How not to lose your job in 10 days

IT'S ANOTHER week, another exit through the revolving door of the White House under the Trump administration.

In case you've missed the hullabaloo at the start of the week, White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci ("But we just learnt how to spell his name," journalists around the world cry) was given the boot after only 10 days on the job.

His short-lived tenure was at least memorable, with enough political twists and turns to rival the TV series House of Cards. Its ending, however, is the same as every episode of The Apprentice: You're fired.

While it's unknown if this is the last we'll see of ex-financier Mr Scaramucci in politics, it makes for quite a fascinating case study on all the things you should NOT do if you would like to last more than 10 days in your new job, no matter how senior you are.

Easy come, easy go

Let's recount how it all went wrong for Mr Scaramucci.

He had burst into the scene with boasts that he reported directly to President Trump, effectively bypassing the Chief of Staff, who was then Reince Priebus. His talking down to journalists and co-workers could probably be tolerated, until his profanity-laced interview with The New Yorker came to light.

In a bizarre phone call, he cursed and threatened to fire all his White House communications colleagues for supposedly leaking private information. It was also at that point where he infamously called Mr Priebus - whom he has bad blood with - a "f***ing paranoid schizophrenic", among other less flattering descriptions.

This quickly led to his downfall. Mr Preibus left after this public spat and was soon replaced by a new chief of staff, John Kelly. An ex-general highly respected by Mr Trump, Mr Kelly made clear to him that Mr Scaramucci and all his antics had to go. Several lessons can be learnt here. For one, Mr Scaramucci started off on the completely wrong foot by overestimating his reach.

Not only did he enter his new role with an arrogance to match his ignorance, he quickly burnt bridges with his colleagues, making enemies instead of potential allies. He had assumed he was beyond reproach due to his connections, without realising that like every new hire, he was also on probation.

Finally, pinning all your authority on being the boss's pet is a dangerous gamble. Mr Scaramucci may have declared his undying loyalty to Mr Trump, but the feeling was clearly not mutual.

Staying hired

Most people have no problems holding a job longer than 10 days, but not everyone lasts till their probation ends. There could be all kinds of factors ranging from poor performance to a poor cultural fit to ethical issues. Noora Alsagoff, head of human resources, APAC & MEA, at Aon Hewitt, explains: "As a new hire, first impressions are important. You will be observed, and your new colleagues will be wondering why you were hired and what you will bring to the company."

For her, acting as if you know everything about the industry is a potential red light. More importantly, it may limit the amount of support needed to understand the new company, make connections and build networks that will enable one to succeed in the new role, she adds.

She points out: "There are very few roles these days, if any, that allow you to succeed in isolation. Teamwork is key and it's important to adopt that mindset from the start." Stephen Wang, Director of Talent Plus, Asia Pacific, concurs on refraining from being a know-it-all in your new job. He says: "As all organisations take pride in showing off their own cultures, it would be a no-no to either disrespect the core vision or culture of the organisation by insisting on one's viewpoints and perspectives on how an organisation should be run at the onset."

Some of the "unsavoury" characteristics he has seen include forward, aggressive and boisterous behaviour, which could be seen as favoured approaches of today. But he warns that it is essential to make sure such behaviour fits in with the psyche of the organisation.

Both HR experts say that humility is key for new hires. Ms Alsagoff: "My advice to new hires - regardless of seniority - is to be humble, learn, listen, understand and demonstrate how they can contribute... You can't expect your colleagues to adapt to you, so you must have the agility to adapt your way of working to complement theirs."

But if one starts out on the wrong foot, it's not necessarily all over. Mr Wang advised new workers to accept and own up to mistakes. After all, people don't expect new hires to get it perfect when they are still green. If you offended someone, apologise. He says: "You can build trust by having the other person's back, showing integrity and delivering as you promised."

Perhaps Mr Scaramucci could take some notes for his next role.

The employer's role

Finally, it takes two hands to clap. For someone to get fired in 10 days, the employer certainly has a bigger share of the blame in the entire fiasco. Hiring someone based solely on personal loyalties is always a bad idea.

Mr Scaramucci may have done himself no favours during his short-lived stint in the White House, but one wonders what kind of checks and balances were in place to approve his appointment in the first place.

He may have been a successful, smooth-talking hedge fund manager loyal to Mr Trump, but that did not mean he could do the job. Perhaps the only saving grace in the debacle is that at least it was game over soon enough. Better to fail fast than fail slowly.

Yes, bad hires can sometimes fall through the cracks of companies, and even the White House. But it is the job of employers to conduct as much due diligence as possible to make sure this doesn't happen. It is easy to pin all the blame on the worker when things go south, but who hired him in the first place? And after that person is hired, was support given to make sure that person succeeds?

In my humble opinion, if only companies consider their people as much as they consider their bottomline, at least half of our workplace woes won't even exist.