plan to use the time effectively. You may be able to anticipate knowledge requirements for the new job, so you can hit the ground running. Or you can plan activities that will be satisfying to you -- extra time for family, sports, reading, movies, and more. See my article on
planning a sabbatical.

And just as you don't offer to help your past employer after you've left, don't offer to help your future employer before you arrive. If they have pre-employment requests, they'll come forward.

From beginning to end of your job, communicate non-verbally, "I work for you when I am on the payroll." You'd never say those words aloud, but you need to send a signal.

What are your experiences? Add comments.

Leave a sinking ship (or enjoy more cheese?)

Q. I joined Blue Company three months ago. Since then my department has experienced a 40% turnover. I can see why. It's disorganized and outdated. Our boss expects us to put in long hours to do meaningless work. Time to leave?

A. Maybe.

Here the key question seems to be: Are these departing employees reacting to a situation that (a) has happened recently, (b) is unlikely to change and (c) will affect you personally?

If circumstances changed a few months before you were hired (e.g., a merger or new CEO), you may be part of a new wave. You actually will benefit from these events.

Or maybe these departures have nothing to do with the company. Suddenly your field has opened up and recruiters have raided your group. If that's the case, you may be in a position to raise questions about your compensation - always a judgment call.

Or you may be seeing the beginning of the end.

For example: I once worked for an organization with a truly incompetent department head. Unfortunately for him, employees in his department were highly marketable. One by one, they took off. They were hard to replace.

We thought the situation would go on forever.

But following the departure of 2 particularly valuable employees, management asked the department head to accept a lateral transfer. They promoted a well-respected employee to be the new manager until an outside search could be completed.

Bottom Line: We've all heard the saying about rats deserting a sinking shop. But is the ship really sinking? Has a new path to dry land just opened up? And can you find a safe corner that's well-stocked with cheese -- and nobody else is around to demand a share?

To fine-tune your intuition, I recommend my very own
Intuition Ebook.

and clients tell me they like my
Job Search Guide.