Read This Before Accepting a Job Offer

By Arnie Fertig

"These jobs just weren't the right fit," a job candidate tells an interviewer, who asked why two positions listed on her résumé lasted less than a year.

"Oh, I see," the the interviewer replies, without pressing further. But this interaction initiates a cascade of other questions in the interviewer's mind:

Why did these employers err in offering jobs to you, or why where you mistakenly accept them? Did employers repeatedly misjudge your capacities? Did you talk yourself into situations that are above your ability to master? What really went wrong?

Think carefully before accepting any given role, no matter how desperate you might be for a paycheck. Otherwise, you may set yourself up for a disadvantage a few years from now, when you have to explain why this job you take now went wrong. Will you or your employer wake up in a few months and wish for a do-over?