a reader’s happy ending by Alison Green on May 29, 2010 Warning: There’s no question here. Just praise and a happy ending. A reader writes: I don’t have a question, I just want to say thanks for all the great advice! I started reading you blog this past fall, after I was laid off. I’ve been working 15 years in the fashion industry in New York […] Read the full article →
three years of Ask a Manager! by Alison Green on May 27, 2010 Ask a Manager turns three today. I have no idea how I’ve managed to keep finding topics to write about for three years or how you all manage to keep finding new twists on the questions you send in! Here are some of my favorite posts from the last year: Combatting unhealthy power dynamics during […] Read the full article →
grad school is not your escape by Alison Green on May 26, 2010 From a Monday New York Times article on the job market for new grads: Liam O’Reilly, who just graduated from the University of Maryland with a bachelor’s degree in history, said he had applied to 50 employers — to be a paralegal, a researcher for a policy organization, an administrative assistant — but he had […] Read the full article →
one of many reasons why I love the Evil HR Lady by Alison Green on May 26, 2010 There’s a brilliant post from the Evil HR Lady up over at BNET, called “It’s a Job Interview, Not a Beauty Pageant.” Excerpt: We see the hiring manager as a contest judge who is to be feared and impressed. Instead of thinking, “what would I really do in this situation,” we think, “what does this […] Read the full article →
my boss is lazy and doesn’t do any work by Alison Green on May 25, 2010 A reader writes: I believe that my boss sets a poor example. Our offices are adjoining and during the day I hear her playing video games on her iTouch, making phone calls about mortgage refinancing and car loans, using Rosetta stone software. Sometimes when I stop by her office she has her kindle or ipad open to the latest […] Read the full article →
company doesn’t care about building security by Alison Green on May 24, 2010 A reader writes: Hope you can help address this pretty strange situation that is occurring in my office. My desk is the closest desk to the side door/parking lot door. Most building foot traffic comes through this door since it leads right to the parking lot/straight to the office area, so it’s heavily used. With […] Read the full article →
parents who job-search on their kids’ behalf by Alison Green on May 23, 2010 From this MSNBC article by Eve Tahmincioglu: “I recently received a call from the mother of a Ph.D. student who was applying to jobs on behalf of the daughter and thought there was nothing wrong with it,” [a hiring manager] said. “The mother asked for suggestions for what jobs she should apply to on behalf of […] Read the full article →
negotiating an offer to keep existing job by Alison Green on May 23, 2010 A reader writes: When a business comes under new ownership and employees receive offers to keep their current jobs, can one negotiate? In this case a larger company has purchased a small business. I’m managing my expectations and trying not to count on even being offered my current salary. However, when I took this job I took a substantial […] Read the full article →
call center job misery by Alison Green on May 22, 2010 I’m calling on the readers’ help with this one. A reader writes: I recently took a job in a call center doing order entry. I’m very overqualified but it’s a job and my unemployment ran out so I had to find something with an income. As part of being a call center agent, I’m expected […] Read the full article →
job rejections should come via email, not via a phone call by Alison Green on May 21, 2010 A reader writes: Please pass this information on to the interviewers and managers. I prefer NOT to receive a “thanks, but no thanks” telephone call/message when I didn’t get a job. I truly appreciate the relay of information; however, only via email or snail mail. When the phone rings, or I listen to a vague […] Read the full article →