5 ways companies mistreat job-seekers by Alison Green on August 3, 2009 When it comes to hiring, some employers act like they hold all the cards — and they can treat job seekers as poorly as they want, without consequence. They’re wrong: Smart employers know that good candidates have options (to say nothing of the ethical implications of being rude just because you think you can). Here are […] Read the full article →
bypassing the employment agency by Alison Green on August 3, 2009 A reader writes: An employment agency listed a job on a generic website two months ago. At that time, they did not list what company the job was with. I sent my resume to the agency, left messages, and never heard from them. This is my dream job so I was very disappointed. Today the […] Read the full article →
when an employee isn’t taking your hint by Alison Green on August 3, 2009 A reader writes: I am a sales manager and have a team of 9 Territory Managers. I have one young man on my team without a whole lot of life or professional experience. His father did some consulting for our corporate office and is well known in our company and throughout our industry. My TM […] Read the full article →
should we report husband’s ex-wife to her boss? by Alison Green on August 1, 2009 A reader writes: My husband’s ex-wife has been breaking into his email for the past year. They have been divorced for 2 years. She just can’t stay out of our lives! Well, here is why I am asking you. She works as a managing editor for a publishing company that produces a Catholic health care […] Read the full article →
which employee should be let go? by Alison Green on July 29, 2009 A reader writes: I supervise a staff of 5 people as part of a team that was just created within the organization since the beginning of the year. Two of them are constantly bickering between themselves and each runs to me with complaints about the other. I have tried coaching and mediating with the two […] Read the full article →
when an employee gives you info in confidence by Alison Green on July 29, 2009 A reader writes: An employee tells you they observed another employee talking on a cell phone while supervising children (which is against company policy). How can you effectively address the situation when an employee asks you to to keep it confidential that it came from them, yet no one else saw it happen? It’s not […] Read the full article →
cautionary tale: leaving Track Changes on your resume by Alison Green on July 28, 2009 Today I got a resume where the candidate had left Word’s Track Changes feature on. As a result, I could see all the edits someone had made on his resume, and I know that they weren’t his own, because they also included suggestions like “you have to beef up the first paragraph.” I don’t have […] Read the full article →
am I a back-up candidate? by Alison Green on July 28, 2009 A reader writes: I am curious to know what the message is to back-up candidates while a the company is waiting for someone to respond to a job offer. I was told that a decision would be made late last week, and I recently received an update that it will be another week and a […] Read the full article →
7 mistakes managers make when giving criticism by Alison Green on July 27, 2009 Giving critical feedback to employees can be difficult, and it’s one area that managers most often handle badly. Here are the most common mistakes managers make when delivering less-than-positive feedback: Not doing it. Some managers don’t give critical feedback at all. They either let low performers remain on their staff forever, or they fire them out […] Read the full article →
bad interviewer behavior: a forcible, sweaty hike by Alison Green on July 27, 2009 I always enjoy nightmare interview stories, so here’s one for you. A friend of mine recently went for a job interview that consisted of two parts — first an interview with an HR rep, followed immediately by an interview with the hiring manager. At the end of the HR portion, the HR rep told her […] Read the full article →