Job-Hunting Insights From Jon Stewart's 'Daily Show' Resignation
Popular media is obsessed with the search for the new host of "The Daily Show" when Jon Stewart leaves it sometime later this year. Beyond speculating on what's next for Stewart and who will replace him, this major late-night transition can provide helpful insights for your own career advancement.
Ask yourself some basic questions:
1. Can you really afford to resign? Stewart has superstar status, a virtually limitless network within his industry, 19 Emmy Awards, and (presumably) enough money to never have to worry about another paycheck. Simply put: He has the luxury of walking from his job at a time of his choosing. Rare is the person with this kind of freedom!
You may be tempted to resign because you have a strong disagreement with your boss, because you are bored, overworked, underappreciated or poorly paid or because you have some other pain point.
Remember, however, that employers invariably ask why you left your last position and are inherently skeptical about hiring someone who resigned with no other job offer in hand. Regardless of how well you justify walking away, it can be interpreted as hot-headed, disloyal or overly risky. Even worse, they may erroneously assume you resigned one step ahead of being fired. Don't jump from the frying pan into the fire!
2. Whose shoes do you want to fill? Conventional wisdom suggests that your chances for success at a new job are greater when you follow someone who has a poor or mediocre record. It will take comparatively little to look better than your predecessor. On the other hand, this predecessor may leave a situation in shambles, and it may prove difficult to perform an overall turnaround.
Whoever follows Stewart will be widely compared to him and measured by his standards of success -- surely a daunting challenge. Nonetheless, he or she will inherit a well-oiled machine with a solid pool of writers. Given that, the right person may be able to take the show in an unexpected and refreshing new direction.
One of the reasons you want to know the circumstances of a job opening is to gauge the stated responsibilities and context, as well as the expectations you will be inheriting if you take on the role.
3. How do you identify your challenges and successes? Imagine the task of writing Jon Stewart's résumé. He'll presumably forgo a mundane bullet point like this:
-- Responsible for watching news streams and movies staring future guests and attending endless meetings with writers."
In favor of something like this:
-- Transformed lackluster program into must-watch TV for key demographic audiences by conducting thoughtful interviews with key governmental leaders and politicians across all party lines, film and TV stars and leading authors.
-- Mentored a new generation of top-tier talent, including Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell, John Oliver and many others.
In the same way, your résumé will need to place your day-to-day tasks and responsibilities into the larger context of your accomplishments and the impact they have made in your workplace.
4. What is your reputation? No matter what you hear, a well-composed résumé remains the lynchpin for virtually any job hunt. As the saying goes: Your reputation precedes you! Any talent agency, producer or network knows quite a bit about Stewart before speaking with him about a potential new role or project.
The same holds true for you. Employers routinely scour your LinkedIn profile, Facebook page and Google search results and speak with common connections to learn about you.
All this often takes place before an employer even decides to interview you, and it almost always happens before an offer of employment is extended. Make sure you do a good job of curating and highlighting your professional accomplishments online and expunging anything that could be embarrassing or prompt a negative thought about your competence or character.
Sometimes it is better not to get the job of your dreams. It's easy to imagine that Jon Stewart is now thankful he was passed over for opportunities he was pursuing earlier in his career.
In her book, "Angry Optimist: The Life and Times of Jon Stewart", Lisa Rogak reminds us that he failed to get a spot at NBC when Letterman left "Late Night." Stewart was also passed over in his attempt to replace Tom Snyder. Ironically, that position went to the then "Daily Show" host, Craig Kilborn, thereby creating the opening that Stewart has so successfully filled since 1999.
Neither of those roles would have given him the space and freedom he had at Comedy Central to achieve his monumental success.
As a job hunter, you will likely encounter any number of ads for "perfect" positions. Keep in mind that you'll never know who you're up against or the real priorities of the hiring manager. It might just be that this perfect job is a bit more perfect for someone else, and another job that offers tremendous potential for you is just around the corner.
Happy hunting!
Arnie Fertig, MPA, is passionate about helping his Jobhuntercoach clients advance their careers by transforming frantic "I'll apply to anything" searches into focused hunts for "great fit" opportunities. He brings to each client the extensive knowledge he gained when working in HR staffing and managing his boutique recruiting firm.
