is pretending to be pregnant a fireable offense? by Alison Green on May 14, 2009 TV Guide Magazine would like to know: Is pretending to be pregnant in order to get out of work a fireable offense? Apparently a character on Rules of Engagement (a show I’ve never heard of) did exactly that, and TV Guide wants to know how this would fly in real life. I’m quoted answering this […] Read the full article →
should extra duties equal more pay? by Alison Green on May 11, 2009 A reader writes: I am currently a secretary, with a degree in computer engineering. My employer now wants me to be the back-up I.T. person in the office, which is not a part of a support staff position. Is it unprofessional to expect or to ask to be compensated for this addition of extra duties? […] Read the full article →
when a recognition program feels too fluffy by Alison Green on May 11, 2009 A reader writes: I work in a team of 24 within a large organization and we measure our employee engagement using the Gallup questionnaire. One of the questions our team scored lower on was “In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work,” and as a group, we decided […] Read the full article →
addressing a new hire’s known weakness by Alison Green on May 8, 2009 A reader writes: While I’m excited about two people I recently hired, nobody’s perfect and there were a few small concerns with both that came up through the hiring process. One person had a great follow-up exercise and awesome experience, but somewhat lackluster communication in person. The other person had a great interview and awesome […] Read the full article →
boss won’t let me come up with new ideas by Alison Green on May 6, 2009 A reader writes: I am a dreamer. I have lots of ideas and I can see the big picture easily. While in school I wrote articles and presented at conferences, but was met with lots of frustration with the people I was sharing my ideas with because I obviously didn’t know how to fit my […] Read the full article →
you need the right person, not the almost-right person by Alison Green on May 6, 2009 Most managers say they know how important it is to have the right people on their staff, but many (or even most) don’t act accordingly. We’ve all worked with managers who dance around performance problems rather than addressing them head-on, who don’t focus enough on developing and retaining their best people, and who are way […] Read the full article →
male team won’t talk to me by Alison Green on May 5, 2009 A reader writes: I am a female (in my thirties) working within a team of men (IT developers). I am a new role for me as a business analyst. I have been working in the team for approximately 6 months, and if they didn’t say hello to me in the morning, they wouldn’t speak to […] Read the full article →
what it’s like to make a job offer by Alison Green on May 4, 2009 I love making job offers. It’s a great feeling to call someone up to offer them a job that you know they really want. There are several different types of reactions when you make someone a job offer: 1. The excited freak-out. I love this one. This is when you call and offer someone a […] Read the full article →
Can I reapply after being rejected? by Alison Green on May 2, 2009 A reader writes: I don’t know if this is a scenario that happens very often, but I had what I believed to be a successful initial phone interview with a company in a similar field. The HR manager I interviewed with had been very enthusiastic about continuing the interview process. I felt confident that I […] Read the full article →
don’t mention your “affluent family” in your cover letter by Alison Green on May 1, 2009 Seriously, it’s really not relevant that you come from an “affluent political family.” Why is it in your cover letter? Read the full article →