Chapter 21. Wanted
Jesse walked.
Monday is the day we set aside for new hires. All the new hires spend the morning learning about the company, figuring out how to create accounts, and becoming indoctrinated in company culture. When lunchtime arrives, managers pick up their new employees and take them to lunch.
Their morning starts at 9:00 a.m., and at 9:15, I got a call from HR: “Jesse’s not here.”
Bad traffic, miscommunication, there were a dozen good reasons he wasn’t there, but I instantly felt a rock in my stomach: “Jesse walked.”
A quick call to my recruiter, and the mystery began to unfold. “Oh, yeah, he called just before five on Friday and said he wanted to chat. I was off Friday; should I call him now?”
Yeah, call him. Tell me what I already know.
The recruiter discovered that Jesse was firmly ensconced in a code of silence because his Friday call was his cold-feet call. After three months of phone screens, interviews, offer negotiations, and acceptance of said offer, Jesse called to tell us that while he had resigned two weeks ago, a last-minute counteroffer had shown up. He’d decided to stay...at 4:45 p.m. on his last day.
Jesse walked.
As I sat at my desk, lightly tapping my Zebra Sarasa .5 gel pen against my forehead, I thought how simple it would be to be pissed. In terms of respect, trust, and professionalism, Jesse had screwed me in just about every manner possible, but in this case, the fault would be mine.
I had not explained to Jesse that he was wanted.
The ...
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