July 2009

things I like

1. Tea, hot or iced 2. These sheets 3. Elinor Dashwood 4. Sriracha sauce 5. The pygmy slow loris 6. Watermelon agua frescas 7. “Freaks and Geeks” 8. Chaise lounges 9. My RSS reader — or anyone’s, really 10. This place Thanks for letting me impose on you. Now back to regular programming.

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boss fired me but her assistant keeps calling

A reader writes: I worked in a domestic capacity and lived in the house where I worked. After a couple of months of working non-stop, I took a weekend off (didn’t take time off before because I didn’t want to and there were problems finding cover). A few days later, I was fired and was […]

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manager told me I’m not doing enough work

A reader writes: My workload is zero. I was told by my manager that I have to ask for work and that everyone else at my level is asking for work and is very busy. I have been here for just 15 months and was surprised at this comment during my yearly review. Following my […]

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16-year-old seeks advice: jobless and losing hope

A reader writes: I’m 16 and I have absolutely no job experience. I fear that along with my lack of experience, the economy being crap right now will entirely prevent me from getting a job. Am I truly hopeless? Another reason it may not be working out for me is that I started applying right […]

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blogs I like

Some of the sites I like and recommend — not a comprehensive list by any means: 1. Evil HR Lady. Evil HR Lady inspired me to start Ask a Manager two years ago, so blame her. She’s lazing around in Switzerland these days so not posting as much as she used to, but her archives […]

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can I be fired for this?

A question I get a lot is “My boss is firing me for ___. Can he do this?” Yes, probably. Most employees in the U.S. are at-will, meaning that you can be fired for any reason at all, as long as it’s not based on illegal discrimination (i.e., firing you because of your race, gender, […]

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manager struggles with overly social staff

A reader writes: A first-time female manager takes a post over 9 other women. Manager and workers are all fully qualified, trained, and competent. However, the group has a track record of lots of social chit chat, much time on telephone with friends and family, and enjoy a social atmosphere at work that is considerably […]

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and the winner of the contest is…

And the winner of the stupid interview questions contest is… Rebecca, who managed to work e.coli into her answer, always a winning strategy! Rebecca, please email me and let me know what product you’d like from CSN Office Furniture (up to a $125 value), along with your shipping address and phone number, and they’ll send […]

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