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Moving On
Playing the part of dean, Anderson even inquired about whether he could help slot his departing employees into other agencies. This being his first government job, he didn't realize that such arrangements are against the rules. But there is some comfort for departing staff: By law, when someone who has worked for the Peace Corps is qualified for a job at a federal agency, he must be given hiring preference over any other candidates.
Meanwhile, as might be expected, headhunters are calling. Karen Rubenstrunk, a senior client partner at executive search firm Korn/Ferry International, confesses she contacted Anderson a few weeks before we did. She knows him well; they both sit on a committee at American University's Kogod School of Business. She's disappointed, though not surprised, that Anderson is "committed to staying there for his five years," she says. Will Rubenstrunk keep after Anderson anyway? "Oh yeah," she says. "As soon as he's within a year of his five years, he's going to be a prime candidate."
Anderson swears he won't leave the Corps early because he wants to help tackle AIDS and malaria; malaria alone kills 3,000 people every day in Africa. "How do you watch 3,000 people a day die and not figure out a way to do things about it?" he asks.
The Peace Corps is an independent federal agency but still subject to all federal rules and regulations, including those surrounding hiring and firing. That means Anderson can't handpick his successor. But hopefully by the time he answers a headhunter's call, he will have passed on what he knows to his remaining lieutenants.
After that, moving won't be hard; all he'll have to do is untape his daughters' butterfly pictures from the wall.
Joan Indiana Rigdon was a contributing writer for CIO Decisions. To comment on this story, email editor@ciodecisions.com.
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