A heads up for our network: Argentus President Bronwen Hann made the news!

We’re always excited to speak on career issues for whoever’s listening, so we were thrilled last week when MarketWatch reporter Maria LaMagna reached out to Bronwen for her take on how people can draw career lessons from a recent U.S. political event: the White House ouster of former Apprentice contestant Omerosa Manigault.

The resulting article, “What you can learn from Omarosa’s dramatic departure from the white house,” went up on Thursday. LaMagna quoted a number of career experts with advice for how to control the narrative when you’re let go from a position, as Omarosa Manigault – the famous former apprentice villain and Trump administration staffer – recently was. While Bronwen didn’t wade into the fraught territory of Trump-era politics, she was happy to impart some advice from her 30+ years of recruitment industry experience on the topic of how professionals can control their story after leaving a position.

Here are some of her tips for how to manage the optics of a career departure – on a resume, LinkedIn profile, or job interview – including some that didn’t make it into the Market Watch article. A caveat: this advice only applies to situations where the departure was either somewhat mutual or, from your perspective, unwarranted – you can’t manage the optics around being fired for misconduct.

• Be positive. You always want to avoid badmouthing former employers, even if a job ended in a less than amicable way.
• Be honest. The truth will always come out about why you were let go from a previous position, and employers appreciate a candid assessment of why a job didn’t work out. It shows accountability and a willingness to grow.
• Move the conversation forward. If you’re in an interview and the hiring manager or recruiter asks why you left a previous position, don’t harp on the circumstances that led to your departure. Explain why the role wasn’t a good fit – from your perspective, as well as from your employers’ perspective – and then move on to what you’re hoping to offer in the future.
• Explain resume gaps. If some time has passed since you left the position, make sure you put activities you’ve done in the meantime on your resume and LinkedIn profile. This includes professional development, continuing education, volunteering, serving on boards. Show that the departure hasn’t harmed your willingness to be active in improving your career.

Click here to check out the whole article. And here’s to hopefully more opportunities to make the news in 2018!