is this job going to be a nightmare? by Alison Green on October 15, 2010 A reader writes: I applied for a position that looked great on paper – the organization, job duties, position, etc. I sent my cover letter and resume and within a week I had a call-back. I did a phone interview with one of my potential co-workers about my skills, salary expectations, and experience. Then, I […] Read the full article →
ridiculously helpful resource for managers by Alison Green on October 15, 2010 If you manage people, this is an awesome free resource that you need to check out: The Management Center’s resource library They’ve got sample scripts for difficult employee conversations, worksheets designed to help you plan projects, the best list of reference-checking questions you’ll ever encounter, sample rejection emails, and much, much more. (Note: You need […] Read the full article →
when traveling to an interview, how fast should you be expected to get there? by Alison Green on October 14, 2010 A reader writes: When asked to travel to another city for an interview, how soon should an applicant be willing to get there? A nonprofit recently asked if I could travel to its office to interview for a mid-level professional position that had been vacant for more than six months. This was on a Thursday […] Read the full article →
angry and insulted by coworkers doing my job by Alison Green on October 13, 2010 A reader writes: I was sent on a business trip overseas for 3 weeks, with 5 people from 5 different departments. Because of some business complications, the timeline for what we needed to do there was super tight. While I understand that and understand that everyone works together and does a bit of everyone’s work […] Read the full article →
stop sending me two resumes! by Alison Green on October 13, 2010 There’s an alarming new trend of people sending two resumes within one email message — generally one longer version of the resume and one shorter version, but sometimes one version highlighting one set of skills and one version highlighting another. It’s like they can’t decide which version is better, so they’ll just send them both. […] Read the full article →
should you end a job interview early if you realize you’re not interested in the job? by Alison Green on October 12, 2010 A reader writes: In a recent interview, I learned some things about the job that hadn’t been in the job description, and those things were deal-breakers for me. (I had not known about these things until the interview, so I wasn’t just wasting everyone’s time just getting some interview practice.) There had already been other things that […] Read the full article →
is it bad form to joke in a job interview? by Alison Green on October 11, 2010 A reader writes: I was wondering what your thoughts are on joking in an interview. I recently had a phone interview that I thought went very well. I was well prepared, am very qualified for the job and had competent answers to all questions. I even threw in a few well meaning jokes (none having […] Read the full article →
should I accept a job without a manager in place? by Alison Green on October 8, 2010 A reader writes: I have been interviewing exclusively with one company, and they finally offered me a sales position. On paper, everything looks fine, compensation, territory, requirements, responsibilities, etc. The negative is there is no Sales Manager in place. They are being very selective in hiring for that position so I don’t know who my […] Read the full article →
manager borrowed money, refused to repay it, then fired me by Alison Green on October 7, 2010 This is long but really outrageous. A reader writes: I was fired from my job 3 months ago. The reason I was given was “due to personality conflicts with your supervisor,” which was shocking, considering that we were actually were pretty close in the office. I had been there longer then her and anyone else, […] Read the full article →
coworker won’t wash her hands after using the bathroom by Alison Green on October 6, 2010 A reader writes: We have a very distasteful problem at work that I just don’t know how to handle, and it’s really disgusting. We have a co-worker who absolutely refuses to wash her hands after she uses the rest room, and she refuses the alternative of using gel sanitizer. She has fecal bacteria, ecoli, and […] Read the full article →