July 2009

stupid interview questions (and win a free office chair!)

If you could be a tree, what tree would you be? What type of animal are you most like? What would I find in your refrigerator right now? Who the hell is asking these sorts of interview questions? Apparently someone is, because complaints about them abound. But they’re lame, and more than being lame, they’re […]

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should I warn my friend he’s about to be laid off?

A reader writes: About 8 months ago, we hired a new manager who moved very close to me and my family. I am his direct supervisor. Shortly after they moved here, we invited them over for dinner and we have since become good friends … dear friends, in fact. Our kids play together, we’ve been […]

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are employers finding out I was a stripper?

A reader writes: I moved away from home, and got into a bad crowd a couple of years ago. I made some crappy decisions, the biggest one being that I was working in a strip club/business for about three years. Now, obviously, I cannot be absolutely honest in that particular job aspect, and having no […]

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when a coworker gets special treatment

A reader writes: How do I deal with a manager who clearly gives special treatment to a coworker? She is very irresponsible, and yet my manager takes her lateness to work as almost cute behavior on her part. A couple of times, my coworker did not even show up to work but my manager never […]

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an alternative for bored students/grads who can’t find jobs

The New York Times had an article on Thursday about college students and recent grads who are finding that the work world is looking a bit different than they’d planned: The well-paying summer jobs that in previous years seemed like a birthright have grown scarce, and pre-professional internships are disappearing as companies cut back across […]

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did I offend the company that just offered me a job?

A reader writes: I’m a fresh grad and I just received a job offer from a company I really want to work for (let’s say Company A), but I have a pending interview at another company I am also considering (Company B). Company A gave me 24 hours to make a decision, and just before […]

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things I don’t want to know about you

I’m cool with you blogging about chronic masturbation if that’s what you want to do, but then probably you shouldn’t include a link to your blog in your job application materials. I wasn’t really prepared for that.

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is staffing agency lying to me?

A reader writes: I’ve been out of work for 6 months and have been looking and there have been a few interviews. Two of the interviews were generated through staffing agencies. The first interview did not go well and I received no confirmation from the agency to confirm a rejection. I followed up with them […]

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using jealousy to push a company to make an offer

A reader writes: Three weeks ago, I interviewed for a job with a major media company. This was/is a dream job . I was interviewed by HR, and after the interview I was taken to a second interview on the same day with my potential supervisor. I believed both interviews went well and was even […]

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