how to answer employer’s worry about your previous self-employment by Alison Green on September 28, 2010 A reader writes: I just called a hiring manager to see what the status of my application is. He informed me that I made it to the next round, but that his concerns about hiring me stem from the fact that I have been self-employed for the past five years, and he is not sure […] Read the full article →
should you point out a typo when applying for a job? by Alison Green on September 28, 2010 In a comment on an earlier post, one commenter asked whether it’s helpful to point out proofreading errors in a job post: Should an applicant point out the typo and suggest if they were in the job last week, they would have caught it before the ad went live? I’ve seen this done well, and […] Read the full article →
calling on readers again: lazy coworker in a medical setting, with tenure by Alison Green on September 27, 2010 Our earlier experiment with throwing a reader’s question out to other readers to answer was a huge success (who knew so many of you are librarians?), so let’s try another one: I am a pediatrician in a training program at a medical school to become a specialist. One of the faculty members of our division […] Read the full article →
loads of career advice without leaving your couch by Alison Green on September 27, 2010 If you’re in the job market, this is something you should know about: the Career Summit. The Career Summit is an virtual career conference that lasts for three weeks (October 26 – November 17). If you’re like me and hate leaving your house, the greatest thing about it is that you don’t even have to […] Read the full article →
guilt over leaving team behind as I leave a toxic workplace by Alison Green on September 26, 2010 A reader writes: I’ve been in a fairly toxic workplace for two years, and in one week I’m finally done with my contract and am moving on to greener, and saner pastures. This is all well and good, except I’m leaving behind a small team of people who I’ve grown very close to while I’ve […] Read the full article →
there’s a high likelihood that your job postings suck by Alison Green on September 25, 2010 Someone recently sent me this link to a job posting as an example of a company that finally got a job ad right. What’s awesome about this ad is that you can actually read it and understand what the job is all about. There’s no incomprehensible jargon, no sentences that sound like they were lifted out […] Read the full article →
should you tape-record job interviews? by Alison Green on September 24, 2010 A reader writes: I have two related questions that I’d be interesting in getting your take on: First, is it common for interviewers to record the interview so others can listen to it who would be affected by the hire but were unable or uninterested in interviewing? Would that be helpful, do you think, to […] Read the full article →
what’s the goal of multiple 30-minute interviews? by Alison Green on September 23, 2010 A reader writes: I recently applied for a support position at an academic institution. The phone interview went well and I was invited to come in for an in-person interview. The interview is scheduled for 2 hours and 15 minutes and consists of two thirty-minute interviews with high level researchers, two thirty- minute interviews with […] Read the full article →
contacting the person who used to have the job you’re applying for by Alison Green on September 23, 2010 A reader writes: On Monday, I’m going into a first face-to-face interview (after a phone interview) for a job for which I am well qualified and would be thrilled to have. I’d like to tap into your wisdom about a strategy I want to employ to prepare for the interview. In my research on the […] Read the full article →
how interviewers can screen out candidates who will have attendance problems by Alison Green on September 22, 2010 In response to a previous post from someone frustrated that her co-worker is chronically absent, one commenter asked: If anyone has suggestions on how to screen for this issue of not-showing up for work, please let me know. I work in a call center, most of the folks we hire know what that type of […] Read the full article →