What Job Seekers and Employees Can Learn from Ed Rendell

Employees and job seekers who feel they have been done wrong have a natural impulse to want to give the wrongdoer a piece of their minds. Maybe this has even happened to you in the past. Chances are it will happen again. If it does, you might want to consider the example set by former Gov. Ed Rendell in a similar situation.

The former governor is not known for keeping quiet. In fact, he is better known for speaking his mind, sometimes to the dismay of his political friends and allies. And yet even he knew when to keep his mouth shut.

In 1995, when Rendell was mayor of Philadelphia, an effort to keep the former Philadelphia Naval Shipyard alive by having a German shipbuilder set up operations there failed when negotiations between the city, the state and the shipbuilder collapsed. Democratic politicians across the city loudly criticized Republican Gov. Tom Ridge for handling negotiations so ineptly that the shipbuilder walked out of the talks in a huff. Notably absent from the chorus of criticism, however, was Mayor Rendell.

Two years later, Mayor Rendell and Gov. Ridge signed an agreement with Norwegian shipbuilder Kvaerner ASA that brought shipbuilding back to the Naval Shipyard.

What Rendell knew in 1995 was this: Even though Ridge had indeed handled the negotiations ineptly, his assistance would still be needed to land a shipbuilder for the shipyard. Had Rendell joined his fellow Democrats in blasting Gov. Ridge, his chances of getting that assistance would fall to somewhere near zero. So the mayor held his fire and reaped the rewards later.

Similarly, sending a boss a nastygram on one's way out the door, however defensible, may and likely will come back to bite the sender down the road. If you can imagine what that boss might say when a would-be employer asks for a reference, you should be able to grasp the value of keeping your mouth shut when things go wrong.

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By Sandy Smith

Sandy Smith is a veteran freelance writer, editor and public relations professional who lives in Philadelphia. Besides blogging for PhillyJobs.com, he has written for numerous publications and websites, would be happy to do your resume, and is himself actively seeking career opportunities on Beyond.com. Check out his LinkedIn profile and read his other posts on PhillyJobsBlog.com.