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September, 2015
Ask a Manager
do not cheat the one-page resume rule by using a tiny font and tiny margins
Ask a Manager
SEPTEMBER 8, 2015
If you’re early in your career, you’ve probably heard that your resume should only be one page. And perhaps you’ve tried to wiggle your way around that rule by using a tiny font and non-existent margins so that you can cram more text into one page. If you’re done this, you’re violating the rule in spirit and probably making your resume less effective. Before I go any further, let me clearly note that if you’re at least midway into your career, the one-page resume rule doesn’t apply to you. You get a second page at that point. And line spaces are not your enemy. resumes
my new company wants me to change my name
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SEPTEMBER 29, 2015
A reader writes: I am starting a new job next week. Somehow another employee, who is a favorite of the regional manager, objects to my name, so I have been told I cannot use it. My middle name is King and it is a name that has been in our family for years. have been called King since the day I was born – 54 years ago – and have never had anyone even mention it, much less object to it. This entry-level employee says it offends her religious beliefs. She has been at the company for several years but is still at entry-level, so how can she carry so much weight? What are my options?
I was fired after a stranger sent photos of my private text messages to my employer
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SEPTEMBER 14, 2015
A reader writes: I’m a part-time retail employee at a clothing store, as well as a full time graduate student. left work a couple of weeks ago, got on my bus to head home, and as always, spend the time on my phone — Facebook/Texting/Instagram, etc. At one point, my boyfriend texted me asking if I’d left work yet. wrote back saying something to the effect of ‘Yesssss….and and I can’t be home soon enough….I’m I’m tired and the fat cow sitting next to me is taking up half my seat as well as hers AND hasn’t heard of deodorant.” Anyway, I got fired, but I think it’s ridiculous. So: Be nicer.
team member caused drunken scene at coworker’s wedding, asking for Friday off the first week on the job, and more
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SEPTEMBER 8, 2015
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.
Skill based learning – How it drives an organization’s performance
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Training and learning organizations today play an active role in contributing to the bottom line of any organization by aligning their objectives to the immediate business objectives. This provides a solid ground for cost justification and encourages businesses to place training groups right where they should be, at the heart of a growing, thriving, learning culture.
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lying about employment dates, changing out of biking clothes at work, and more
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SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
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?
how to tell a freelancer not to stop by in person, my boss keeps asking how much I paid for things, and more
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SEPTEMBER 16, 2015
It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…. 1. My boss keeps asking how much I paid for things. My boss is very friendly with all of us who work under her. Boundaries don’t really get crossed — none of us socialize with her — but we have “water cooler” chit-chats about personal things, like our apartment buildings, travels, shopping, movies, lunch. She has started this habit of asking me what I paid for, well, just about everything. How much was that salad, how much did your condo cost, how much were those new shoes, what does your dentist charge you for a filling. Any advice? Sorry!”
what’s your boss allowed to ask when you call in sick?
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SEPTEMBER 21, 2015
When you call in sick, is your boss allowed to ask exactly what’s wrong with you and make you feel like you need to prove you’re sick enough to justify the day off? Most people are unclear on what their employer has the right to ask when they call out sick. And many employers aren’t sure either! At U.S. News & World Report today, I give you the rundown of what is and isn’t okay for your boss to ask. You can read it here. what’s your boss allowed to ask when you call in sick? was originally published by Alison Green on Ask a Manager. law + order
should recruiters disclose salary range when they reach out to you, “seeking new opportunities” on LinkedIn, and more
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SEPTEMBER 18, 2015
It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go…. 1. Should recruiters disclose salary range when they reach out to you? How common is it for recruiters to disclose salary range for positions when they reach out to you? I’ve heard colleagues who have professions that are highly technical and in demand talk about how recruiters have disclosed salary ranges to them for the openings they are recruiting for. This has helped my colleagues ask for more money. One even told his boss, “I have recruiters on LinkedIn offering me $XX more.” Hooray! Nope, not at all. Did I sabotage myself? short answers
Leaving performance reviews behind: Where to start [Guide]
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Is your company ready to move beyond the annual performance review? Where do you start? What are the keys to success? In this guide, you’ll gain an understanding of: the forces driving change, three foundations of success and take a deep dive into the skills gap many managers have that will sink your efforts before they start and how to address them.
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I’m a graphic designer with a non-designer coworker who keeps trying to do my job
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SEPTEMBER 21, 2015
A reader writes: I am an in-house graphic designer for a relatively small (30+ employees) nonprofit, and I care a lot about what I do. realize sometimes I need to rein it in, but… THE ISSUE. The issue I have is a non-designer coworker who has Adobe Creative Suite trying to do graphic design. Since the other graphic designer and I are always busy, she thinks she is doing us a favor by going rogue. 90% of the time we don’t even know she had a project or designed something until we see it in print somewhere. but recently she asked me to create a flyer for a certain program we offer.
my reference is an ex, warning an acquaintance not to take a job at my awful company, and more
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SEPTEMBER 25, 2015
It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go…. 1. Should I warn an acquaintance not to take a job at my awful company? know someone, friend of friends, who may be trying to join my small company. However, it’s a terrible place and several of us are trying to leave ASAP. If this were a friend I would def let her know. But this is an acquaintance. Do I say something? I ran into this person, and she excitedly told me she was meeting with the boss Friday. She asked me how I liked the job and I couldn’t lie. took a long pause, and then said there were parts I liked. Say something. 2.
how to teach students that employer care about outcomes, not how much time they put in
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SEPTEMBER 24, 2015
A reader writes: I am a professor of practice in a graduate-level professional program. Though a fair few of our learners are career-changers, stay-at-home parents preparing for a return to the workplace, or others with significant work-world experience, many come to us straight from their undergraduate experience. This latter group sometimes brings work-inappropriate beliefs and habits with them. One issue I see more often than I like is the “but I spent so much time on it!” “I spent so much time on it!” students
can bad employees and bad managers change?
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SEPTEMBER 4, 2015
A reader writes: I am a passionate fan of AAM and often try to guess what you would advise for my own dysfunctional job. Boiled down, my boss needs to stop avoiding confrontation and reign in his apathetic and lazy children before the rest of us give up in disgust. I was scheming how to make this happen and I realized that you would probably say that my boss is never going to mature in that way, at least within the time I’m going to work for him, and there is no way I can goad him into correcting years of indulgent parenting. Can other people instigate professionalism and maturity in a person?
Innovation Buster: How Losing Your Best Employees is Killing Innovation
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expectations of student workers, transit service didn’t pick me up for work, and more
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SEPTEMBER 9, 2015
It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…. 1. Am I being unreasonable in my expectations of this student worker? I’m a newly hired assistant manager in an office setting. We recently hired a student worker who is paid hourly. asked that our student worker not make a habit of it, since the end of the day is a good time to check in and debrief. We will also need her for phone coverage up until closing once our temp’s contract ends. They both stopped talking immediately when I walked past them. So explain to her what your expectations are and why. What do you think?
I’m sick of being the office therapist
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SEPTEMBER 2, 2015
A reader writes: I have brought a burden upon myself, and I know it’s completely my own doing. I’ve been in my current role for a year and a half. In that time, I’ve become the de facto compassionate listener and person who coworkers turn to when they want to confide in someone. My department consists of 25 people and I don’t manage anyone. I’m a mid-level strategist and I report to a VP. Everyone comes to me to pull me aside and vent about their personal and professional problems, stresses, and anxieties. It happens at least daily. Maybe not. Be busy. ” 2.
how to explain why you want a part-time job
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SEPTEMBER 17, 2015
A reader writes: When applying for part-time positions, is it common to be asked why you are applying for a part-time job rather than looking for full-time work? Last year, I left my full-time admin job after suffering from stress and depression. took a few months off to work on my health, and now I am back to looking for work. Financially I can afford to work in a part-time admin job rather than looking for a full-time job. This would be much better for me in terms of my health. However, I am aware that talking to prospective employers about any mental health issues is not a good idea.
do hiring managers really care about your GPA?
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SEPTEMBER 7, 2015
A reader writes: How important is a college (or high school) GPA, graduating summa cum laude, etc. to hiring managers? teach college students, and have a number who are convinced that anything other than a 4.0 is a death knell for all their future plans. While I know that my voice alone can’t counteract the stresses of a tough job market and high parental and personal expectations, I’d like to be able to tell my students that most hiring managers don’t much care about your GPA. Is this true? will do a lot more for you than a 4.0 on the job market. And high school? students
2016 Training Program Best Practices
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Can you hear the collective groan when you launch that new compliance course? Do you get complaints both public and private from trainees about the uselessness of the training courses you've launched? Is there anything that can be done about it?
confess your job search sins here
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SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
Unless you sprung into the world with perfect job search knowledge, you’ve probably made some embarrassing mistakes as a job seeker at one point or another. Maybe you showed up without an appointment , or called employers to “ schedule an interview ,” or sent a framed photo of yourself to your interviewer, or contorted yourself into the candidate you thought the employer wanted rather than screening to see if the job fit you. What are the biggest mistakes you’ve made while job searching? ask the readers
can I ask to see the interview questions ahead of time?
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SEPTEMBER 15, 2015
A reader writes: Would it be considered rude or off-putting if I asked to either hear or glance through the questions, either in person or on the phone, at the beginning of the interview? Typical interview questions are disjointed. If I knew the questions up front, it would help me to think of answers beforehand to keep from replying with something that isn’t fully formed. It also allows me to incorporate some of those answers into a full circle example if it relates. Nope, don’t do that. can I ask to see the interview questions ahead of time? interviewing
should I pay a company to create a false work history for my resume?
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SEPTEMBER 9, 2015
We’ve had several posts about lying on resumes lately, and here’s one from the candidate side. reader writes: I have been unemployed for nine months now. I am scared that I’ll easily hit the one-year mark, and the financial stress is adding to the psychological pressure, emotional toll, and mental fixation. It is a crappy situation to be in. heard there is this company that “closes” your employment gap for a small fee. Basically, you’d be working for a fictitious company in a fictitious location with a fictitious title. have contacted them and they are legit.
coworker mock-slaps me, reporting a coworker’s inappropriate comments, and more
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SEPTEMBER 6, 2015
It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…. 1. Coworker regularly mock-slaps me with a clipboard while yelling at me. The manager of the department next to mine frequently marches in front of my desk and, in a standing position, mocks slapping my face with a clipboard while yelling, stomping her feet, and pointing animatedly with her arms, then drops the clipboard to the ground for emphasis at the conclusion of her tirades. find her actions aggressive and physically threatening. Certainly they are unprofessional and inappropriate. Can I legally report her for wrongdoing and to whom?
Ditching the formal performance review? Kineo shares 3 Elements for Success
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how to hire people to work for a difficult boss
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SEPTEMBER 2, 2015
A reader writes: I am an office manager in a 7-person business, and have been here for the last 4 years. have been planning for a while to leave for graduate school and am in the process of hiring my replacement. The problem is, my boss has a really difficult personality. Prior to my starting this job, no office manager had ever lasted more than a year, and so far every admin I have hired (over the last year or so) has either quit or been fired due to personality conflicts. Do I offer them some kind of warning, or do I just pretend everything is easygoing? hiring
tell us your “straw that broke the camel’s back” moment with your job
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SEPTEMBER 24, 2015
On last week’s post about the manager who told an employee to write a sentence 500 times as “punishment” for a mistake , a bunch of people asked about “straw that broke the camel’s back” moments — the time something so bad happened in your job that you knew you had to get out. Of course, in a healthy environment, this isn’t how it works. In a normal environment, you decide to move on when you need new challenges, want to advance in ways that aren’t likely in your organization, or see a path somewhere else that’s better suited to you.
my boss told me to write the same sentence 500 times as punishment for a mistake
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SEPTEMBER 16, 2015
A reader writes: I’m a currently an office manager, and I recently messed up and did not submit some health insurance forms that were required and cost my boss $1,000. have been here for four years and never made a mistake, but for some reason my boss wants me to write 500 sentences stating, “I will not screw up another Optum case.” ” (Optum is the name of the health care company.). Is this even something she can do? Any chance she’s not being serious and was instead just making a bad joke about wanting you to understand the seriousness of the mistake?
is your job search know-how wildly out of date?
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SEPTEMBER 14, 2015
If you ever advise friends or family members on their job search, are you sure that your advice is up-to-date? Job searching has changed a lot in the last 10 years, and a lot of traditional advice no longer matches up with how successful job searches work today. In fact, most job seekers have story upon aggravating story about the bad advice they have received from well-meaning friends and family who just wanted to help – but instead steered them terribly wrong. At U.S. News & World Report today, I drew up a checklist of some of the most commonly repeated pieces of bad advice out there.
HR's Critical Role in Creating Productive and Meaningful Workplaces
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Today’s workplace is characterized by chaotic forces—low employee engagement and productivity levels, and declining employee well being. HR Leaders have a critical role in defining the vision and strategy to transform and create a more productive and happy workplace.
incompetent people probably have no clue that they’re incompetent
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SEPTEMBER 9, 2015
A fascinating Cornell University study a few years back found that people who are incompetent tend to dramatically overestimate their own competence, and people who truly are quite competent tend to underestimate their own performance. At Inc. today, I talk about the implications of this for managers — such as that you must be explicit with employees who aren’t meeting your expectations rather than assuming that they know it, and that you also need to make sure your best employees know how much you value them. You can read it here. good management
what to say to an employee who’s requesting too much time off, training the person who’s taking your job, and more
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SEPTEMBER 13, 2015
It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…. 1. How can I coach an employee to have more professional polish? have recently inherited a team of three whose previous manager provided little to no feedback, goal-setting, or performance reviews. I am working on establishing these metrics with them and getting to know how they work. It is a great team and they all work very hard, but I am having an issue with one of the team members that I am having difficultly figuring out to address. She is a young woman who has been out of school and working professionally for about 2.5 years. Which we did.
can I ask for a raise at my new job since I got a higher offer somewhere else?
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SEPTEMBER 29, 2015
A reader writes: I recently just started working for a new company 2 weeks ago that I really enjoy. The benefits are great, I have flex-time, and my boss has been very enthusiastic during my onboarding (basically running around telling everyone how excited she is to have me join the company). company that I interviewed with before I accepted this job has now come back to me with a job offer that is 25% higher than what my new job is paying me. would prefer to stay at my current job, so I would like to use this as leverage to request a raise. But I’d leave that to them to bring up. salary
will turning down an offer hurt my chances with that company in the future?
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SEPTEMBER 28, 2015
A reader writes: I had an interview where I liked the people and I absolutely loved what they had to offer in terms of salary and rank, but the job itself wasn’t what I thought. think that while the benefits are great in the short term, in the long term there may not be too much growth. They have a research division too that I’d like to apply too once the right job appears. Will turning down the current offer ruin my chances getting into research? It’s not like I accepted the offer and then turned it down. In general, employers understand that candidates may turn down offers.
Learner motivation explained! Learn how to use an LMS to motivate your learners to upskill
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Training and development professionals often bemoan the lack of apparent initiative in their trainees. Learning professionals spend huge sums of money creating or acquiring skill aligned libraries of learning content, only to watch almost helplessly as learners refuse to engage with any training available that isn’t mandatory.
coworker is constantly coughing and blowing her nose, legal names and job applications, and more
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SEPTEMBER 23, 2015
It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…. 1. My coworker is constantly coughing and blowing her nose. My coworker who I share an office with has been sick for the past month and a half. She hates going to the doctor or taking medicine, but finally went a week ago and got some antibiotics and cough medicine. The cough medicine has codeine in it, so she can’t take it during work hours. The antibiotics don’t seem to be helping. My issue is with her constant cough and nose blowing. Both VERY LOUD. Am I being petty? totally get why this is distracting and you grossing you out.
job candidate lied about his work history, not working oneself to death during a notice period, and more
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SEPTEMBER 7, 2015
It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…. 1. Should I tell a job candidate that I know he lied about his work history or just reject him without saying why? We have an open staff position and a promising applicant applied. I did a phone interview and he was great. We talked about his current job and whatnot, and I set up an in person interview for the next week with my boss. During that time, I googled him to see if I could find any red flags. His name is pretty common so nothing came up, so I also went to the website of the nonprofit where he worked. Then see what he says. ” 4.
my new coworker keeps joking about violence
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SEPTEMBER 9, 2015
A reader writes: I have started working with a new employee who has been working at our company for about a week. He’s really great at his job, and I would love working with him except that he is always making these little “jokes.” ” Essentially, he looks at me with a deadpan face and says things like, “I’m going to mess you up so bad that even your parents won’t be able to identify your body” and even more graphic, and then does a weird little laugh. But clearly, it needs to stop. Am I off-base here? No, you’re not off-base. He’s wrong.
weekend free-for-all – September 26-27, 2015
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SEPTEMBER 26, 2015
This comment section is open for any non-work-related discussion you’d like to have with other readers, by popular demand. This one is truly no work and no school. If you have a work question, you can email it to me or post it in the work-related open thread on Fridays.). Book Recommendation of the Week: Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore , by Robin Sloan. open threads
The Performance Management Storm: Four Macro-Trends Driving the Change
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Needed: A shift from traditional performance management systems (organized as an annual review process) to newer performance development systems (organized around real-time dynamics). Download part one in a series to gain insight into why this shift must happen and why it needs to happening now
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