is this a good opening for a cover letter? by Alison Green on December 6, 2011 A reader writes: After reading through your blog, I realized I had been writing the type of cover letter that will get a resume/application sent directly to the circular file. I have since revised it, meaning I now write specific letters for each specific job for which I apply, as opposed to a less personal form letter. However, I use […] Read the full article →
more bad job advice from parents by Alison Green on December 6, 2011 A reader writes: When I go on job hunting journeys to my local mall, department store, etc., I at times know which places I want to work for and which places I don’t. For example, two years ago I really wanted to work for a gaming store due to my love of video games, I […] Read the full article →
should I become my sister-in-law’s manager? by Alison Green on December 5, 2011 A reader writes: A senior manager job has come up in an organization I would like to work in and have been dreaming off for a whle, but I am having difficulty deciding whether to go for it or not. My sister-in-law, who is 8 years older than me, works within the department I am […] Read the full article →
reasons not to date a coworker by Alison Green on December 5, 2011 If there were ever an example of me giving warnings that aren’t going to be heeded, this is it. But here goes… Before you rush into dating a coworker, consider these eight downsides. 1. You won’t be able to get away from work. When both of you share the same work world, you can’t turn it […] Read the full article →
when your interview is scheduled for 3:32, exactly by Alison Green on December 3, 2011 A reader writes: My fiance and I put in for a Loss Prevention Manager position. We both work overseas with the military. This field deals with fraud, waste, abuse, and theft. We were both scheduled an interview for that position, which is just fine, but what we do not understand is the times we were […] Read the full article →
short answer Saturday: 6 short answers to 6 short questions by Alison Green on December 3, 2011 It’s short answer Saturday. Here we go… 1. Boss has female coworker make his lunch every day I wanted to know if it is illegal when the boss is making a woman in the office make his lunch everyday? He gives her money and she prepares it at home and then has to bring it […] Read the full article →
ridiculously rigid attendance policy by Alison Green on December 2, 2011 A reader writes: I work in a medical billing office. The attendance policy is very strict. You need to give 24 hours notice for anything that alters your schedule or points are assessed. Literally, 23.5 hours notice will not be acceptable. There are no exceptions. Getting a call that a family member died and you have […] Read the full article →
what if your office banned email? by Alison Green on December 2, 2011 A reader sent me this article about how a large European company is getting rid of internal email altogether and expecting its employees to rely on instant messaging instead: Atos CEO Thierry Breton says that only 15 percent of the 200 e-mails his staff receive on average are valuable, and that staff are wasting between […] Read the full article →
I’m sick of editing my boss’s writing by Alison Green on December 1, 2011 A reader writes: I find myself in a very sticky predicament and I need your help please! My boss is not a native English speaker and routinely has us edit her work. Her prose is terrible, however, what bothers me most is that it’s carelessly written. She is a technical person/researcher and feels her only […] Read the full article →
terse answer Thursday: 6 short answers to 6 short questions by Alison Green on December 1, 2011 I really need to stop doing these on Thursdays, because “terse answer Thursday” doesn’t have the alliteration I want, and I have searched everywhere for an appropriate substitute for “terse” that begins with “th” and cannot find one. But in any case, here we go… 1. When your job application becomes a dating tool I […] Read the full article →