A reader writes: My husband worked at a marketing firm last summer after 18 months of unemployment and learning website design. They offered him a very low salary due to him being new to teapot design, even though he had a 15-year background in the broader field. On his second week, the owner insisted that all new hires have to get up in front of everyone and sing a song during their weekly meeting. My husband was nervous and expressed that he would rather not participate but was forced to do so anyway. How should he have handled it? Tempting, but overkill. workplace practices

I co-sign this recent comment from commenter Spiky Plant, strongly enough that I felt it should be its own post: I’m always surprised by people who think they have new information when they know how many other people they’re up against. Or when people ask during a phone screen how many other candidates are screening (which I’ve had candidates ask me). It changes nothing for you. It’s information that you think is useful, but it doesn’t change your “odds” of getting the job, because hiring is not an odds game. Put it out of your mind. It doesn’t matter even a tiny little bit. interviewing

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…. 1. I’ve been covering for my sick coworker, but he’s been posting about vacations on social media. One of the employees at the firm I currently work for has been supposedly been “sick” with strep throat/mono for three months now. He has made little effort to contact my bosses, and has told us numerous times that he would return to work. Two months ago, he said he was hoping to make it in for Thursday. Three weeks ago, he promised to be into work “no matter what” on Monday. He has not shown up, nor made contact with us. ” 2.

A reader writes: This is a puzzler for me: I recently had a third party recruiter get me in touch again with the hiring manager of a position I had applied and interviewed for but got passed over for earlier this year. I was excited for the second chance since this was my dream company, albeit this time it was gonna be contract to start. And even though they found out I had interviewed previously, they still phone screened me and had me come in for another face to face, and I believe and felt it went well. But of course, by that point, they’d been told it was the lowest you’d go. Other salary

I get a lot of questions about time off when you’re starting a new job — when to mention pre-planned vacation time, how and whether to ask for time off soon after starting, and more. Here are answers to the most common questions I hear on this. When you’re interviewing. “I’m interviewing for a job. When should I mention that I have a one-week vacation already planned and paid for that’s coming up three months from now?” ” Don’t bring it up in the interview stage; it would be premature then. The time to raise it is once a company makes you an offer. Maybe. Probably.

A reader writes: I had a weird situation today when interviewing a candidate and I was hoping to get your read on the situation. At the end of the interview, he asked us for an on-the-spot evaluation. forget exactly how he worded it, but something like “What do you think of me so far?” ” I nearly did a spit-take because it caught me off guard and quite frankly really rubbed me the wrong way. Fortunately, my boss came up with something about how he had strong analytical skills, which is important to our company. Why on earth would someone ask that? So it’s a bad idea.

A reader writes: I work in an administrative position at a university, and I almost always have Google Chat open throughout the day, both to talk to coworkers and friends outside of work. Is this generally considered more “okay” than other forms of personal messaging? I’m a pretty productive worker – I very rarely make personal calls at work, and I would never dream of texting people from my phone or Facebook all day. Gchat feels different to me, but should it? Things are very casual where I work, and most people have their personal Gmail/Facebook up throughout the day.

A reader writes: I have recently begun a position where I do a lot of applicant screening. review resumes, conduct phone screens and participate in in-person interviews with my boss. Thank you so much for your columns! They’ve been invaluable to me in looking for great candidates). I’ve always agreed with you that it’s polite to be as transparent as possible with candidates by giving them reasonable turnarounds for next steps, sending rejections to everyone who doesn’t make it to the next stage in the process, etc. Why would they wait until they get a rejection? hiring

Three letters, one answer. One answer that’s awfully similar to this one. 1. How can I improve morale when our president is so difficult? work for a very small nonprofit with fewer than 15 employees. We have had a difficult history with a lot of turnover. Due to that turnover, I am now second in command and most of the organization reports to me. have been trying to improve morale, but the line I am increasingly getting is “Things won’t improve until the president leaves.” Your manager sucks and isn’t going to change. How can I make my boss see reason? Any ideas?

A reader writes: I was hired at a company in January to build a department that provides support internally to other departments. This role is new and meant to provide support so that other departments can focus on higher level work. I was expected to expand to three direct reports by December, but right now I only have one direct report, Mary. Mary was the company receptionist for two years, and I barely interacted with her before I interviewed her. There was a lot of pressure to hire her, since the company culture focuses on upward movement for employees. Should I let Mary go? Fire Mary.

A reader writes: I work a fairly high-stress management position at a regional theater company. It’s the kind of position that comes with frequent six-day weeks, not a huge paycheck, a lot of customer interface, and the responsibility of a regularly shifting staff of seasonal employees. I’m young for the position, but certainly qualified and hard-working. I’ve received praise for my customer service and my problem-solving skills from my supervisors. Or rather (possibly worse), it gives them the impression that I need their sympathy and help. good management

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…. 1. Farewell party for everyone but me. I’ve recently left my old team to transfer to an international office and received a promotion. Before I left, we had quite a few people from our team (maybe six?) leaving for various reasons over a few months time. Most went to other departments/teams within the company but two left the company altogether. All of them were given their own small party/happy hour to say goodbye and usually a gift card or small gift. However, when I left that didn’t happen. And she seemed excited. What?!

A reader writes: I am currently looking for internships and have submitted my resume and cover letter via email. asked my mom for advice, and she says to reply back as fast as possible when they email me back — that I should email them back within a few hours to show how eager I am. Being currently in college, I usually have time to check email in the morning or at night. I don’t have email on my phone. She also thinks replying within hours is part of working life. What sort of speed in replying is acceptable these days? I’d try to reply within 24 hours. job searching

Your vacation was relaxing, but now you’re back at work and staring at a mountain of emails and work that piled up while you were away. How can you attack the chaos without undoing all the benefits of your vacation? At Intuit QuickBase’s Fast Track blog today, I talk about how you can come back from vacation without wanting to run right back out of the door. You can read it here. how to avoid post-vacation stress once you’re back from vacation was originally published by Alison Green on Ask a Manager. work habits

A reader writes: I have been interviewing for several months now and had two good job offers come in a week apart from each other. Job # 1 could not give me additional time to weigh my options, so I declined job #1 and chose job #2. declined in good standing, explained my understanding of their time constraints in filling the role, and thanked them. They seemed to understand my need for more time as well and it all appeared to end on a good note. never want to burn bridges, and it is a really good company that may one day be in my future. contacted job #1 asking to be reconsidered. job offers

A bunch of people have sent me this article making its way around the internet that claims that you shouldn’t use Times New Roman on your resume. Like so much resume advice that focuses on the look of your resume rather than its substance, it’s wrong and you can ignore it. If you read the article closely, you’ll notice that this wasn’t an actual study of how hiring managers perceive different fonts. They asked three typography specialists which typefaces people should use. Typography specialists — people who care passionately about fonts. Not hiring managers.

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…. 1. How can I ask my manager to respect my personal space? started a new job as a trainee a few weeks ago. The room I’m in is me, two managers, and one of the partners in the firm. This is great because at least one person is always available for questions, and I work closely with all three of them. My problem is, one of the managers has no concept of personal space. If I have a question about some accounts, she’ll come over and basically stand on top of me to look at my papers. It makes me extremely uncomfortable. short answers

Remember the letter-writer who had been advised to take off her engagement ring for job interviews (first published in 2012 and then reprinted for Inc. in October of this year )? Here’s the update. I am the person who asked this question a few years ago and I know I’m long overdue for an update! First, thank you, Alison, for your fantastic advice and thank you to all of the commenters for sharing your perspectives! It gave me much needed sanity during my year long job search. At the time, I was just beginning my career and going through quite a few life changes (clearly). updates

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…. 1. How can I avoid a farewell dinner from the job that’s letting me go? My question is regarding a farewell dinner that I’d really rather avoid attending. I was recently let go from a small company. The circumstances were pretty reasonable. understand their reasons were not personal and not related to my work performance. However, I have been frustrated and upset by the way they have handled the process, and ultimately I feel a bit bitter about leaving. As my final date draws closer, the boss has been suggesting a farewell dinner.

A reader writes: Thanks for running such a helpful blog! Your advice has helped me stay true to professional norms through a couple of toxic situations, which has both kept me sane and gotten me big kudos from management. They didn’t teach me this in college. I’m in a high-stress work situation where the organization is way too reliant on me to maintain day-to-day operations. We’re working on hiring a second person for my role, but it’s likely to take six months to find someone and get them on board. Any thoughts on how to approach this with him? What options do I have?

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…. 1. Team member caused a drunken scene at coworker’s wedding. I am a team leader in a very small company. The team I manage only has two other members. A few weeks ago, one of them, Jamie, got married. A few other colleagues and I were invited to the evening reception. The other member of the team got overly drunk and was abusive to many guests, knocked small children over on the dance floor, and was heard at the bar saying he was going to “F#%k s$¥t up.” Guests were trying to eject him, but he was throwing punches and fighting them.

If you’re out-of-work and thinking about the best way to spend your time, you probably/hopefully have the obvious stuff covered, like updating your resume and writing great cover letters. At U.S. News & World Report today, I talk about what else you should be doing to make the most of the time. And some of it is fun! You can read it here. You may also like: how can I write shorter cover letters? how much time should you spend on your job search? unemployment

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…. 1. Giving a reference for an alcoholic friend who won’t talk to me. work for a law enforcement agency and have become used to giving personal references for friends and extended family, who like having me listed as a reference due to my position in a place of authority. They know I answer my phone professionally and with my title with the agency. Yesterday I received a voicemail from a company looking for a reference for a friend of mine who I haven’t spoken to in almost a full year. Thanks for understanding.”. 2. FREEZING AC EVERYWHERE.

A reader writes: I manage a woman who is a very hard worker. She goes the extra mile, never complains, stays late and always volunteers to help…but lately I have noticed she is getting lax on things like returning important emails in a timely manner or getting things done that I asked her to do. know she is busy as we all are right now because we are understaffed and everyone is doing their best to fill the gaps. Do I let it go with the excuse that we are all so busy right now or do I address it? She is pretty hard on herself naturally, so I want to make sure that I address this carefully.

On a recent post , one commenter wrote: When I first started job searching, I tried to research the companies a lot. That was a waste of time. No hiring manager I ever talked to quizzed me about my company knowledge. They wanted to talk about the specifics of the job. And honestly, when you think about how many people are interviewing for one position and how many jobs each of those people are interviewing for, that’s a lot of wasted hour memorizing facts about companies they are probably not going to work at. If that’s the kind of research you’re doing, you’re doing it wrong.

A reader writes: I recently had a very positive phone interview for a position I was very excited about. Because of the hiring manager being out of the office for awhile, he was planning to interview local candidates this week and then non-local candidates when he got back. I was a non-local candidate. received this email this morning: “I wanted to thank you once again for your interest in the XXXX position. Of all the interviews I’ve had over the past few years, this is the only non-canned rejection I’ve gotten. So lawyers often prefer the “say nothing” policy. 3. The

Few people like writing cover letters, and as a result they tend to fall back on clichés and fluff that don’t strengthen their application and in many cases weaken it. At U.S. News & World Report today, I talk about 8 phrases that you might recognize from your own cover letters – and that you should remove immediately! You can read it here. phrases that are killing your cover letters was originally published by Alison Green on Ask a Manager. cover letters

A reader writes: Could you elaborate more about how formatting should be done on a cover letter? For example, should paragraphs be justified or should they use a ragged right edge? I use a cover letter format that appears sort of as a form of my own custom stationary – the top of my letter has my full name, mailing address, phone number, and email address. The “signature” panel of my cover letter has a scanned/cleaned up image of my actual signature, so it looks like a real letter. Are these types of style decisions bad? just cannot tell if they are good to include or not. No one cares!

A reader writes: I’m a college student headed to my first internship this summer and your blog has been so helpful in the preparation for that. wrote a great cover letter and resume thanks to your advice, which was so different from our career center, and I know that helped me get the position. Thank you. My question is about eating lunch or taking breaks at my desk. If I choose to spend some or all of my lunch break at my desk, will it look bad if I’m visibly at my desk not working? You know, eating a sandwich and reading a book or checking Facebook. That’s bad for your reputation.

A reader writes: I have a salaried, exempt employee who worked until 8 p.m. one evening. He is our media manager; there was some breaking news happening and they were excited to get a story out. This situation is extremely rare. He came in the next day requesting reimbursement for the extra babysitting costs he incurred. How do you think we should handle his request? Our first instinct was no, but he claims many organizations practice reimbursing for extra babysitting costs. Uh, yeah, no. Exempt employees have to stay late sometimes; that’s part of the gig. workplace practices

A reader writes: I just had an interview and they moved incredibly fast and got back to me the very next day, saying they would like to check my references. have a friend who works at the company, so I gave her name, as well as two other people from a previous company. They only contacted my friend who works at the company. She emailed them a reference saying she would recommend me and that I was a good presenter and can work under high pressure. What do you think about that? The job is very corporate and my last two jobs were corporate; I actually haven’t worked in an agency since 2012.

A reader writes: I supervise four managers. What the employee is doing wrong isn’t outrageous, it’s just not okay and is really grating on the manager’s nerves. We’ve also talked about how she needs to remain calm and use a professional and even tone. She knows all that (in fact, she’s the one who brought this up with me), and wants to respond more appropriately, but is struggling to find the right words to say in the moment when she’s so irritated and angry. What can I do to help this amazing manager get back on her feet? What happened?”

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…. 1. Was I wrong to leave before this interview even started? recently moved across the country and was applying for jobs in my new place of residence. company wanted to interview me and I informed them that I was driving across the country and would arrive the day they wanted to interview and asked if we could interview the next week (it was a Friday and they’re closed weekends). They said that that wouldn’t work, so I made the long drive and freshened up in a rest area. Was that reasonable on their part? But 12 pages is unreasonable.

A reader writes: I was in the awesome position of interviewing for two roles through recruitment agencies and receiving offers for both. Both roles were aware that I had another strong offer on the table, and negotiations started between myself and the two agencies. As I was available immediately, both roles wanted me to start ASAP and had suggested start dates that were within a working week of the initial offer. Within a few days, I made my decision and I outlined my choice in an email to the recruiter of the role I was turning down. So am I obliged to pay this? What the flying F?

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…. 1. We don’t want my grandson to return to the family business. When you have a “family business” and have other employees, it creates a mass of interaction emotions. We have a small office. My son runs the business my late husband and I started. work with him. We have two sales employees. We all get along well. Enter the grandson. At 21 years old, he has completed one year of college and has no interest in going back, so his dad placed him in the office temporarily to work during a peak work time. Sure sounds like you were right.

A reader writes: I’m 22, out of school, and will not graduate. didn’t even like what I was studying in school (art-related) and I’ve changed majors three times now. Besides, I’ve never been good at it, and university has gotten me depressed, which is why I dropped out. The sadder part of my dropping out is that I can no longer afford an education anyway. Right now I am working eight hours a week at the library, and although it isn’t a difficult job, I don’t enjoy it. My greatest dream is to be a novelist, but we all know how slim those chances are. Write.

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…. 1. Job candidate called me four times in one day. I am in the process of scheduling interviews for a new opening in our department. called a batch of candidates this morning and left messages for a few of them. then had a meeting with my boss and he gave me a task to prioritize over everything else. even told him I would be ignoring emails/phone calls and would be on Do Not Disturb for most of the day. He agreed because this project is huge and it has to be done by the end of the week. Fast forward to this afternoon. Thank you!”. short answers

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…. 1. Should I let my boyfriend stay in my hotel room during my first business trip at my new job? have recently starting a traveling job as an interviewer with a team. It is the first time I have a traveling position, and it requires weekly travel and hotel stays to different locations. We will be staying about two hours from my boyfriend’s home next week (we are in a long distance relationship). At the same time, I feel like time after work is personal and private. What’s your take? Don’t do it. wouldn’t care. Thoughts? short answer

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…. 1. Should HR let a manager know an employee is probably job-searching? I am the HR department at my company. post jobs, verify employment, etc. Recently two things happened: When I was posting a job on an internet job site, one of my current employees came up as a possible candidate, and I received an employment verification call on this employee. I am assuming they are looking for another job. Should I share this with their supervisor? I am not sure what to do. How can I use telecommuting as an asset in my cover letter or resume? that night.

There was a great (and sometimes hilarious) discussion on last week’s open thread about unprofessional things people had done in their pasts that at the time they didn’t realize were unprofessional. enjoyed some of the comments so much that I’m sharing them here. Oh lord. During my first few months at my first job out of grad school, I created a folder on the shared drive that said “Do Not Open – Private,” and then each subsequent sub folder had a similar title (e.g. why did you click on that?” and “I told you not to continue”). do…not…have….any…idea…what work habits

It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go…. 1. Child care reimbursement for a weekend-long team-building retreat. work for a company that has a team-building retreat one weekend a year. We are at the event Friday through Sunday (so two overnights). In that time, we have two substantive meetings of about 2.5 hours each. The rest of the time is spent at spas, wineries, shopping, golfing, etc. Spouses are highly encouraged to attend, but children are not allowed. Attendance is not required per se, but it is highly encouraged and if you miss it, there better be a good reason. short answers

We have a winner! 3,313  votes are in, and the worst boss of the year is the manager who spoofed an employee’s caller ID  to make her think her hospitalized mother was calling   … with 30% of the vote. Congratulations, terrible manager of the year! You suck. the worst boss of 2014 is… was originally published by Alison Green on Ask a Manager. jerks

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…. 1. Should I put fanfiction on my resume? I’m a college student putting a resume together for the first time and your blog has been a huge help. There is, however, one thing I am unsure of. That’s if I should include my fanfiction on my resume. I’ve published over 83,000 words of fanfiction in 2015 alone. One of my works is in the top 2% of all stories in its fandom, which I am of course very proud of. However, I’m worried that listing this will weird out employers or come off as unprofessional or out of touch. Any ideas?

I get a lot of requests to give people feedback on their resumes, but because it’s time-consuming to do it well, I usually turn them down unless they’re friends or family. But for a short time, I’m re-opening the resume review offer that I’ve run a couple of times before. When I’ve offered this in the past, the response has been so overwhelming that I’ve had to close the offer after just a few days, so reserve this now if you’re interested. The cost: $125. People who do that charge a lot more. So if you want it, lock it in now.

A reader writes: I thought you might find this old OSS/CIA manual from 1944 as interesting examples of bad management. The purpose of the manual was to instruct employees and citizens of enemy states to sabotage the enemy from within. Some of the sabotage tips sound quite familiar from some of the reader letters. The most relevant tips relevant to your blog can be found near the end of the manual and contain gems such as: Managers and Supervisors: To lower morale and production, be pleasant to inefficient workers; give them undeserved promotions. Employees: Work slowly. work habits

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…. 1. Do interviewers really decide whether to hire you within the first 90 seconds of meeting you? My friend and I got into a friendly disagreement, and I hope you can speak to this issue. Friend thinks that a hiring manager will decide whether to hire you or not within the first 90 seconds of meeting you. think that is complete nonsense and if a hiring manager makes decisions like that, I do not want to work for them. certainly hope all that played a role in the hiring manager’s decision to extend an offer. What do you think? Keep them.

If you’re starting a job search this year and haven’t been on the market for a while, you might be surprised by how the job market and typical hiring processes have changed in recent years. At U.S. News & World Report today, I talk about what you need to know about job searching in 2015 — how long hiring takes these days, what to expect from the interview process, what it takes to get hired, and more. You can read it here. what’s different about job searching in 2015 was originally published by Alison Green on Ask a Manager. job searching

When you’re putting together a resume, you might find yourself looking for ways to disguise a spotty job history, get around resume-screening software, or even avoid showing your age. And if you go looking for help, you might be encourage to employ some resume “tricks” to bypass these challenges. The problem? Hiring managers can see right through the most common resume tricks, and using them will usually backfire on you. At U.S. News & World Report today, I talk about five resume “tricks” that you should pass up. You can read it here. resumes

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…. 1. My boss praises me but treats me like I’m incompetent. My boss will praise me on paper but seems to treat me as incompetent on a daily basis. Part of what I do involves training other employees, and she will crash meetings uninvited. Even for meetings she’s invited to, she stands right next to me and repeats everything I say. She’s not paraphrasing, she’s not making sure my speech doesn’t get overly technical; she simply repeats every word I say once I’ve finished. Again: on paper, she’s all praise.

A reader writes: I recently got fired from a job of four years. They told me I could stay until the end of the fiscal year (several months from the time of firing), and that I’m going to be replaced by one of my colleagues. Despite the awkwardness, I plan to stick with it as long as possible; the pay and benefits may well be the best I’ll ever have. I’ve been in this career for over a decade, and it’s never been a fit. So, I’m open to making a change of career and am volunteering and applying for jobs. have ruined many professional relationships. Of course you can!

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by someone who told me that she had purchased a professionally written resume and cover letter from a resume-writing company … and then had realized that the cover letter was nearly word-for-word the same as the one from a reader that I posted here  last year. That set off an annoying and ridiculous chain of events in which the following happened: * The company refused to acknowledge that their employee had plagiarized the letter, after their client and I both complained. Their employee claimed that I was a career advisor in Virginia Beach in 2012-2013 (!)

A reader writes: Recently, my company designated a week for working on any project we want, even if it isn’t necessarily a part of our normal role and with people who we don’t necessarily work with. Some folks and I decided to use this opportunity to organize a series of small morale events for the office. The details aren’t super important, but it involved us creating puzzles that would be fun for small groups of coworkers to solve. We invited everyone who was interested in organizing this to join our team, and various people took us up on it. Should I let this go? What was going on there?”.

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…. 1. My manager said the wrong number when giving me a raise. I’m not even sure where to begin on this one. recently had my one-year evaluation with my manager. To thank me for my good work, my manager said I would receive a raise and it would go into effect in the next pay cycle. Instead of phrasing the new salary in terms of the increase (like “your salary will increase this much”), she said the actual new salary amount. This new salary amount gave me a 6% increase so I was very happy. ”). never received anything in writing.

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…. 1. Two of my employees are dating and a third found one of them on an online dating site. I own and manage a small entertainment company with about 20 contracted employees. Two of them are dating each other, and have been doing so for years. They live together. third employee recently came to me because the male half of the couple popped up on Bumble, her online dating app. In his profile, he said it was there for “research.” ” We have no idea if the woman he is dating knows about this online profile. It all seems so sketchy.

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…. 1. Employee wants halal lunch options. work as part of a small HR team in a medium-sized start-up company — around 50 employees. We offer employees a range of free stuff, including lunch. The way lunch works is that a small amount is deducted from the salary and we provide lunch. This is cheaper than bringing in your own lunch. The options are vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free – but not halal. Currently 100% of our employees participate. We have employees of various backgrounds. One of them is Jane. What should we do? Ooooh, that sucks.

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…. 1. Biking to work and changing clothes when I get there. I am soon to start a new job (my first office job with smart clothes required). The workplace is three miles from my home. I don’t drive and there is no direct bus (I’d have to take two separate buses and it would take close to an hour). However, I love to cycle, and want to make this my method of commuting. Do you think anyone would have a problem with that?”. 2. My manager keeps sharing personal information about my coworkers. declined to do so.) Is he right? Legally?

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…. 1. think one of our coworkers is intentionally putting nails in our car tires. I’m concerned that one of our employees is intentionally putting nails in our tires as some sort of retaliation for trying to hold him/her accountable for their quality of work. The four most senior team members in our department (myself included) have found nails in our tires within a small time span of several weeks. They were all the exact same type of nail, and none of us recall driving in or around any areas where nails would typically be found. Keying my car?

A reader writes: A while ago, I had a really excellent interview with a company that advertised a salary range of below my current salary to above my current salary. I was so impressed with the team and manager that I decided that if I was given an offer, I would accept getting paid at my current salary, even though it would more than likely mean higher insurance premiums and giving up an annual bonus that’s typically over $9k. I’m also a single parent, and I know that moving to a new job without an increase in pay really isn’t a smart move. That’s nothing. salary

A reader writes: My husband was recently invited to interview for a position he applied for. He was told that they were conducting two sessions of five back-to-back 30-minute initial interviews. Since he was the first one they contacted, he was able to pick his time slot. In a situation like this, is there an any difference or advantage in picking the first slot, or the last? answer this question — and four others — over at Inc. today, where I’m revisiting letters that have been buried in the archives here from years ago (and sometimes updating/expanding my answers to them). interviewing

A reader writes: All through high school and college, I wanted to be a journalist. I got my degree and spent four years in newspapers. And then I got fired. realized the industry was dying and changing and perhaps it was all for the best. still use my writing, editing, and research skills, but I’m in corporate America now and happy enough to work standard hours with good, reliable coworkers and decent pay and benefits. honestly don’t know. take life as it comes, and try to take advantage of opportunities if that arise. Why do they care? interviewing

If your office is like a lot of offices, you’re spending a lot of time right now setting goals for next year. And if you’re like a lot of offices, chances are good that those goals might be knocked aside next year when other projects, priorities, and metrics push their way in. But while sometimes it does make sense to set aside goals for new priorities, often when that happens it’s because team members and their managers are simply out of alignment with each other. You can read it here. how to prevent alignment problems on your team was originally published by Alison Green on Ask a Manager.

A reader writes: We just had a change of staff in our cleaning contractors (I work in an office where that is handled outside of our organization, so we have no control of who they are or anything like that) and our new cleaner is driving me crazy. They assign one person to our building. We used to have a woman in her mid 30’s who was great and I had absolutely no complaints about her. She would make brief conversation, worked efficiently, and was always bright and cheery. This is as he’s walking in and out of our offices; he probably spends about 4 hours a day in our building.

The Washington Post has a great piece from Peter Cappelli about how the “skills shortage” that people like to blame on schools (and on college students’ choice of focus in their studies) is BS … and that the real issue is that employer just don’t want to train people anymore. He right points out that the argument that there’s a skills shortage because schools aren’t properly preparing students for work life falls apart when you realize that the reported “skills gap” is about all  levels of hiring, not just for entry-level roles. hiring

A reader writes: I recently was turned down for a job after 11 interviews over a two-month period, which included taking a day off of work to fly to an office to do three interviews in another city. I was told that I did “extremely well” in the process, but the company decided another candidate was a better fit. realize that’s just the way it goes. But the day of interviews could have raised suspicions at my current job and put my income at risk. Is there anything I can do to better gauge if a protracted interview process is worth the risk? No, never. interviewing

A reader writes: My direct manager recently resigned and, until I hear an answer from higher up, I am the acting manager. I’ve been receiving complaints from some of my employees about another employee, let’s call her Leah. Leah is a very good employee. She meets her goals every day and is always happy to lend a hand. She’s eager to learn other parts of the job so she can help out. According to others in her department, though, the reason she’s so eager to help is she wants to prove she can do the job all by herself and we can get rid of the other employees.

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…. 1. Saying that you have to talk over a job offer with your spouse. What are your thoughts on telling a potential employer, “I will need to talk this over with my husband/wife” when considering a job offer? Does it sound too dependent or is it just honest? It’s pretty common to say “I’d like a few days to think it over and talk with my spouse.”. That said, there’s no need to say it. People without spouses also ask for time to think over offers. It’s fine to simply say, “I’d like to take a few days to think this over. Pretty unlikely.

I’ve gotten a bunch of questions about names recently. Here are five short name-related questions and answers. 1. People keep shortening my name. have a name that’s easy to shorten, and many people with this name often DO shorten it intentionally (think “Jonathan” to “Jon” or “Elizabeth” to “Liz”) However, I do not like to use the shortened version of my name, especially in professional settings. How do I handle this? Just address it directly right in the moment: In person: “Oh, it’s Jonathan — I never go by Jon. Thanks! Thanks!”.

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…. 1. Is it okay to be Facebook friends with people I manage? Within the last year, I became a manager of a small team (five people). This is my first management role, and it has been going rather well. Everyone gets along well and works effectively with one another. Before I became their manager, I knew most of the people on the team since I interacted with them regularly on a peer-to-peer level, although I was not in their group. One of the people sent me a friend request on Facebook and I accepted it. Unfriend him and explain why. on a Friday.

A reader writes: I’ve been applying to a few jobs here and there and I recently received this rejection letter: Hi, OK, it’s that email you didn’t want to get, no beating around the bush, we are afraid that we won’t be taking your application to the next stage. We know rejection is tough and in the next few minutes you may well go through three stages of emotion: Disbelief: We know you may think that the role would have been perfect for you; however it is likely that we had a number of applications which demonstrated a better match when they applied. Also, so many comma splices !

A reader writes: I’ve been working on applying for jobs in a different career track. My educational background is in English and writing (including technical writing). used to teach writing at the college level, and now I want to be a technical writer. Every job posting I see requires at least three years of experience in technical writing. Many technical writing positions also require three years of knowledge about a very specific subject matter area. This three years of experience requirement seems to be true of grant and proposal writing positions too. That counts. job searching

A reader writes: I manage a department of 20 people, who are devided in smaller teams of two to three people each. Each small team is in charge of exactly the same tasks but concerning a different geographical area. Some of the challenges/problems they face on a daily basis are part of bigger issues that concern the whole country, so therefore communication between them is really essential. Of course, I try my best at recruiting people who are really team players and enjoy sharing information, comparing tasks, like to see the bigger picture, and so on. have run out of ideas! and so forth.

Looking for a job? For the next few days only, I’m offering a discount on. my e-book, How to Get a Job: Secrets of a Hiring Manager. Use this discount code today for a massive 40% discount:  newjob. If you’ve ever wished that you could look into the brain of a hiring manager to find out what you need to do to get hired, this is for you. Written You’ll learn things like: what hiring managers are looking for when they ask common interview questions. how to talk about sensitive issues when you interview — firings, bad bosses, and more. ” — Kim J.

A reader writes: I work in an office where everyone has their door closed all the time and expects you to knock if you’d like to speak to them. The wall with the door is glass, so you can see inside their office before you knock. If someone’s clearly procrastinating (e.g. online shopping, checking a trashy news website, checking their personal banking), should I go away and come back later? I’m sort of the intern, which means that at least once a week, I have to knock around and ask for work, and this comes up a little more frequently than I expected. advice about your coworkers

If you’re a new grad, or you’re about to be a new grad, here’s a round-up of a bunch of posts targeting you. This round-up is also an essential part of my Being Lazy on Memorial Day plan.). do hiring managers really care about your GPA? It depends on what it is and what field you’re in. just tell me your real name. This isn’t like school where you have to register with your full and complete birth name. stop telling me that you work well independently and in groups. This isn’t a bragging point, regardless of what your school career center told you. new grads

A reader writes: When applying to a job via email, do you attach your cover letter or do you paste it in the body of the email, or both? Either one is fine. No one really cares, seriously. mean, people who hire may have individual preferences, but no one is going to penalize you over doing it in their less-preferred way. It’s like asking “should my hair have bangs when I go to an interview?” ” No one cares. And about And about half of the candidates I see do it one way and half do it the other way. was originally published by Alison Green on Ask a Manager. cover letter

It’s been a while since I’ve talked about this and I see these words confused all the time, so let’s straighten out some vocabulary issues. 1. Fired vs. laid off vs. terminated. Fired: If someone is fired, they are being let go for cause. Laid off: If someone is laid off, they’re being let go for reasons other than performance — the company was restructuring or having financial problems and eliminated the job. (In other words, it’s about the job itself, not the person. Terminated:  Covers all possible scenarios. But Recruiter vs. hiring manager vs. HR.

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…. 1. We have to provide food to our managers for Boss’s Day. It’s that time again — Boss’s Day is Monday. The staff where I work have received the usual cringe-worthy email from the office manager, notifying us we are to provide a breakfast potluck plus afternoon desserts for our bosses. There is a sign-up sheet, no doubt for convenient tracking of who participates. The office manager kindly suggested that “store bought treats” would be acceptable, although the expectation clearly is “homemade.” ” 2.

A reader writes: I work in media. About a year ago, I saw a job listing for a position at a prestigious company that looked like it would be a good fit, so I reached out to a contact who worked at the company, she passed on my resume to the hiring manager, and they invited me in for an interview. The interview went extremely well — I answered their questions to their satisfaction and asked a few of my own. My final question was about the salary range — it hadn’t been mentioned on the job listing, and I wanted to get a sense of what they were offering. This is, obviously, ridiculous.

Workplace policies are supposed to serve the needs of the business – which includes attracting and retaining great employees. And yet some truly terrible policies have stuck around for decades, despite fairly sweeping changes in work culture. These policies are often rooted in outdated work norms and a lack of trust from managers toward employees – which is one reason why good companies and good employees don’t want anything to do with them. At U.S. You can read it here. You may also like: should your company switch to unlimited vacation time? outside workplace practices

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…. 1. Employer wants job candidate to “show loyalty” by not interviewing for other jobs. My partner recently interviewed at a potential employer. The feedback was good, and he has now heard from his recruiter that they are going to make an offer. However, the recruiter also said that the employer asked that my partner “show loyalty” and stop interviewing for other roles while they put the offer package together. Is this weird? It seems weird. It’s weird. And frankly it’s also inappropriate and crappy. Send to your brother, fine.

A reader writes: My boss is really reactive. The slightest thing will make her roll her eyes and display obvious signs of anger or irritation. For example, this can happen if you come to her office at the wrong moment or don’t know an answer offhand. She gives these knee-jerk reactions, and although the next minute she is acting normally, being met with these reactions is really hurtful and demoralizing. It also bring forth a lot of anxiety as to what kind of reaction she will have. She does this with everyone who works for her, not just me. answer this question over at Inc.

Periodically I hear someone complain about a coworker or an employee and say “but it’s impossible to fire anyone here, so we’re stuck.” ” It’s not true. No sane organization truly forbids firing people. At worst, it usually means “we have lots of hoops to jump through in order to fire someone, but it can be done.”. Even in the federal government and even in unionized workplaces — both of which people are fond of saying make it impossible to fire people — you can fire people. And as a manager, you must  be willing to put in the time. firing

A reader writes: I am more senior in my role here at my company, and a lot of colleagues like to reach out to me for help. They find it easier to ask me for help than to figure things out on their own. At times, I’m being ask to do things outside of what I’m responsible for. While I always want to be a team player and help, it’s getting to be too much and my work/personal life are suffering, and I don’t want folks to constantly lean on me and take advantage of my helpful nature. Insisting on sticking rigidly to your job and nothing but your job usually doesn’t end well.

A reader writes: I just started a new job about six months ago. When I got here, I noticed a lot of staffing changes. Apparently the company has had a high turnover of both firing and people leaving after only a year or two. Subsequently, I have gone without direct supervision, since my boss resigned after hiring me. applied right away and thought, “What a great opportunity.” How can I get more insight on why people left this role (assuming the rumor they were fired is true)? And if I am offered the job, and don’t want it, how can I respectfully decline? Impossible to get along with?

A reader writes: I’m graduating from grad school in May, and am looking for a new job. I’ve come across a handful of ads that say that their salary and benefits standards are “competitive and depend on qualifications and experience.”. My question is: When do I ask about range if the salary is unlisted? Do I ask before I spend time tailoring my resume and cover letter? Do I ask after they respond, but before the interview? After the interview? Ugh, this whole topic is incredibly frustrating. So, how can you navigate that as a job-seeker? From there, don’t ask before applying. salary

A reader writes: I work in the dreaded open-plan/high-density seating arrangement (but thankfully am able to work a couple of days a week from home, which makes it survivable). have been told I am friendly and pleasant at work, but I limit my socializing, as I regard work as work and my personal life is my own, outside of work. also work in a very dynamic environment and we are all at max capacity, so we really don’t have much time to socialize if we want to “work smart” and not stay until all hours. My style is not socializing at work and then having to work late/weekends.

Over at the Fast Track by QuickBase today, I take a look at several big work-related stories in the news right now: how political talk at work is negatively impacting you, how to spend less time in meetings, and more. You can read it here. work habits

A reader writes: When being asked by a hiring manager “why are you looking to leave your job,” one of the common advised response is “I’m looking to take on a new challenge.” ” Do you think that answering with “I’m looking to take on a new challenge” can be interpreted as admitting that the candidate (me) is not qualified or lacks the experience? I’ve always struggled with responding with this answer. Here’s the deal with “I’m looking for new challenges”: Most interviewers understand that it’s used as a polite catch-all for all sorts of things.

A reader writes: Thanks to your amazing advice, I was able to land a fantastic job with a big raise after years of stagnant dead-end work. My first day I walked into the office…and it was full of dogs. They have a dog-friendly office, which was never advertised or communicated during the hiring process. I’m allergic to dogs, VERY allergic. Within ten minutes of arriving at work, my eyes are red, itchy and watering, my nose stuffs up and I get a headache from my swollen sinuses. This is what happens when I’m on medication! What can I do?! That comes with its own set of issues.

A reader writes: I’m a young professional who, for various reasons, has had a lot of jobs in my adult life. Since I graduated from college in December 2011, I have held 11 positions at eight different companies/organizations in four different cities (all internal changes were promotions). In my opinion, I’ve changed jobs for very good reasons. And so on. On my resume, I don’t list all of my jobs, or even my most recent ones. list “Relevant Experience” and only list a few of the “best” jobs of the mix. Ooooh. resumes

A reader writes: I work as an administrator in a sales office with a lot of unspoken rules, varying from black shirts being banned from the dress code (“it looks like you work in a phone shop”) to all staff must attend mandatory month-end events and splash a large amount of money on alcohol, despite different salary levels and commitments. One of the new rules that have come into place is absolutely no hot take-away food. I can imagine this would work fantastically for an office surrounded by a variety of places to pick up less offensive, lack of greasy food. advice about your boss

We have a regular commenter, hildi, who has always impressed me with her ability to navigate potentially heated topics kindly, in a very relatable way, and without seeming adversarial to either side. Here’s an example from a few weeks ago, when she was talking to a letter-writer who was allowing a former friend to really mess with her mind. And here she is giving a great explanation of task-focused people and relationship-focused people (something that comes up a lot here, and a bunch of people have said her explanation of this has made a big difference for them). Where does it come from?

Salary negotiations are one of the most nerve-wracking parts of job-hunting – and because of that, people often make mistakes that end up costing them big money down the road. At U.S. News & World Report today, I talk about five salary negotiation mistakes to avoid in order to maximize how much money ends up in your paycheck. You can read it here. salary negotiation mistakes that are costing you money was originally published by Alison Green on Ask a Manager. salary

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…. 1. Board member keeps bringing her kids to meetings. I am working with a group of parents who are organizing a charter school. The school opens in September, so we are in the middle of dozens of different projects. As the board president, I never bring my son to board meetings, as I need to focus on the agenda. One other board member, who is also a friend, frequently brings her children to board meetings. They are 6 and 7 years old and are frequently loud and disruptive during these meetings. It will be a long and intensive meeting.

A reader writes: I am in a scientific field in a project management role. have been at my company for just over a year and it’s my first job after getting my PhD (I had an entry level position as a bench chemist for three years before going back to grad school). There have been a lot of rearrangements in project assignments since I started. Along with my inexperience within the role and periodically shifting responsibilities, it’s been hard to get a solid grip on how some things are done around here. Now I have responsibility for Project X. Are they inexperienced themselves?

A reader writes: I work in a manager level position at a large nonprofit, and I hope to move into a director level position within the next few years. A few weeks ago, I was in a conversation with our executive director, in which he stated that getting a director position “isn’t job-getting 101, it’s advanced job-getting.” ” I inquired as to what he meant by this and he provided the example that when Fergus was hired into a director position, he (our executive director) had received calls from five people advocating that executive director hire Fergus. But five?

A reader writes: I’m not sure if this is because I’m a millennial or if this is just how the work world is trending, but I feel inundated with messages that I should have a side hustle or diverse income streams. only have one income stream, my full-time job at a human rights NGO that is fairly demanding, well paid for the sector, and at the department director level. I’m able to meet all my financial obligations and save more than is recommended in my retirement accounts, but I feel this pressure to develop a small business or consult or write or baby-sit or something.

A reader writes: I’m in upper management at a growing company. Until two years ago, each executive had the HR responsibilities for their own department. But we became large enough to merit a full-time HR manager. We found someone with decades of experience, but she had moved jobs every two years. At first, we were all thrilled with her. But it quickly became clear why she never lasted very long! She is a compulsive liar and retaliates viciously against anyone who challenges her. She talks to the staff like they are children and can be incredibly insulting. Let me give you some examples.

A reader writes: I was hoping for your input on something that has plagued me all my life. I am a woman who has a very masculine/serious looking face that many would consider to be RBF (or resting b h face). I am only in my mid 20’s and it seems to constantly be an issue at work. My male boss is always walking by my desk (while I am focused) and making joking comments like “Don’t you like working here?” ” or “Come on, smile!” have never had to face them on a near daily basis. When I was younger, I thought it was something I was doing wrong. It’s 99.9%

A reader writes: I wanted to know what your take is on “pain letters.” I have been reading up on career advice, and I ran across an article by a Forbes contributor who says that we should junk cover letters and resumes for “pain letters.”. I’d advise against them. When I’ve received them, they’re generally cringingly off-base and sound like they were written by someone who will be all flash and no substance. The main problem she has that you need to speak to is “I need someone to perform this job well, and preferably excel at it.” It’s