Barbara Corcoran has suffered every professional’s worst nightmare: She lands her dream job, only to have the show cancelled.
Before the first season of “Shark Tank” premiered on ABC in 2009, a producer’s secretary reached out to Corcoran and asked the real estate mogul to be an investor in the show. She’d signed the contract without looking at it [and] Corcoran said recently episode From Barstool’s “Chicks in the Office” podcast.
The euphoria did not last long. Two weeks after she arrived at the gig, and a week before filming for the show began, Corcoran said she got a call telling her that the producers had decided to go with a different female investor.
Corcoran, however, did not take the refusal without protest.
“I was embarrassed,” said Corcoran, 74. “I told all my friends, I’m going to Hollywood.” “So I sat down and wrote them an email directly and said, ‘You made a mistake.'”
Corcoran said she kept the letter short and asked the producers to “invite the two women to compete for the seat.” She said the producers agreed, and she got the job. She’s been an investor on “Shark Tank” for 14 seasons now.
It’s very unusual for job offers to be rescinded after you sign on the dotted line, but it’s not impossible. Last summer, amid fears of a looming recession, big companies like Coinbase, Twitter and Redfin took back job offers before a number of employees could even sign on for their early days.
It was primarily a reaction to inflation, co-founder and CEO of recruiting firm WizeHire Sid Upadhyay told CNBC Make It last June.
“The broader economic environment has changed a lot,” Obadhyay said at the time, adding that tech companies went from being “a catalyst for growth at all costs” to focusing on “flexibility” practically overnight.
Corcoran’s method may not be the most reliable way to re-secure a job: Assertive email probably won’t melt a hiring freeze. Upadhyay recommended asking your network about leadership positions, reconsidering other job offers and contacting previous employers.
He said you can even seek legal advice if you feel your offer has been rescinded for a discriminatory reason.
Corcoran prefers to do the shooting herself, is she He said recently Business Podcast “The CEO Diaries with Stephen Bartlett.” Before selling and leaving her real estate company, The Corcoran Group, in 2001, she said, she especially liked firing employees on Fridays, often without explanation.
She explained that she enjoyed the activity because it meant culling poor performers and “chronic complainers” from her company’s ranks – but she still received some public backlash for her comments.
Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to “Shark Tank.”
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