As the owner of a placement and recruiting firm in NYC, I have the pleasure of working with a client who owns a large Real Estate company.  It has been in her family for two generations and she is very proud of the fact that they have been able to last so long.

She recently asked me to find her a recent college graduate who could work with her as an administrative assistant.  I found her a very lovely young lady: bright and articulate.  The client was thrilled and hired her.

I checked in after the new hire had been there for two weeks and the client reported that the young lady was delightful, but she was sometimes lacking attention to detail and small things were falling through the cracks.  However, the client had a sit down chat with the employee and decided to keep working with the girl, as she attributed these infractions to lack of experience.  She liked the new employee so much that she even bought her a round trip air ticket which had gone on sale, so the girl, who had never been away from home, could visit her family in the summer.

Two weeks later, the client called me and stated that she would be terminating the girl immediately. 

The reason? 

The client approached the girl and told her that every year on the date of the inception of the firm, she threw a lunch time celebration for all the employees.  She asked the girl what type of sandwich would she like and the girl picked her lunch.  At lunch time on the day of the celebration, the client saw the girl getting on her coat and asked where she was going.  The girl informed her that she would be having lunch with a friend of hers.  It was at that point that the client decided to fire her.  The client could overlook the fact that her work performance was not perfect, but the fact that she was not willing to be part of the team was unacceptable. 

As an employee, it is very important to pay attention to the corporate culture and take into consideration what is most important to your employer!  That can make the difference between the fast track and the unemployment line.

224 West 30th Street
New York, NY 10001-4938
(212) 244-2777